Racial and Gender Biases on the Internet

Kevin Clements and Rachel Loria

Gender Gap:The Stereotype

• Commonly held that there is a great divide• Notion that it is a man’s world• Women are inadequate and the lesser sex

(therefore, they can’t use the internet—so why include them?)

(Social Science Quarterly)

Gender Gap:The Reality

• Evidence shows that times are changing– Internet geared more towards women– More women are online

• “Women value [the Internet] for the human connections” (The Guardian)

How many women use the internet

• An estimated 50% of online users are women• Women spend an average of 24.8 hours per

month online (men average around 22.9)

What men and women seem to like• Social networking is more popular for women

than men online (Facebook)

(PostMedia News)

What men and women seem to like

• When it comes to Twitter, men are more likely than women to post their own tweets

What men and women seem to like

• Women like deals and promotions at shopping sites

Online Shopping

• Websites seem very geared towards the woman crowd

Web spaces geared toward men and

women• Men are more likely to read the news, check

weather forecasts, download music and do job-related research.

• Women send emails, view maps, and get background information on health problems.

(The Guardian)

Web spaces geared towards men

• (news, weather forecasts, downloading music and job-related research)

Web spaces geared towards women

• (emails, viewing maps, and background information on health problems)

Cyber-Racism

The Shape of Cyber-Racism

• Civilized messages, the “educational narrative”• Humorous messages• Self-preservation

“Educational” Narrative

Humorous Messages

Self-preservation

Regulation?

• First amendment rights– Hate speech– Inciting violence

• Internet anonymity• Websites cross national borders

Hope?