This episode focuses on the harassment and abuse that women—particularly women in politics—face online. Signs associate editor Sarah Sobieraj, an expert on US political culture and digital media, speaks with Professors Moya Bailey and Nina Jankowicz. The conversation delves into the strategies used by misogynists online, the racialized abuse faced by women of color, and the role that digital harassment and misinformation played in the 2024 election. And crucially, they emphasize that this abuse, at the systemic level, is a massive barrier to women’s equal political participation and functions to push women in general out of political discourse and even public life.
Moya Bailey is a professor of communication studies at Northwestern and is an expert on Black women’s digital resistance. She also coined the term “misogynoir.” Nina Jankowicz is the cofounder and CEO of the American Sunlight Project, a nonprofit focused on countering disinformation. She has advised governments, international organizations, and tech companies on the effects of disinformation, particularly on people from historically marginalized groups. And Sarah Sobieraj is a professor of sociology at Tufts University. Her latest book is Credible Threat: Attacks Against Women Online and the Future of Democracy.