ONLINE GENDER ANONYMITY  

Ruwandi Perera weighs the pros and cons of gender neutrality in cyberspace

March is the month for celebrating women and ensuring their rights while highlighting the importance of addressing issues such as gender equality. There are times when one wonders whether the celebration borders on irony – consider how far human civilisation has progressed and how we continue to deal with issues that appear unacceptable to a race as intelligent as ours.

Yet, the progress of the women’s rights movement has seen much acceleration thanks to celebrations such as International Women’s Day; but there’s a lot more that needs to be done for women to gain equality.

Gender based issues don’t stop with the advancement of technology, which we believe makes our lives easier. Yes, technology has helped address some problems and that is laudable although it has also given rise to new issues.

A year ago, the World Economic Forum (WEF) published an article titled ‘Digital Public Infrastructure – a blessing or a curse for women and girls?’ It highlighted the need to ensure that digital public infrastructure is designed in a manner that addresses and helps bridge the gender digital divide.

Although in theory, there shouldn’t be a gender divide when it comes to digital infrastructure, what’s unstoppable is the flow of gender inequalities from the physical world into the digital realm.

A vast majority of women around the world face numerous challenges of all sorts, from accessing education to securing jobs. So it is natural for the effects of these challenges to result in far fewer women making optimal use of digital resources compared to their male counterparts.

On an even sadder note, the dangers women face offline in the form of sexual abuse, harassment and other acts of gender based violence are being digitally magnified online due to many factors – one being the luxury of anonymity that the digital sphere offers.

Around the world, online abuse has resulted in adverse effects on the personal and professional lives of women. More often than not, this leads to many women opting out of social media platforms or remaining anonymous.

Gender neutrality is another strategy that’s increasingly being adopted by both women and men. People seem to believe that not divulging your gender online is safer.

But being genderless online has its merits and limitations, and success depends mainly on the individuals – how active they are, how secure they feel and what their objectives are in terms of online behaviour.

Choosing to be genderless online is undoubtedly more inclusive, as you’re not positioning yourself on the basis of your gender, and instead focussing on other aspects such as career, social roles and personal differentiators to position yourself.

It also helps safeguard you from being stereotyped based on your gender, which includes prejudices such as men being better at gaming and women at posting selfies; or women being targeted more by clothing labels and men by sporting goods brands.

Online gender anonymity also helps maintain personal privacy, which can protect you from harassment such as cyberstalking, cyberbullying, sexting and other horrendous acts.

However, appearing gender neutral or not disclosing your gender can also lead to missed opportunities where, depending on the situation, it may be customary to state your gender – such as in the case of sporting events.

For instance, you might benefit more by sharing your gender in certain online communities such as single mums or stay-at-home dads, where members share experiences and support each other. Or perhaps your gender will have an impact if you’re advocating on gender related issues.

It might be personal, professional, contextual or otherwise, but there may be instances where you would like to share your gender online but prefer not to, simply to ensure your safety.

There are many ways to address these challenges.

Empowering more women and girls with the right digital skills can be one strategy – one which can also help bridge the digital divide.

Making online advice and support more accessible to everyone regardless of gender, age, educational status or ability to pay is also key. This includes repositioning and revamping online safety advice to make it jargon free and easily accessible.

The answer to the debate regarding being genderless online is murky but the need to make cyberspace safe for everyone – irrespective of their gender – is crystal clear.