Just Kidding Not OK When posting Slurs Online

Rachel Lunny
Mrs. Brophy
BTT
Due Date: December 12th, 2013
Introduction
Simple searches of Twitter or other social networks will find lots of abusive
language and the occasional just kidding! which doesnt take the sting out at all,
according to a new poll. ((Blissman), 2013)
In a shift in attitude, most young people now say its wrong to use racist or sexist
slurs online, even if youre just kidding. But when they see them, they dont take much
personal offence.
A majority of teens and young adults who use the internet say they at least
sometimes see derogatory words and images targeting various groups. They often dismiss
that stuff as just joking around, not meant to be hurtful. (Eckers, July 2013)
Americans ages 14 to 24 say people who are overweight are the most frequent
target, followed by gay people. Next in line for online abuse: blacks and women.

Callis Story

Lunny 2

I see things like that all the time, says Vita Calli, 15, of Reading, Pa. It doesnt
really bother me unless theyre meaning it to offend me personally.
Even then he tries to brush it off.
Calli, whose family emigrated from Argentina, says people tease him online with
jokes about Hispanics, but you cant let those things get to you.
Hes typical of many young people surveyed. The majority say they arent very
offended by the slurs in social media or cellphone text messages even such
inflammatory terms as bitch or fag or the N-word.
Yet like Calli, most think using language that insults a group of people is wrong.
The high school sophomore says he has tried, with difficulty, to break his habit of Calling
anything uncool gay or retarded

Jefferys Story
Jeffery Bakken, 23, a producer at a video game company in Chicago, aid the bad
stuff online, especially slurs posted anonymously, shouldnt overshadow what he sees as
the younger generations stronger commitment to equal rights for minorities and gays
than its elders.
Kids were horrible before the Internet existed, Bakken said. Its just that now
its more accessible to the public eye.

Just Kidding Not OK When posting Slurs Online

Lunny 3

Compared with an AT-MJV poll two years ago, young people today are more
disapproving of using slurs online.
Nearly 6 in 10 say using discriminatory words or images isnt all right, even as a
joke. Only about half were as disapproving in 2011. (Brooker, Social Media Biz, 2013)
Now, have a majority say its wrong to use slurs even among friends who know
you dont mean it. In the previous poll, most young people said that was OK.
But the share who came across slurs online has held steady. More than half of
young uses of YouTube, Facebook and gaming communities such as Xbox Live and
Steam say they sometimes or often encounter biased messages on those platforms

Just Joking???
Why do people post or text that stuff? To be funny, according to most of the
young people who see it. Another big reason: to be cool. Less than a third said a major
reason people use slurs is because they actually harbor hateful feelings toward the groups
they are maligning.
Most of the time theyre just joking around, or talking about a celebrity, Jeff
Hitchins, a white 24-year-old in Springfield, Pa., said about the insulting references to
blacks, women and gays that he encounters on the Vine and Instagram image-sharing
sites. Hate speech is becoming so commonplace, you forget where the words are coming
from, and they actually hurt people without even realizing it.

Just Kidding Not OK When posting Slurs Online

Lunny 4

Some slurs are taken more seriously than others. Racial insults are not that likely
to be seen as hurtful, yet a strong majority of those surveyed 6 in 10 felt comments and
images targeting transgender people or Muslims are.
Almost as likely to be viewed as mean-spirited are slurs against gays, lesbians and
bisexual people, and those aimed at people who are overweight.

Marias Story
Maria Caprigna, who has struggled with obesity since childhood, said seeing
mean images on Facebook stings. But she thinks the online world reflects the rest of U.S
society.
Its still socially acceptable to comment on someones weight and what someone
is eating, said Caprigna, 18, of Norwood, Mass. We need to change that about our
culture before people realize posting stuff like that online is going to be offensive to
someone.

Ericks Story
Erick Fernandez of West New York, N.J., says what people share online reflects
the influence of song lyrics and music videos and movies.
Fernandez, 22, said he was probably very loose about that himself before he
was chosen for a diversity summer camp in high school that explained why phrases like

Just Kidding Not OK When posting Slurs Online

Lunny 5

Thats so gay are hurtful. Now a college student, he routinely sees insulting language
for women and people of colour bandied about online.
I try to call some of my friends out on it but its really to no avail, Fernandez
said. They brush it off and five minutes later something else will come out. Why even
bother?
In the poll, young people said they were less likely to ask someone to stop using
hurtful language on a social networking site then face to face.

Alexandrias Story
Alexandria Washington said shes accustomed to seeing
men who wouldnt say offensive things to her in person post
pictures of half-naked women in sexual positions, followed
demeaning comments and slurs like whore and ratchet
Theyll post anything online, but in person its a whole different
story, said Washington, 22, a graduate student in Tallahassee, Fla.

Conclusion
There seems to b e a desensitizing effect. Those who report more exposure to
discriminatory images and words online are less likely to say its wrong than those who
rarely or never encounter it.

Just Kidding Not OK When posting Slurs Online

Lunny 6

Context is crucial, too. Demand groups sometimes slurs as a way of stripping the
words of their power- like the feminist Bitch magazine or gay rights activists chanting
Were here, were queen, get used to it!
Washington, who is African-American, said that on most days she doesnt come
across racial slurs on social media. But she stumbles upon bigoted words when race is in
the news, such as surrounding President Barack Obamas re-election, and finds them
hurtful in that serious context.
Likewise, Calli, the high school student originally from Argentina, said he could
stomach almost say name-calling but gets upset when someone uses a falsehood to
denigrate immigrants.

Just Kidding Not OK When posting Slurs Online

Lunny 7

Works Cited
(Blissman), D. B. (2013, September 22). #socialmanners via Twitter.com.
Brooker, J. (2013, oCTOBER 15). Social Media Biz. Retrieved December 5, 2013, from
www.socialmedia.biz
Brooker, J. (2013). Social Media Etiquette. Macleans.
Eckers, J. (July 2013). Socila Media Etiquette. Macleans, 15-17.

Just Kidding Not OK When posting Slurs Online

Lunny 8

Index
Introduction
Page 1

.........

Callis Story
................................................................................................................................................
Page 2.....................................................................................................................................
................................................................................................................................................
Jefferys Story
................................................................................................................................................
Page 3.....................................................................................................................................
Just Joking???
................................................................................................................................................
Page 3.....................................................................................................................................
Marias Story
................................................................................................................................................
Page 4.....................................................................................................................................
Ericks Story
................................................................................................................................................
Page 5.....................................................................................................................................
Alexandrias Story
................................................................................................................................................
Page 6.....................................................................................................................................
Conclusion

Just Kidding Not OK When posting Slurs Online

Lunny 9

................................................................................................................................................
Page 7.....................................................................................................................................

Just Kidding Not OK When posting Slurs Online