Tag Archives: misogyny

August 3, 2025 · 1:00 am

Nudify Apps and the Road to Destruction

Actress/Director Scarlett Johansson, Source https://www.flickr.com/photos/15512543@N04/2185543324/, Author John Harrison at https://www.flickr.com/photos/15512543@N04/, Permission Creative Commons Attribution Sharealike (CC BY-SA 3.0 Unported)

A new word has entered our vocabulary.  To “nudify” is to use Artificial Intelligence (AI) to create deepfake images which appear to show the individuals depicted as naked [1]. Natalie Portman and Scarlett Johansson have been among those famously victimized.

Thousands of nudify apps exist to accomplish this, and have rapidly gained popularity [2][3].  Many work only on images of women.  And, as might be expected, many use social media for marketing purposes.

Thus far, victims have typically been school girls who posted innocent photos of themselves online [4].  However, anyone of any age can use these apps to convert harmless online images into what appear to be embarrassing photos and videos of children, teens, teachers, parents, police officers, pastors, or others in the nude. 

Once the nude images have been created, they can circulate on all the digital platforms commonly used for messaging today. 

Impact

Such images are often used as revenge porn with a deliberate intent of humiliating and degrading the individual pictured.  Whatever the intent, the impact on victims is overwhelmingly negative.  Not only embarrassment, but anxiety, depression, and suicidal ideation can result. Continue reading →

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February 9, 2025 · 1:00 am

Cyber Harassment and the Death of Bianca Devins, Part 1

Illustration of dogpiling, a form of cyber harassment, Source https://www.flickr.com/photos/23963249@N02/2314383724, Author J_O_I_D (CC BY-SA 2.0 Generic)

WARNING:  Graphic Images

Bianca Devin’s, a 17 y.o. online influencer with a small following, was brutally murdered in 2019 by a fan with whom she had become familiar [1].  Her murderer, Brandon Clark, researched beforehand the “best” ways to kill people and livestream the event [2].

Suffering from anxiety, depression, borderline personality disorder, and PTSD, Bianca reached out for friends online, but was harassed by “incels” – an online subculture of aggrieved and angry men who despise and revile women because they are unable to make a romantic connection [3][4][5].

That was not the end of the tragedy.  Bianca’s death went viral, with graphic images of her body circulating online for years.  The murder was discussed on social media in offensive and misogynistic terms.  Bianca’s family members were repeatedly exposed to bloody images of their daughter, as well as being told she deserved to die.

The Devins family ultimately lobbied for the passage of a law protecting families against this type of violation [6].  “Bianca’s Law”, as it is known, makes it a crime in New York to post graphic personal images online of those involved in traumatic situations, and creates a private right of action for victims [7].

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[1]  Wikipedia, “Murder of Bianca Devins”, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Murder_of_Bianca_Devins.

[2]  Syracuse, “More horrific details come out in Bianca Devins murder that was shared online to the world” by Elizabeth Doran, 2/14/20 (updated 11/7/23), https://www.syracuse.com/crime/2020/02/more-horrific-details-come-out-in-bianca-devins-murder-that-was-shared-online-to-the-world.html.

[3]  Wikipedia, “Incel”, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Incel.

[4]  Syracuse, “How Bianca Devins, Brandon Clark moved in online worlds of vanity and abuse”, 7/17/19 by Patrick Lohmann and Samantha House, https://www.syracuse.com/crime/2019/07/bianca-devins-online-vanity-harassment-and-memes-shaped-victim-and-suspects-identities.html.

[5]  These men do not seem to realize a major reason they cannot make a romantic connection may be they are so hate-filled.

[6]  YouTube, “Crime Weekly News:  Kim Devins Discusses Bianca’s Law”, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fkFNO90mrXw.

[7]  Spectrum News 1, “Hochul signs ‘Bianca’s Law’, making illegal posting of graphic images of crime victims online” by Luke Parsnow, 12/30/22, https://spectrumlocalnews.com/nys/central-ny/politics/2022/12/30/hochul-signs–bianca-s-law—making-illegal-posting-graphic-images-online.

Part 2 in this series will be posted next week.

FOR MORE OF MY ARTICLES ON POVERTY, POLITICS, AND MATTERS OF CONSCIENCE CHECK OUT MY BLOG A LAWYER’S PRAYERS AT: https://alawyersprayers.com

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May 26, 2024 · 1:00 am

Rape as a Weapon II

WARNING: Graphic Images

“‘Neighbourhoods and homes were continuously attacked, looted, burned and destroyed,’ especially those where Masalit and other African communities lived, and their people were harassed, assaulted, sexually abused, and at times, executed [1A].”

The United Nations confirms that rape is being used as a weapon against women and girls in the Sudanese civil war [1B][2A].

NGOs describe rape as an everyday occurrence, with both warring parties participating, and numbers estimated as high as 4,400 during this latest conflict [2B].  But civil war has been ongoing in Sudan (in three stages) since 1955, and rape has been employed from the outset [3].

“…systemic rape in homes, detention facilities, public checkpoints, and interrogation centres…committed mainly by members of the police force, intelligence officers, interrogators and prison guards…[including] forced nudity, [punitive] virginity test, and sexual torture [4A].”

This tactic is not new.  We have seen it used in Iraq; Rwanda; Syria, Egypt, Libya, and elsewhere in the Middle East during the Arab Spring; in India; and most recently against Israel [4B][5][6][7A][8][9].  In Rwanda, between 100,000 and 250,000 women were raped during the three months of genocide. Continue reading →

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February 25, 2024 · 1:00 am

Sisterhood and Sexual Violence by Hamas

File:MeToo 7.10.2023 (cropped).jpg

Graffiti by Grafitiyul and Guy Morad critical of women’s organizations which ignored testimony by Israeli women regarding rape and sexual violence during Hamas terrorist attacks 10/7/23, Author Nizzan Cohen (Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International).

WARNING:  Graphic Images

The BBC in December 2023 confirmed that it had seen and heard credible evidence of the rape and mutilation of women by Hamas during the October 7 attack on Israel [1].

The overwhelming evidence of savagery included cuts, bruises, broken pelvises, and vaginal tears.  Victims ranged in age from children and teens to retirees.  The majority did not survive.

“[Many victims’ bodies were] found mutilated and bound, with sexual organs brutally attacked, and in some cases, weapons were inserted into them [2A]”.

The Association of Rape Crisis Centers in Israel has now gathered evidence that there were identical patterns of sexual violence at multiple locations [2B].  Some rapes were committed in front of family and friends, to increase the pain and humiliation of victims and their loved ones.  Gang rape followed by murder was not uncommon. Continue reading →

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January 7, 2024 · 1:00 am

Rape and Sexual Assault at the US Coast Guard Academy

File:Seal of the United States Coast Guard.svg

US Coast Guard Seal with motto Semper Paratus (“Always Ready”), Source Navy Reservist (March 2008), (PD)

It is a shame that we must begin the New Year with a focus on misogyny in the military. 

Four courageous women have testified before Congress to the rape, sexual assault, and sexual harassment they were forced to endure at the US Coast Guard Academy with no consequences to the perpetrators [1A]. 

Legally, rape is non-consensual sexual intercourse by physical force, threats, or drugs [2A].  Sexual assault involves any non-consensual sexual contact [2B].  Sexual harassment involves unwelcome sexual advances, requests for sexual favors, verbal or physical intimidation either in the workplace or in an educational setting [3].

  • One woman had to continue living and studying beside the student who had sexually assaulted her [1B].
  • Another attempted suicide after being raped and sexually assaulted by two different classmates [1C].
  • A third woman was groped in front of dozens of laughing onlookers [1D].
  • The fourth woman was actually penalized for the damage which resulted when two students broke down her dorm room door to attack her and her roommate in their beds [1E].

The demeanor of these women was professional, their testimony compelling.  As CNN reports, their stories are not unique. Continue reading →

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March 14, 2021 · 1:00 am

Rape as a Weapon

Femicides in Mexico: Impunity and Protests | Center for Strategic and International Studies

Protester holding sign which reads:  “Don’t Kill Us!”
Photo: ROCIO VAZQUEZ/AFP via Getty Image
WARNING:  Graphic Images

Rape is being used as a weapon in Mexico against women and girls protesting femicide and other gender violence [1].  Women who dress in black or cover their faces – even as a hygiene measure against COVID-19 infection – are viewed as suspect.

Femicide in Mexico

The World Health Organization defines femicide as the intentional murder of women because they are women.

Nearly 3500 femicides were committed in Mexico in 2019 alone [2].  Approximately 10 women are killed everyday by strangulation, suffocation, stabbing, and drowning.  Some 93% of crimes are either not reported or not investigated.

The inaction of Mexico toward this situation has drawn criticism from around the world.

Media Demonization

Women taking part in protests have been demonized by the media.  In this way, authorities have undermined the legitimacy of protest.  To further assure that women know their place, law enforcement uses violence to punish women who dare to take to the streets.

Human Rights Violations

More than two years after a judgment in the case of Women Victims of Sexual Torture in Atenco v. Mexico by the Inter-American Court of Human Rights, Mexico has made little progress in preventing human rights violations against women demonstrators. Continue reading →

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March 26, 2017 · 1:00 am

Semper Fi

US Marine Corps Emblem, Author Institute of Heraldry (PD)

  • As of 2011, there were 203,000 women on active duty in the military; another 129,960 in the National Guard and Reserve [1A].
  • Men and women in the Marine Corps must meet the same standards for combat jobs [2].
  • Though the vast majority of casualties have been men, at least 33 women have been killed in action in Afghanistan and 66 in Iraq. Over 900 women have been wounded in combat [1B].

The Marine Corps has admitted to Congress it is at a loss how to protect female Marines against social media predators [3].

Secretive groups like Marines United and Just the Tip of the Spear have obtained and shared nude photos of female Marines and recruits online [4A].  Other branches of the service are not immune [7].  Hundreds of women are known to have been victimized.

Diminishing Women

This is a way of diminishing women.  Some argue there a culture of misogyny in the Marines.

A Slow Response

Marine veteran and Purple Heart recipient, Thomas Brennan, who runs the nonprofit news organization The War Horse, first drew attention to the problem in January of this year [4B].

The approach by the Marine Corps has been slow, deliberate, and outdated.  Meanwhile, Marines United (which claims some 30,000 members) has repeatedly traded one Facebook page for another.

Continue reading →

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