kfaddoul-blog

[kfaddoul-blog]

We Need To Stop Using the Term “White Knighting”

I have grown up involved in the gaming community, and am no stranger to this phrase used towards men who have defended women against harassment. I have fortunately not dealt with very many trolls myself, and have only been harassed online in minuscule ways. I have had friends, however, who have experienced extreme harassment online in sexual, political, and social manners.

 I have always been thankful for not only other women, but for the men who stood up for these women being targeted by online trolls. But then, I would be disgusted again when the trolls turned around and claimed the man was “white knighting” just so he could heighten his chances of getting sexual and intimate with the woman he defended. I always thought the phrase was not only rude and tasteless, but also idiotic beyond compare. The majority of people who play together in online communities live in completely different parts of the country and even the world.... so trolls claiming men defending women are just “white knighting” for sexual pleasures are ridiculous. I do understand that because we live in a digital age, the man “white knighting” could in fact ask for sexual photos or videos from the woman that he “saved” from online trolls... but from person experience, most of these men have no ulterior motive other than helping out someone who is usually being unfairly attacked.

I hope one day the gaming community instead commends those who stand up for one another, instead of condemning them and assuming their intentions are clouded with other goals. However, I sadly don’t see the online world heading in that direction anytime soon.

[kfaddoul-blog]

This is a helpful stop motion, claymation video explaining the basics of intersectionality and where the idea came from. It can honestly be an eye-opener to people who haven’t thought too much about the connectedness of people’s identities.

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After reading about the different cultures on Twitter like Black Twitter and Latino Twitter, it made me wonder what other cultures were being shared via social media. I found out there is also #ArabTwitter. Although it is small, there is now a space where I can go to socialize with other people talking about my culture.

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When sites are overrun by trolls, they drown out the voices of women, ethnic and religious minorities, gays--anyone who might feel vulnerable.

Joel Stein, reporter for Time.com

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According to this article from the Pew Research Center, about 40% of Americans experience some form of online harassment, however, women tend to feel the emotional impacts of the harassment more intensely than men.