Great article: "Behind Every Bullied Woman Is a Man Yelling About Free Speech"
Seems especially appropriate for GD of late...
http://jezebel.com/behind-every-bullied-woman-is-a-man-yelling-about-free-1629502544?rev=1409671878616
"Male web denizens are wont to throw their palms upward and declare that nothing can be done, that this is just how things are. Bullshit. Something can always be done; reticence is a symptom of thinking that women's needs aren't important. Reddit (and other website) admins and employees aren't responsible for the underlying attitude that women's bodies are there for men to ogle and use as they see fit. But they are in a position to eliminate their forum as an outlet of expression for that socially metastatic attitude. Apple employees can't stop people from taking pictures of their hot-ass bodies naked. But they can prioritize security that prevents those photos from getting into the wrong hands.
In their inaction in the face of web harassment of women, mostly male architects of internet communities imply that it would be more of a burden for people who harass women on the internet to face a modicum of accountability than it is for women to deal with the sort of harassment that makes them afraid to go home at night. A user's right to remain unidentified and unpunished after they post an illegally obtained picture of Jennifer Lawrence's nude body trumps Jennifer Lawrence's right to not have illegally obtained photos of her nude body distributed to millions of strangers. An user's right to anonymously tell Amanda Hess that he'd like to rape her trumps her right to not be threatened with rape. Internet users' right to look at pictures Mary Winstead took for her husband trumps Mary Winstead's right to specify who gets to look at her nude body.
I'm starting to think that maybe men on the internet don't think that women are actually people. There's really no other way to explain the horrifying lack of empathy so many of them show, time and time again, when women of all levels of fame are treated like they exist to be bullied and mocked.
The sort of free speech that is used only to silence others isn't free speech at all. It's harassment, and it's indefensible."
* * * *
I haven't been on DU much lately, but some of you may remember me and may recall that I am a huge proponent of cooperatives -- member and worker-owned cooperatives.
What about a women-owned and run message board community?
One in which the owners and admins are women who cover a cross-section of all minority subgroups...race, ethnicity, nationality, religion, sexual orientation, etc.
It wouldn't be FOR women only, of course, as open-minded respectful men are certainly welcome to discuss the issues and events that impact all members of the human race, but it would be run by women only. Progressive liberal women who come from a place of love and respect towards all and expect the same in return.
I've had this on the back burner for a while. It may be time to give this serious attention.
Women of DU, please send me a message if interested. 
= new reply since forum marked as read
I appreciate your posts, especially of late, boston bean.
Thanks for the link.
