Have an opinion about something you read in Grrowl? Write and let us know! Send your e-mail to: grrowl@nrrdgrrl.com. Last month's Snarl! about digital harrassment sparked a lot of letters! Here are just a few:



"On your wretched experience with YABM (yet another boorish male): You have my sympathy. I have a 7-year-old daughter who looks like she's going to be a beauty. Her mom and I are wondering just what in hell we can tell her to help her when she grows up and encounters the same "Morons R Us" world. Probably nothing. Better to spend effort and money on martial arts training, I suppose...."

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"Being a chat addict, means harrassment no matter what channel I am in. But my faveorite was one guy that followed me channel to channel(badmouthing me the whole way). Report to irc op? yea right...that never works. Ignore? sure, but then everybody else in the channel reads what he says. Luckily, I have ops staus in most of the channels. So, I kick him. Then I get the cry of "censorship!!!!" Sure, I could change my nick from grrrlx to Al..but that is NOT the point. I am female. I am human. I desearve respect. Sounds easy, huh?"

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"I know it's frustrating...all that the ass-cracks deserve is your pity...perhaps not even that. There is not a day that goes by that I EVER regret being a girl...in fact, I revel in the thought that, as the female sex, I will always be envied by men...for precisely all the reasons that make me a nrrd grrl (although they often show it with a perverted reaction). "

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"Well, you don't know me well, but I will have to say that you have heard from one woman who has NOT gotten a "digital come-on" because of her web page. NOW! the other side of the coin: IRC - The Internet Relay Chat. God! It's like the meat market and pickup joint of the internet.

I am constantly having to do the ignore command on many individuals. I will have to say tho', that I am quite lucky. I can usually let the fellow (Or, sometimes woman. Yes, I have been "hit on" by lesbian and bisexual women) that I am not interested, and they go away.

I know how much this sucks. I know a few guys on IRC that they use a "female" sounding nick for a few days just to see what it was like to be on the 'Net as a "woman". They have much more empathy for women on line now, and, as well in real life.

It is unfortunate that men can't go through being a woman and being harassed for real. They seriously don't think there is anything wrong with it. Men just don't think that way. (Well, some don't atleast.) Especially, in my most humble opinion, when they write email. There is the lame "argument" that, "oh, but I'm not doing this to her face so what's so wrong with this?"

There will always be stupid people around, I have learned, and like you said in your article about the Internet being a microcosm of our society, representatives from all types will abound."

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"Who hasn't been harassed by some jerk on the net?I mean,it would seem to me that it's a rather common occurance.I'm only 16 but I've gotten so much shit from guys that it seems amazing.I'm not just talking about those living, breathing hormones we like to call teenage guys either. What I've actually had the most trouble from are adult men who for some reason think that it would be amazingly cool to get a teenage girl. Come on...now how messed up is that??? Very,if you ask me. And then when you turn down the offer they immediately become offended and start spouting off about what a bitch you are...only not in so nice a way. A guy's ego is a very delicate thing from what I've seen."

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"Did getting upset and/or frustrated and/or pissed off/on make any difference? Not likely. Didn't change any thing. But ruined your day, maybe your month. Please don't misunderstand, for the most part I agree with your statements; but they're as true today as they were 2500 years ago and will be 2500 years from now. There are really only three ways to remedy the situation:

1. Eliminate all the men!
2. Get a sex change operation.
3. Learn to handle it.

You choose. Seems to me that it also works both ways."

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"Visiting Nrrdgrrl for the first time- haven't browsed too much yet, but I like what I see. Just read your Growl- haven't been harrassed on-line (yet) but what you're saying just hits me in the guts. Part of the power of this medium is the anonymity (sp? I really wish my e-mail had spell check....), yet even in virtual space women aren't free of male bullshit. As a dyke, I try not to spend too much of my time head-tripping about men and their oppressive presence in the world; (whoah Nellie, don't want to sound too radical lesbian feminist here....) I am not about to waste a lot of time bemoaning the fate of women and wearing the victim veil. However, just seems like there's no way around it- too many men push into our faces and any spare inch of space around us whenever they choose. So what's a girl (grrl, gyrl, gurl) to do?"

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