Gender-based harassment in cyberspace. The case of Pikara magazine

Abstract

The internet has brought about a radical change in the way people communicate and relate to each other. Widespread use of this new system of communication has resulted in a shift in conventional attitudes in human relations. Some of its features are anonymity, virality or disinhibition, which in turn determine norms of interaction. This paper offers an analysis of gender-based harassment on the internet, using the case of Pikara Magazine (a Spanish feminist electronic magazine). The comments posted on this online magazine during 2015 have been analysed from a qualitative perspective (using grounded theory methodology), focusing on discovering the major discursive categories related to harassment behaviours, as well as the different strategies of response and resistance. The categories identified make up a system to be contrasted on future analysis. Finally, different ways of tackling this phenomenon through the social work discipline are also considered.