Just as HC writer, Julia Hoyt, pointed out the problems with the trendy app Yik Yak a couple weeks ago, I would like to reiterate the particularly negative effects against women, especially since all users remain anonymous. Yik Yak states offensive posts are against the rules, so are ones that bully and target specific yakkers. Women, I assume, make up a large portion of participants, so why is it allowable for yaks labeling them as “sluts,” “whores,” and other derogatory terms that clearly break at least two of the very few rules listed on the app? And furthermore, why then is the University of Iowa stream drenched in sexist comments that are repeatedly up voted? Since the app is so popular it also emphasizes how much students don’t seem too bothered by such comments. Only yaks that discuss sexual assault, rape or very explicit derogatory statements are held accountable, not the microagressions that spawn every hour.
Racism, homophobia and bigotry run rampant as well. And a possible response to the presence of offensive Yaks is that it’s all a joke, and that they want to get a rise out of people. I guess I find no humor in the consistent degradation of minorities. I do, however, find comfort in the little wins, the responses to sexist Yaks, or the down voting.
As Hoyt warns in the conclusion of her article, “whatever messages you post will never be 100% anonymous.” Already, students around the country face criminal punishment for posting violent threats against their school.
Clearly sexist comments persist and the anonymity of the interface fosters such an environment, but I ask why more women are not down voting offensive yaks? Why not use the anonymity to our advantage too, I keep asking myself as I scour the pages. Yes, I enjoy reading Yaks, I like reading funny stories about campus, about restaurants, about how much studying sucks, but that always comes with the price of witnessing just how chauvinistic comments can be normalized in our everyday life.
This sexism persists around the country; here are a few from the list of most popular Yaks of all time:
There exists no way to remedy the situation immediately; Yik Yak remains too popular. But I hope that through down voting, and taking the time to consider how an anonymous post that you may consider funny really affects those around you.