Regular readers of this blog would be aware that I tend to get a bit riled about the way that men are consistently portrayed as the perpetrators of anti-social behaviour, whilst their many good deeds are often taken for granted. Women, on the other hand, are far more likely to be portrayed as the victims of abuse or negative discrimination whilst their countless infractions are continually white-washed or minimised.
I just came across a post in a blog that reflected this sort of bias, a picture from which is provided below.
The post provides some tips on how observers might intervene in ways that would hopefully diffuse a volatile and potentially violent situation. That’s a positive thing. Unfortunately however, the blogger tainted an otherwise potentially valuable message with a goodly measure of gender bias, portraying:
- Men as the aggressors
- Women as the victims of male aggression
- Women as the rescuers of women suffering male aggression
(Disclaimer: I recognise that the followers of Islam do not constitute a ‘race’. I also appreciate that in the context of anti-Islamic abuse, women are more likely to be singled-out due to their distinctive clothing.)
That said, in the broader context of racially-motivated abuse in public places, it would seem that:
- Women are just as likely, if not more likely, to engage in taunting or abuse
- Men are just as likely, if not more likely, to intervene to stop abuse (example)
And indeed I’ve seen evidence of many nasty incidents involving girls/women unleashing racist rants on others. Obviously some men are also racists, but I have noticed relatively few stories with men as perpetrators. Why might this be so? Could it be, for example, that women consider themselves relatively immune from harsh intervention by victims and/or bystanders? I’m thinking here of possible underlying factors such as entitlement, the pussy-pass, and ‘it’s different when a woman does it‘.
Here are some links to relevant articles:
High-end wedding photographer and family shocked as they’re berated with sickening ‘racist’ insults from fellow United passenger (2 December 2024)
‘It was a mistake’: Woman ordered to pay tradie $6000 after calling him ‘Jackie Chan’ in anti-discrimination case (22 November 2024)
Japanese tourist visiting Australia racially abused in vile rant (21 March 2024)
What Sam Kerr allegedly said to a police officer revealed (7 March 2024) and then before you know it the media inform us that the public are cheering on Ms Kerr … ‘National icon’: Australians defend Sam Kerr after details of slur emerges. Oh how very different things would be were genders swapped
Are women really ‘Central to Global Peace’? The tale of Sarah Douglas (22 February 2024)
Four girls aged 11 to 15 charged after vicious brawl at Burwood Station caught on video (12 February 2024) Australia
Woman fired after telling German tourists on train to ‘get out’ of US (6 October 2023)
Drunk Muslim woman, 20, who brawled at bowling alley and called police ‘f****** whites’ (25 July 2023)
White ex-University of Kentucky student indicted for viral racist attack (25 February 2023)
Asian-American woman using the N-word on the subway (undated video on Twitter) Vile language warning
Ex-Kentucky student Sophia Rosing indicted by grand jury after racist assault captured on viral video (23 February 2023)
‘Ryde, emphasis on Ryde’: Woman lashes out at innocent staff in ugly rant (20 February 2023)
‘Rude’: America ‘disgusted’ by group of young women in viral video (20 February 2023)
Woman unleashes racist rant on Sydney light rail (17 November 2022)
‘Actually shaking’: Model and influencer Lizzie Cao racially abused in Sydney car park (1 September 2022)
Aussie fisherman films racist joke at Sydney show (3 August 2022) Karen’s male partner does most of the talking in this episode where humor goes to die
Vile woman bit mum in disgraceful attack in front of son, 4, after racist rant (2 August 2022) UK
Newsreader Tracy Vo’s shocking racist encounter (26 July 2022)
Police: Suspects attacked woman on bus in Queens, made anti-white statements (15 July 2022)
Shocking details of Liz Cambage’s pre-Olympic outburst finally revealed (29 May 2022)
‘Not American’: NBA star Norman Powell films woman harassing him at a gym (26 May 2022)
Driver goes viral for refusing ride for woman over ‘racist’ remarks (17 May 2022)
Police will now investigate woman who ‘hit a boy, 12, with a paddle because he was black’ (11 May 2022)
‘Aliens’: New Zealand woman’s racist rant on Auckland city street (28 April 2022)
‘We’re going to find him’: Osaka explains racist history behind on-court tears after fan’s insult (13 March 2022) Except it wasn’t a “him”, it was a her
Influencer Jade Tuncdoruk’s Uber Eats rant prompts publicists to pull her from invites list (22 January 2022)
Bra tycoon Michelle Mone sued for $378K over ‘racist’ message (12 January 2022)
Underwear model, 24, filmed screaming racist slur outside nightclub on Boxing Day as cops investigate (31 December 2021)
Female Muslim student at Fairfax High School involved with false allegation of an alleged hate crime (19 December 2021) See related Twitter thread here.
Victoria’s Secret shopper filmed lunging at another customer (news.com.au) (15 July 2021)
‘White privilege’: Amazon deliver driver allegedly attacks customer (news.com.au) (6 June 2021)
Dane Frances De Leon in Brisbane Magistrates Court for public nuisance at refugee protest | The Courier Mail (3 June 2021)
Israel and Palestine conflict: Prime Minister Scott Morrison’s warning to Australians (news.com.au) (13 May 2021) Woman carrying a burning Israeli flag down the street
‘Get Off My Train:’ Woman Deals Woman Head Blow in Possible Subway Hate Crime (5 May 2021) USA
Teacher’s ‘horrible’ racist rant recorded after she failed to hang up after Zoom call (28 March 2021) USA
City Council candidate Susan Lee pushed down subway stairs in random attack (25 March 2021) USA
Pregnant woman hit with ‘rampage of racial slurs’ while waiting for scan (24 March 2021) Australia
‘Disturbing and unacceptable’: American Airlines responds to flight diversion over racial slur (2 March 2021)
Sister of Christchurch victim films racist rant (29 December 2020) NZ
Woman caught on video telling black neighbor to ‘act like a white person’ (19 November 2020) USA
‘We don’t take blacks’: Melbourne woman booted from Airbnb over disgusting texts (9 November 2020) Australia
‘Inferior’: British wife ordered to pay $180k for racial abuse of Aussie Duncan Bendall (9 September 2020) May not have ranted in a public place, but nevertheless, ewww. And a feminist too, it would appear
Woman goes on racist tirade at three black joggers on an LA beach and calls 911 claiming they ‘assaulted her’ (3 September 2020) USA
Racist thug flashes boobs at kebab shop workers and accuses them of rape in vile rant (28 July 2020)
‘Karen’ shouts anti-Asian slurs at post office employee in shocking video (28 July 2020) USA
‘Racist’ CEO who terrorised Asian family slammed over apology (10 July 2020) It’s great that the waitress stood up for this Asian family, but can you imagine people contributing to a GoFundMe page for a man doing the same thing?
This Caucasian woman didn’t get the response she was anticipating when she called another woman the ‘n’ word (25 June 2020) USA video
Black Lives Matter: Lisa Alexander’s husband fire after filming encounter (17 June 2020)
This woman doesn’t like Hawaiians (13 June 2020) Video, and this woman doesn’t like someone else (Video)
Furious Woolworths customer hurls shopping baskets and some VERY foul language at staff and security as shocked shoppers look on (12 June 2020) Australia
Woman spits on black teenager during protest march (9 June 2020) USA
“We speak English here!” (2 June 2020) USA woman objects to people listening to Mexican music in the park (Tweet)
Woman who called the police on man in Central Park stood down from job after video goes viral (27 May 2020) USA
Bystanders shut down woman during racist rant in Melbourne (8 May 2020)
Coronavirus: Melbourne woman’s racist rant at Chinese bubble tea shop (6 May 2020) Australia
Doctor calls for unity during coronavirus pandemic after being targeted in racist attack (20 April 2020)
Victoria police search for women caught on camera attacking Chinese students (18 April 2020)
Woman tells Telstra worker to ‘go back to China’ in racist attack (10 April 2020)
‘Asian dog, you brought corona here’: Young women racially abused, spat on in Sydney street (31 March 2020)
Police: Niles woman charged with hate crime after hitting 87-year-old with purse (10 March 2020) Ranting and then some
‘Racist’ abuse towards New Zealand train conductor slammed by passengers (28 February 2020)
The journalist at a Trump Press conference doesn’t need to rant, we can guess what she’s thinking. See @flightcrew Twitter account on 27 February 2020
Leftists at the University of Virginia are dictating who is and who isn’t allowed in the new Multicultural Student Centre (13 February 2020) Video
Woman Who Spat On Bus Driver’s Face In Lengthy Meltdown Avoids Prison (13 February 2020)
Woman yells racist slurs, spits on and assaults hotel receptionist (27 November 2019)
‘Speak English in Canada,’ woman rants at Asian staff in B.C. drugstore (30 October 2019)
Actor Nakkiah Lui calls out shocking racism in Sydney supermarket (23 October 2019)
British woman grounds flight after calling Muslim passengers ‘terrorists’ (15 July 2019)
‘White trash b***h: ACA reveals audio recording of model’s assault of flight attendant (27 June 2019)
When actions move beyond words … this female international student was assaulted in Melbourne CBD and told to leave Australia … details in this tweet (26 March 2019)
Straphanger makes citizen’s arrest after hell beaks loose on subway (14 December 2018)
Simone O’Broin: Lawyer in wine-rage rant arrested after plane lands (15 November 2018)
Women yells obscenities at family speaking Spanish at Virginia restaurant (23 October 2018) USA
Missouri Woman Fired For Blocking Black Man From Entering Apartment Complex (15 October 2018)
Southwest Airlines Passenger Called Flight Attendant the N-Word (2 October 2018)
Tweet regarding racist rant at public pool (27 June 2018)
Air force fires waitress over racist video (17 June 2018)
After Racist Tweet, Roseanne Barr’s Show Is Cancelled by ABC (29 May 2018)
Video of woman bashing up allegedly racist woman in Florida goes viral (27 August 2017) USA
Vancouver SkyTrain Passenger Goes On Racist Rant, Gets Called Out By Riders (25 August 2017) Woman does a racist rant and boy comes to the defence of those who she targeted
Student sentenced over racist attack on Muslim woman caught on film (4 August 2017)
Airbnb host fined, ordered to take college course after turning away Asian guest (14 July 2017)
This July 2017 article “based on 243 cases of verified Islamophobic incidents collected over 14 months in 2014-15” suggests that “perpetrators were three times more likely to be male“. I’m more than a little dubious.
Woman’s Islamophobic rant on Sydney bus caught on video (4 June 2017)
Walmart racist shopper’s rant against Latina and black woman (24 May 2017) USA
Airlines after hurling vile insults at Sydney family (23 May 2017)
Four Sydney Muslim women attacked in Broadway (11 May 2017) Australia
Woman reportedly told shopper in Va. store: ‘I wish they didn’t let you in the country’ (May 2017) USA
Racist footy fan exposes unhealthy obsession (12 April 2017)
Teen filmed attacking a Chinese man with a chisel on a Sydney train is set for jail (16 March 2017)
‘I’m not sending a lady to prison for this’: Student spared jail after racist slurs during Notting Hill club rampage (14 March 2017) UK
Party-loving teacher marched off flight after drunken outburst (1 February 2017)
Woman captured on camera abusing a Muslim student wearing a niqab: ‘Take it off, you terrorist’ (22 January 2017) Australia
Woman abuses Coles supermarket staff in Melton (5 January 2017)
Girl, 17, fined after unleashing foul-mouthed tirade on tram traveling on Port Road on Boxing Day (30 December 2016) Lacking obvious racial overtone but otherwise similar in character to the other incidents reported here
‘Invading our country’: Racist rant on Adelaide public bus caught on video (20 November 2016) with follow-up article here
Another racist rant by a woman on public transport (29 October 2016)
Port Adelaide fan who threw banana at Eddie Betts banned ‘indefinitely’ (22 August 2016)
Woman jailed for racially abusing teenage girl on Sydney train (13 April 2016)
Woman accused of racial abuse (16 January 2016) Australian video
Another racist rant – and threatened violence – by a woman on a train (28 December 2015) Australia
Another racist rant by a woman travelling on public transport (19 December 2015) Australia
Racist abuse on a Sydney bus left Lindsay Li fearing for her safety (25 September 2015) Australia
Stacey Eden defended a Muslim woman who was being verbally abused on a Sydney train (17 April 2015) Villain and hero are both women in this story
Disturbing video emerges of horror racist attack on Perth family (1 April 2015)
From “Women assault elderly man” to “Shame on men” in easy steps (1 March 2014) Why many men would choose not to strike back at racist wrong-doers
Psycho Chick fights with pregnant passenger on Perth commuter train (14 June 2013) Video Australia
Woman’s racist rant on train (3 July 2014)
Woman’s racist rant on bus (26 June 2013)
Goodes abuse: teen didn’t know ‘ape’ was racist, says McGuire (27 May 2013)
Woman’s racist rant on train (19 April 2013)
I also noticed that if you search on the words ‘racist rant by woman‘ on YouTube you get 165,000 results. If you search on ‘racist rant by man’, you get 317,000 results but the search results for the latter appear to capture video clips for both ‘man’ and ‘wo(man)’.
Elsewhere in this blog you might also be interested in:
Differing public response to partner violence depending on gender of victim
On violence perpetrated, or instigated, by women and girls
I thought women were meant to be more empathetic?
