The impact of online misogyny on young women’s sense of self: An interpretative phenomenological analysis

Misogyny is the hatred toward women through the words and actions of both men and women, and online misogyny (OM) is the dissemination of this in digital spaces. Research is increasing in this field; however, the current research seems to lack in-depth understandings of the impacts OM has on women. This is indicative of both qualitative and quantitative studies within the field, particularly, the qualitative research appears to quantify women’s experiences. Consequently, the current study utilises Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis (IPA) to explore young women’s experiences of OM. Overall, four women ages twenty-one to twenty-four participated in the study. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with each participant, and the interview data was analysed using the seven steps of IPA. Three themes were identified in the analysis, these were: ‘Navigating and Making sense of Misogyny Online’, ‘Online Misogyny evoking Mental and Physical shifts in the self”, and ‘“A way to walk knowing myself”: Rebuilding Self-worth after Misogynistic Abuse Online’. The themes captured how young women made sense of their OM experiences. The findings enhanced previous findings of the impacts of OM in a more nuanced and ideographical manner. The potential real world impact of OM entering real life spaces are discussed which in extreme cases could be rape and/or murder. Additionally, the limitations of the study were outlined as well as future research directions of exploring power within digital spaces using discourse analysis.