MISOGYNY AND HATE SPEECH: A netnographic study on WhatsApp

Leite, Raquel Pereira Rodrigues; Botelho-Francisco, Rodrigo Eduardo

doi:10.1590/1809-58442026126pt

person Raquel Pereira Rodrigues Leite

PhD candidate in Communication (PPGCOM-UFPR) and lecturer at the Business School of PUCPR. Her research focuses on digital platforms and hate speech. She is a member of the Information & Media Lab - InfoMedia research group. She holds a degree in Journalism from PUCPR and a Master's degree in Communication from UFPR. · Conceptualization · Data curation · Formal analysis · Investigation · Methodology · Visualization · Writing – original draft

schoolFederal University of Paraná; Pontifical Catholic University of Paraná, Curitiba (PR) – Brazil

0000-0001-7929-9380

person Rodrigo Eduardo Botelho-Francisco

Associate Professor in the Department of Information Science and Management at the Federal University of Paraná (UFPR), with a Habilitation in Information and Technology from the Faculty of Philosophy, Sciences and Letters of Ribeirão Preto, USP. PhD in Communication Sciences from the School of Communication and Arts at USP; with postdoctoral studies at the Complutense University of Madrid and the Autonomous University of Barcelona. · Supervision · Validation · Writing – review and editing

schoolFederal University of Paraná, Curitiba (PR) – Brazil

0000-0002-4772-9398

Corresponding author: Raquel Pereira Rodrigues Leite. E-mail:
raquelprleite@gmail.com

Editors Responsible for reception, desk review and evaluation

Ana Paula Goulart de Andrade (UFRRJ)

Jorge Carlos Felz Ferreira (UFJF)

Editors-in-Chief

Dr. Marialva Barbosa – Federal University of Rio de Janeiro (UFRJ)

Dr. Sonia Virginia Moreira – Rio de Janeiro State University (UERJ)

Executive Editors

Dr. Jorge C. Felz Ferreira – Federal University of Juiz de Fora (UFJF)

Dr. Ana Paula Goulart de Andrade – Federal Rural University of Rio de Janeiro (UFRRJ)

Associate Editor

Dr. Sandro Torres de Azevedo – Federal University of Rio de Janeiro (UFRJ)

Conflict of Interest

The authors certify that they have no commercial or associative interests that represent a conflict of interest regarding the manuscript.

	Professional profile	Area of expertise
Specialist X	University professor and researcher	Online hate speech and digital platforms
Specialist Y	PhD candidate and researcher	Cyberfeminism, net-activism, and digital games
Specialist Z	University professor and researcher	Hate speech and digital media

Category	Key Concept	Incidence	Examples of Words	Context	Theoretical Operator
Dehumanization	Power	30 messages containing hate speech related to the dehumanization and animalization of women	Bitch, cow, orca, whale, trash, dragon	Offenses that reduce women to animals, trash, dragons, or offerings, whether based on appearance or behavior within the group	Richardson-Self (2021)
Ridicule	Power	21 messages that mock, ridicule, and make fun of women based on behavior, age, or physical appearance	Old woman, nursing home, sagging breasts	Attacks directed at women who are part of the group and interact with it but do not conform to a beauty standard	Zanello (2018)
Harassment / Objectification of Women	Power	19 messages demanding the sending of intimate photos and constant sexualization of these women	Naked, breasts, tits, pussy	From the moment women enter the group, there are requests for photos and references to sexual relations	Zanello (2018); Richardson-Self (2018; 2021)
Silencing / Misogyny	Subordination	5 messages that induce women to remain silent	Shut up, be quiet, take this and be quiet, no	In situations where women act differently than expected, there is pressure for them not to express themselves or not to be “unpleasant”	Butler (2021); Richardson-Self (2018; 2021)
Attack and incitement to violence	Misogyny	16 messages with content involving physical violence	Beating, bullet, whore, slut, smash	Threats and insults related to women’s moral conduct, physical violence, and references to rape	Arendt (2020); Zanello (2018); Segato (2021); Richardson-Self (2018)
Closest woman	Patriarchy	36 messages containing hate speech directed at mothers, sisters, or girlfriends of group members	Your mother, sister, girlfriend, cousin	Attacks directed at the women closest to male group members as a way to offend them	Zanello (2020); Richardson-Self (2021)

[1] Source: the authors (2024).