"Gendertrolling arises out of the same misogyny that fuels other "real life" forms of harassment and abuse of women. This book explains this phenomenon, the way it can impact women's lives, and how it can be stopped. Designed to educate the general public on a popular and brutal form of harassment against women, Gendertrolling: How Misogyny Went Viral provides key insight into this Internet phenomenon. The book not only differentiates this violent form of trolling from others but also discusses the legal parameters surrounding the issue, such as privacy, anonymity, and free speech online as well as offering legal and policy recommendations for improving the climate for women online. The analysis of social media and legal aspects of the book make it highly suitable as a reliable source to many modern classes. Additionally, increased awareness among the general and scholarly public of the phenomenon of gendertrolling would help galvanize widespread support for laws, policies, new online content provider protocols, and positive social pressure." -- Publisher's description

"You may be surfing the internet and come across a topic being discussed in the comments of an article that you care deeply about, say, perhaps, recycling. You read people debating whether it really makes a difference to recycle, given the scope of environmental problems on the planet. Fair enough. But then someone starts contributing what seem to you as inane or irrational posts. This person writes that he (you won't know the gender, but trolls are most often male) never recycles and encourages his friends not to recycle, even going so far as to throw unrecyclable materials in recycling containers he sees so as to destroy others' attempts at recycling. He expresses scorn for people who care about the planet and swears that he leaves his car running "just to piss off those dirty eco-hippies." You become incensed and start explaining to him that environmental concerns are real and provide data and links to sites with solid and well-researched information about environmental issues. But it seems that the more information you provide, the more outrageous his claims are and the more insulting he becomes. You become angry and insult him back, telling him he is illogical, stupid, and obtuse, and asking him to educate himself on these topics. But he continues to spout his insulting and infuriating nonsense. In response, you become increasingly frustrated, but nothing you say seems to have any effect on his stance. In all probability, you've been trolled"-- Provided by publisher.