MAY 7 • 2020 | 21
or respond to anyone, and she
wasn’
t able to ward off current
abusers.
“I couldn’
t say what length of
time a quarantine is because it
always got unlocked when I gave
it push back,
” she says. But when
her accounts were reinstated
after she sent emails, she’
d lost all
her history, she says, along with
any documentation of harass-
ment.
The majority of people don’
t
realize this is happening,
” James
says. “That’
s why I want to
expose it.
” A lot of men do sup-
port her activism, she says, but
others don’
t think online abuse
toward women is a real problem.
“It’
s going to take national
news and millions of women on
board,
” she says. In regard to the
AWOL movement, she’
s hoping
something will come of it but
says, “I don’
t think the guys will
notice. They’
ll just go after prey
that’
s available.
”
“Going after” women through
cyberflashing in particular
causes harm that’
s highly under-
stated, says Alexandra Deans,
a third-year sociology student
at the University of Glasgow in
Scotland. “People don’
t under-
stand that it’
s actually quite trau-
matic.
”
“If someone was to flash me in
real life, they’
d be charged with a
crime,
” she says. “But if that hap-
pens in a private message online,
there’
s no protection there for
women.
”
Yet, some states are taking
action. Texas deemed cyber-
flashing illegal last fall, resulting
in a fine of up to $500. A sim-
ilar bill has been proposed in
California.
Deans says her “morbid inter-
est” in cyber dating comes from
meeting her husband on Tinder.
She writes academically about
topics like toxic masculinity and
the absence of online safety laws
for women. But, she says her
experience six years ago differed
greatly from what her friends go
through on dating apps now.
“I’
m blown away from the
kind of responses they receive
from men,
” she says. “With the
younger generation, where dat-
ing apps are now becoming the
new norm of meeting people,
I’
m scared they’
ll think this is
how dating interaction should
be.
“That’
s why Sarey’
s move-
ment is so important,
” she says,
explaining that a friend brought
it to her attention a year ago. “It
says, ‘
No, this is not right. There
needs to be systemic change, and
legal change, to support women.
“It’
s also really important just
for women to come together
across the world, to under-
stand this is not just something
that happens in America or
Scotland,
” she says.
If Ruden doesn’
t have the
backing to create legal change
just yet, Deans says she hopes
Ruden will continue to organize,
and that the movement will “get
bigger and bigger every time.
”
“They won’
t pay attention
until they have to,
” Ruden says.
“But this idea is something
that’
s really important. Sareytales
is me personally — it’
s my art,
it’
s my brand. (The AWOL
movement) is something that’
s
just happening through me; it’
s
something much more univer-
sal.
”
This culture has to stop, she
says. “Dating platforms aren’
t
selling love or even dating …
they’
re selling women.
”
©2020 Hadassah, The Women’s Zionist Organization of America, Inc. Hadassah, the H logo, and Hadassah the Power of
Women Who Do are registered trademarks of Hadassah, The Women’s Zionist Organization of America, Inc.
HADASSAH, THE WOMEN’S ZIONIST ORGANIZATION OF AMERICA, INC.
HADASSAH GREATER DETROIT
HADASSAH
DO.