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Are women still welcome on Twitter/X? I ask because recent moves by Elon Musk, the owner of the social media platform, suggest that they are not.
Some amphibian-faced Silicon Valley dude is using all his wisdom to try to remove the ability to completely block other users, which has all the hallmarks of a decision made in an echo chamber with fewer X chromosomes than the name would suggest.
The rollback of the tool means, in Musk’s words, that “the block feature blocks the account from engaging with your public posts, but it doesn’t block you from viewing them.” In other words, you can no longer stop someone from viewing a post you’ve shared, even if they can’t reply to you directly.
Well, that’s fine. Why worry about inconvenient little details like who the blocking feature actually helps and which users might actually be harmed by its removal? That’s their problem, isn’t it? Shouldn’t social media platforms provide some level of protection?
Instead, it’s your responsibility to not share anything you wouldn’t want that guy who always replies with an eggplant emoji to see — even if it’s a comment on the state of public transportation, news of a promotion at work, or your latest academic paper. Got it, ladies?
This move will surely raise a lot of men’s eyebrows, but trust me, it’s because of this blocking feature that many women like me feel comfortable using social media in the first place. And the numbers are falling: According to an Ipsos Mori survey, 44% of UK Twitter/X users were female in 2018. By January of this year, that percentage had fallen to 38%, and I expect it to continue to plummet if the platform continues in this direction.
Removing the ability to block sends us a particularly ominous message: one of entitlement: “You have the right to block us. We have a right to know what you have to say. Know your place.”
Honestly? If I couldn’t block all the annoying men who thought it was natural to approach me and tell me what a nice blouse I wore on TV, I don’t know if I’d still be trolling Twitter/X. Not that I have any victim mentality, but rather that I don’t have to face creepy, sexually suggestive, sometimes anti-Semitic, and sometimes threatening comments every time I log onto social media to share something about my work or my cat. Is that really too much to ask?
What if I hadn’t been able to block the man who tweeted calling me a “bursted fire hose of period blood” and the many others who told me to go back to the kitchen or bedroom? I know there are many other examples, I just can’t remember the details. That’s the point. By blocking, you remove these individuals (and unfortunately, it’s always men) from your space, allowing you to tweet in peace, knowing they can no longer see what you do or say.
Being a journalist puts me above many in my line of work, but this can affect any woman on Twitter/X. What about that old colleague who stalked me on various social platforms, trying to contact me and meet up with increasingly bizarre messages? Every time I got one, my stress levels skyrocketed. The fact that I could so easily block his window into my life relieved the stress.
What if my female friend hadn’t been able to block her stalker in real life? She barely tweeted, but the idea that this person might know of her online presence added another layer to an already terrifying ordeal.
Of course, “just block” is not a foolproof solution to online harassment. Anyone serious about tracking or stalking someone online will find a way. We need to address the root causes of such behavior. But this will take time, and considering that we are currently living in a social media lawless zone, any obstacle is welcome. If we can ban such users, even better.
Removing the ability to block other users is short-sighted at best: why bother taking out a restraining order when a person can just stand on the edge of the victim’s house?
Don’t get us wrong: removing this feature would make harassment even easier. Trolls would be able to see their targets’ posts and take screenshots to share with their own followers. This would once again open the door to fomenting dangerous, reputation-destroying mob attacks on social media. Any woman who has been in the midst of rape or death threats on this platform would agree.
Yes, if someone you blocked really wants to see your posts, they can currently create a new account to do so. But how many people would actually do that? The blocking feature is not only a deterrent for the blocked person, but also a relief for the blocker. In a context where the negative real-world effects of social media should be less apparent, removing the feature seems not only counterintuitive, but just plain wrong.
So who is this actually for, and how does it improve Twitter/X?
One can’t help but wonder if it’s a coincidence that this move comes just weeks after Musk mocked Republican candidate J.D. Vance’s “childless cat lady” comments in response to his endorsement of Kamala Harris for US president, tweeting, “Got it, Taylor… you win… I’ll give you kids and protect your cats to the death,” a post that Hillary Clinton called “vulgar and creepy.”
Did Swift block him from her platform? Was this the reaction of a petulant child throwing its toys out of its stroller because the most famous woman in the world denied him access to her posts?
Last year, Musk called the feature “pointless” and threatened to remove the ability for users to block others altogether outside of direct messages. How long will it take before the feature is removed completely, removing the last line of defense for women on social media without them being pushed out? But maybe that was the plan all along.