Thank you for your courage Cassandra, this is so powerful. So much respect to you for how you carry yourself in the world and, of course, your writing. We’re all here to write and yet authors identifying as female consistently have this c**p to deal with. I have a good thirty years on you and I had believed that women had earned more respect. As a mother of two young women, I’m so saddened and angry that the world seems to view women as it did in the 50’s. “You might be an author but you’re real pretty”. Ffs...that any author should have their work used as a route to be harassed and stalked is utterly unacceptable.
I would say, “keep being you”, but I don’t need to, I know you will, as I know you will speak out and support anyone, male or female who is approached inappropriately. And that’s why I’ll always admire you xx
Great piece. I hate that this awful and unacceptable behaviour happens to so many women - I am reasonably new to social media having resisted joining it for a long time. I have to say, for the most part it has been positive - I am a voracious reader and I have found some amazing authors on Twitter, a lot of whom I interact with on a regular basis. It's not difficult to show respect to people - I wish so many could do an awful lot better.
As an author, my wife gets hit on maybe 2 to 3 times a week. Some are blatant, like "Hi beautiful", Some sneaky, "Love your book", which gets a thank you and then "Hi beautiful" follows. There is always the debate about blocking creeps, the fear of them retaliating with a one star review or some other bs is always there. The more she is well known the more of these pop out of the swamp.
For me, as a male, I will get a follow and a "hello, how are you?". If I respond then get, "Hey for $50 dollars, I'll send you my nudes." So I block.
Fortunately, the majority of responses for both of us are good, legit, and encouraging. It is sad the creeps are there, and I wish I could eliminate them all, but I guess the answer is not to give them any attention or energy.
I still randomly (but consistently) receive dick pics from a Butthurt Male Author I tangled with 10+ years ago when I was editing for the MFA lit mag. I guess every time he gets a new rejection he blanket-targets every female-presenting editor who has EVER rejected him. Shit's WILD.
Thank you for your courage Cassandra, this is so powerful. So much respect to you for how you carry yourself in the world and, of course, your writing. We’re all here to write and yet authors identifying as female consistently have this c**p to deal with. I have a good thirty years on you and I had believed that women had earned more respect. As a mother of two young women, I’m so saddened and angry that the world seems to view women as it did in the 50’s. “You might be an author but you’re real pretty”. Ffs...that any author should have their work used as a route to be harassed and stalked is utterly unacceptable.
I would say, “keep being you”, but I don’t need to, I know you will, as I know you will speak out and support anyone, male or female who is approached inappropriately. And that’s why I’ll always admire you xx
Right? I was shocked to discover how bad it was myself. Thank you for your kind words 🖤
I felt this deeply!
Great piece. I hate that this awful and unacceptable behaviour happens to so many women - I am reasonably new to social media having resisted joining it for a long time. I have to say, for the most part it has been positive - I am a voracious reader and I have found some amazing authors on Twitter, a lot of whom I interact with on a regular basis. It's not difficult to show respect to people - I wish so many could do an awful lot better.
As an author, my wife gets hit on maybe 2 to 3 times a week. Some are blatant, like "Hi beautiful", Some sneaky, "Love your book", which gets a thank you and then "Hi beautiful" follows. There is always the debate about blocking creeps, the fear of them retaliating with a one star review or some other bs is always there. The more she is well known the more of these pop out of the swamp.
For me, as a male, I will get a follow and a "hello, how are you?". If I respond then get, "Hey for $50 dollars, I'll send you my nudes." So I block.
Fortunately, the majority of responses for both of us are good, legit, and encouraging. It is sad the creeps are there, and I wish I could eliminate them all, but I guess the answer is not to give them any attention or energy.
I still randomly (but consistently) receive dick pics from a Butthurt Male Author I tangled with 10+ years ago when I was editing for the MFA lit mag. I guess every time he gets a new rejection he blanket-targets every female-presenting editor who has EVER rejected him. Shit's WILD.
Damn, I’m so sorry!! Disgusting behavior.