Men Who Hate Women: From incels to pickup artists, the truth about extreme misogyny and how it affects us all

by Laura Bates

In classic internet terminology, the term trolling emerged in the late ’80s or early ’90s and was probably coined in reference to the fishing practice of trolling (or trawling)—slowly towing a baited hook to catch unsuspecting prey. In its earliest iteration, the term referred to the practice whereby seasoned and regular users of a particular forum or Usenet group would deliberately ask a very simple question, pretending to be extremely stupid or confused. Their inquiry would often be about a topic already discussed exhaustively on the forum, which would have the immediate effect of drawing out newcomers to the group, who would be the only ones to respond sincerely to the conversation and might then be mocked. As the internet expanded, the term spread. It started to include any activity that involved deliberately baiting other internet users into increasingly emotional, angry, or defensive responses. This was usually achieved by posting off-topic or inflammatory messages in a specific forum. The more sincere and earnest the targets, the better. The more passionate and indignant their responses, the more successful the troll.