What exactly is your definition of "troll" on Women's Studies???

Question

I have been called a troll several times, but my understanding was that a troll was someone who:

1. Was there to meet love interests
2. Was there to irritate or aggravate without adding anything to the forum

I am not either of those things...just a real person with some differing beliefs and opinions. Is "troll" the new word for describing someone who disagrees with feminists?

Carrie -- Actually if you look at the majority of my questions in Women's Studies, they were posted with the intent of learning more about the nature of men and women. You might call this "Gender Studies" but since there's no Gender Studies on here, I have posted those questions here and in Family and Relationships. I have been attacked in a major sort of way, so some questions and alot of my answers have to deal with that as well.

Meansnada -- That is so mean! I thought you wanted me too! WAAHHH!

Answer 1

Before Yahoo Answers, I thought that a Troll was someone who hung around a forum or chat room and just read the responses and never said anything, or Leah's definition #1 (well, actually, like the previous comment said, it wasn't love they were looking for but cybersex).
Apparently, definitions change fairly quickly here in cyberspace (oh I do hope that word is not outdated!)
So now that I've been educated and updated on the definition of troll, I'm going to look up "Crank" and find out what in the world that is in relation to the internet and forums. No, no, don't tell me. Apparently one should look this stuff up for themselves.

Answer 2

By having differing beliefs and opinions from the majority on any forum will get you labeled a troll. Many look upon a person that disagrees constantly as looking for an argument. I would guess that you are going to forums where the majority of posters are feminists, the discussions probably focus on issues for feminists, and the majority of posters agree with the feminist viewpoint on a given subject. You go in, post an opposing point of view, and start an argument where originally there was understanding and support. Do this a few times and the majority of people (who of course disagree with you) will start to be annoyed by your constant negativity towards their viewpoint. Hence, you get labeled a troll. You may not think that anything you have done is deserving of that label, but the other posters are probably fed up with you.

Edit: The person who posted below me is a perfect example of troll-ish behavior by her own definition. She started out ok with a definition of what a troll is, but then went into a personal attack on you. My responding to her by adding this comment is called "feeding the troll" and should be avoided for the most part... but I was bored. :D

Answer 3

I also thought that Trolls are people who read on line, but don't participate in the 'conversation', until I came to Yahoo Answers. I believe the correct term for this type of person is a 'Lurker'.
Now I understand from being on Yahoo Answers that Trolls are actually people so desperate for attention that they will be provocative and instigate trouble just for grins.
Good luck

Answer 4

I do not label people trolls, I only identify trolling behavior. One occurrance of trolling behavior does not a troll make.
However, if a person is frequently caught in trolling behavoir, it stands to reason that some people will start with the name-calling.

Posts that include judgemental or inflammatory language are examples of trolling.
Posting a rant, ending with "don't you agree?" is trolling.
Position posts that include any sort of comment that indicates a different way of thinking is wrong or inferior are also examples of trolling.

The word I use for a person who disagrees with feminism is anti-feminist. Until they piss me off sufficiently and I call them names outside of this forum.
Hey, we all reach our limit sometime.

Answer 5

A "Troll" is what ever the user wants the word to be. Either that or it is a mythological Scandinavian creature that lives under a mountain.

Answer 6

Hi I was called a troll recently because I answered a question where everyone was in favor of same sex marriages and I forcefully gave a different point of view.

I don't have long to answer cause the bell is about to ring and I'm going to my next period (school period not menstrual cycle lol lol) so don't have long. Anyway I LOVE men and boys my age. They are soooo cool. I love to be held tightly by my VERY SEXY boyfriend and love his masculine body holding mine. I feel sooo protected in his strong male arms.

I bet you can guess from the previous that I could never be a feminist. I plan to enlist with him in the armed forces because I support the USA Ya Ya!! but actually would just prefer to marry him, be a stay at home mom, and have his beautiful children, and have fun making those beautiful children.
Got to go
Chow

Answer 7

#2 is correct. #1 is a bit trite — they're here to meet someone with whom to have cybersex, not someone to love. We really do need a clear definition of "troll."

However, in your case, I have seen some answers of yours in which you rail against feminism without actually regarding the question. I ask that you make sure not to do this again in the near future.

Answer 8

The definition of an internet troll is not unique to Women's Studies.

From Wikipedia:

A troll does not necessarily have to make malicious or incorrect comments. For example, a person with political point of view A who approaches a forum frequented by people with political point of view B, may be considered a troll, even if no lies or attacks are made.

A person who retaliates (using whatever means) as a result of a misunderstanding (or as a way of rebelling against the overzealous application of rules) is not a troll. A troll is a person who approaches a board with the specific intention of stirring things up, either with no particular motive or provocation in mind, other than to be purely destructive or if the motive or provocation is against the ethos of the board. For example, a neo-Nazi approaching a Jewish forum with the intention of attacking the members, purely because the neo-Nazi knows the forum to contain Jewish members, may be considered a troll. A Jewish member of the said forum, who becomes angry with the neo-Nazi and breaks the rules in gaining revenge against the neo-Nazi, and who is subsequently banned and who then begins to rebel, is not a troll.


So you, as a self-described "anti-feminist" who is intolerant and thinks that all women are homogenous and should live exactly like you, are a troll because you feel the need to express these views on a feminist forum.


And I know you are confused about what Women's Studies under the category social sciences means, so here is another definition for you:

Women's studies is an interdisciplinary academic field devoted to topics concerning women, feminism, gender, and politics. It often includes feminist theory, women's history (e.g. a history of women's suffrage) and social history, women's fiction, women's health, and the feminist and gender studies-influenced practice of most of the humanities and social sciences.

Gender studies is a field of interdisciplinary study which analyzes the phenomenon of gender. It examines both cultural representations of gender and people's lived experience. Gender Studies is sometimes related to studies of class, race, ethnicity and location.[1]

The philosopher Simone de Beauvoir said: “One is not born a woman, one becomes one.”[2] In Gender Studies the term "gender" is used to refer to the social and cultural constructions of masculinities and femininities. It does not refer to biological difference, but rather cultural difference.[3] The field emerged from a number of different areas: the sociology of the 1950s and later (see Sociology of gender); the theories of the psychoanalyst Jaques Lacan; and the work of feminists such as Judith Butler. Each field came to regard "gender" as a practice, sometimes referred to as something that is performative.[4]

Answer 9

If that is the case Leah I must be the new troll in waiting becuz I disagree with feminism all the way. Anyways that's not the point. I am here as an online friend, supporter and I would not be such if I did not tell you what I am thinking right now. Leah in all loving kindness WHAT DO YOU CARE WHAT ANYONE ELSE THINKS? I know I just shouted at you, it was for your own good. Now you pay attention to Happy Bullet; he has the gist of the whole thing right there in the palm of his hand. Had I not been ill last night I would have told you the same; he did it for me.
Leah, here is how it goes when you fully believe in something with all of your heart and soul, when you breathe its very essence, nothing that any one says or does will ever come to you as a threat. Let's put it this way; it just might be that you and, or we (there are a few others) pose a threat to them becuz we remind them of that life they so desperately want to forget. We remind them of the time when they were oppressed. It doesn't matter whether we feel oppressed or not, acccording to them we haven't seen the light, we have to come to our senses. Women in this day and age should fight to be free; without understanding that not every one has the same definition of freedom. Another thing to consider and I wonder this myself is if some are just paying mere lip service to a cause they really don't believe in. I know what I shouted at you and just so you know the shoe fits on the other foot; in other words they shouldn't worry about what us anti-feminitsts think either. They should just get going with what they're doing and that's it.
There it took me awhile to get it out, but this is all I have to say.

Answer 10

Not a troll, but I think too many people come here with the attitude to argue and not learn. Are the anti-feminists here actually willing to keep an open mind about feminism?