Electric Literature: Prof. Gómez Featured in Book Excerpt on Racist & Misogynist Online Harassment
Alia Dastagir’s book, “To Those Who Have Confused You to Be a Person,” delves into the pervasive issue of online abuse targeting women and the profound psychological and societal impacts it entails. In an excerpt about the online experiences of Black women, trauma expert Prof. Jennifer M. Gómez from BU School of Social Work discusses a traumatic incident she experienced while receiving an award.
Excerpt from the article excerpt “No, Women Can’t Just Ignore Online Harassment” from the book “To Those Who Have Confused You to Be a Person” by Alia Dastagir:
“Jennifer M. Gómez, a Black feminist sexual violence researcher and assistant professor at Boston University’s School of Social Work, told me the slur was directed at her when she was Zoom bombed—a disruption from harassers during a video conference—during a virtual awards ceremony hosted by the American Psychological Association. The interlopers put up swastikas. They shouted ‘fuck the n*****’ over and over. The audience left. The audience tried to return, but it happened again. Gómez left and did not go back. She sat at home, whispered to herself that it was fine, that she was safe in Detroit, that the interlopers were not in Detroit. But she did not feel fine. She wanted to take a walk. Is it safe? she wondered. She cried. She felt anxious. She scolded herself. She was a violence researcher who should know better. How dare she be shocked?
When she marinated on why the words felt so violating, she realized it wasn’t that the transgression occurred during a private event; it was, she said, that it ‘happened within my home.’”