TY - JOUR
T1 - The Gender Gap in Online News Comment Sections
AU - Van Duyn, Emily
AU - Peacock, Cynthia
AU - Stroud, Natalie Jomini
N1 - Funding Information:
The author(s) disclosed receipt of the following financial support for the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article: These studies were conducted with grants to the Center for Media Engagement from the Democracy Fund, Hewlett Foundation, Rita Allen Foundation, and the Mozilla Foundation (the Coral Project).
Publisher Copyright:
© The Author(s) 2019.
Copyright:
Copyright 2021 Elsevier B.V., All rights reserved.
PY - 2021/4
Y1 - 2021/4
N2 - Women are less likely than men to discuss or engage in politics. This study extends research on the gender gap in politics to an online context by exploring whether women are less likely to engage in political discussion online, whether this follows socialization theories of a private versus public sphere distinction, and whether perceptions of incivility help to explain these gender differences. Through a survey of commenters and comment readers based on a probability sample in the United States (n = 965) and a survey of actual commenters and comment readers across 20 news sites (n = 12,110), we find that women are less likely than men to comment online, particularly on state, national, or international topics. However, women are more likely than men to comment on local news. We also find that perceptions of incivility are related to commenting, although they do little to explain gender differences in commenting. Our results suggest that the gender gap in online political discussion is the product of women’s political socialization more so than the civility of the site.
AB - Women are less likely than men to discuss or engage in politics. This study extends research on the gender gap in politics to an online context by exploring whether women are less likely to engage in political discussion online, whether this follows socialization theories of a private versus public sphere distinction, and whether perceptions of incivility help to explain these gender differences. Through a survey of commenters and comment readers based on a probability sample in the United States (n = 965) and a survey of actual commenters and comment readers across 20 news sites (n = 12,110), we find that women are less likely than men to comment online, particularly on state, national, or international topics. However, women are more likely than men to comment on local news. We also find that perceptions of incivility are related to commenting, although they do little to explain gender differences in commenting. Our results suggest that the gender gap in online political discussion is the product of women’s political socialization more so than the civility of the site.
KW - comment sections
KW - deliberative democracy
KW - gender
KW - political discussion
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U2 - 10.1177/0894439319864876
DO - 10.1177/0894439319864876
M3 - Article
SN - 0894-4393
VL - 39
SP - 181
EP - 196
JO - Social Science Computer Review
JF - Social Science Computer Review
IS - 2
ER -