What Is the Internet

[rynling]

Some time ago I wrote a negative review of a graphic novel. The book's publishers were marketing it as "a feminist masterpiece," and it had quite a bit of buzz surrounding its release. My assessment of the work was that, far from being "a feminist masterpiece," it was a celebration of rape culture. The message of the story seemed to be that women should be grateful if they're raped, especially if they're raped by artists. Artists can't control their generative impulses; and, by being raped by an artist, a woman is offered a rare opportunity to serve as a muse. Gross, right? My argument was that the book should come with a trigger warning instead of a feminist endorsement.

I got shit for this review, because of course I did, but I kept my head down and waited quietly until the internet hate machine moved on. Suddenly, however, the review has started to generate comments again, and my former editor is insisting that I respond to them, which he believes will result in increased traffic to the site. He's not wrong.

My question is this – how much should I ask to be paid, per word, to feed the trolls?

Comments

[renegadefolkhero]

I wish people would stop using labels like "feminist masterpiece" or "the feminist x we need" because a) no and b) let's not and c) who's this WE everyone keeps talking about?

[raisedbymoogles]

Dear Jesus, there is not enough money in the WORLD.