Ep. 17: Online "rape academies" & the digital age of misogyny
In this episode, we investigate the wild intersection of systemic violence against women & girls, and modern technology.
We begin with the landmark Gisele Pelicot case in France, breaking down the court proceedings involving the 50 co-defendants and analyzing the digital hunting ground & website used to facilitate mass abuse.
From there, we make the connections of just how these patterns repeat across emerging tech frontiers. We examine the weaponization of everyday consumer tech like smart glasses, the alarming rise of AI-generated non-consensual deepfakes, and the targeted global mechanics of online grooming & sextortion.
Finally, we zoom out to a sociological perspective to talk about how the pop culture of the last few generations primed society for this current digital age of misogyny.
Show notes:
greatinthesackpod@protonmail.me [greatinthesackpod@protonmail.me]
www.tiktok/@greatinthesackpodcast [http://www.tiktok/@greatinthesackpodcast]
www.instagram.com/g.i.t.s.podcast [http://www.instagram.com/g.i.t.spodcast]
https://bsky.app/profile/greatinthesackpod [https://bsky.app/profile/greatinthesackpod]
SOURCES:
#341: Korea’s Nth Room: 260k Men Paying to Violate, R*pe, and Torture Middle School Girls On Telegram - Rotten Mango | Podcast on Spotify
#342: Korean College Student Forces 100 Girls To Mutilate Themselves On Camera LIVE For His Chatrooms - Rotten Mango | Podcast on Spotify
#386: New Nth Room: Middle Schoolers Deepfake Videos Of Mom, Sister, Classmates In "Humiliation Room" - Rotten Mango | Podcast on Spotify
'A rapist can be in the family': how Dominique Pelicot became one of the worst sexual predators in history | Gisèle Pelicot rape trial | The Guardian
'Girl on Girl' explores pop culture's impact on women | PBS News Weekend" (URL: https://www.pbs.org/newshour/show/girl-on-girl-explores-pop-cultures-impact-on-women [https://www.pbs.org/newshour/show/girl-on-girl-explores-pop-cultures-impact-on-women]
'Meta glasses are being used to secretly film women and girls – my app is fighting back' | The Independent
How's Life for Children in the Digital Age?, OECD Publishing, Paris, https://doi.org/10.1787/0854b900-en [https://doi.org/10.1787/0854b900-en]
"90s Bitch: The Paradox of Progress and Bitchification" (Book Excerpt: 90s Bitch: Media, Culture, and the Failed Promise of Gender Equality by Allison Yarrow, Harper Perennial, 2018)
"A French woman whose husband is accused of inviting men to rape her testifies in court | KPBS Public Media" https://www.kpbs.org/news/international/2024/09/06/a-french-woman-whose-husband-is-accused-of-inviting-men-to-rape-her-testifies-in-court [https://www.kpbs.org/news/international/2024/09/06/a-french-woman-whose-husband-is-accused-of-inviting-men-to-rape-her-testifies-in-court]
"AI-GeneratedDeepfakesandGender-BasedViolenceExploringtheTechno-FeministChallenges.pdf" (Citation: Benjamin, Matthew. AI-Generated Deepfakes and Gender-Based Violence Exploring the Techno-Feminist Challenges, 2025)
"Amouranth Goes After Companies Supporting Abusive Deepfake Sites" https://www.thegamer.com/amouranth-calls-out-deepfake-abuse-sites/ [https://www.thegamer.com/amouranth-calls-out-deepfake-abuse-sites/]
"Cho Ju-bin: South Korea chatroom sex abuse suspect named after outcry" (BBC News)
Deepfake Porn Empire | E1: The Dawn of Fake Porn - Understood: Artificial Intimacy | Podcast on Spotify
Deepfake Porn Empire | E2: So You’ve Been Deepfaked - Understood: Artificial Intimacy | Podcast on Spotify
Deepfake Porn Empire | E3: The Notorious D.P.F.K.S. - Understood: Artificial Intimacy | Podcast on Spotify
Deepfake Porn Empire | E4: The Fake Porn Pharmacist - Understood: Artificial Intimacy | Podcast on Spotify
Digital Misogyny: From Grok Producing CSAM to Meta Glasses as Spyware | Redbrick Slider (Life&Style)
"Digital Rights as Human Rights: The Fight Against Cybersexism" (OHCHR)
Dominique Pelicot tells French trial: 'I am a rapist,' as he returns to dock | France | The Guardian
France launches probe into website that enabled mass rape of Gisèle Pelicot | Gisèle Pelicot | The Guardian
"Gisèle Pelicot lifts her sunglasses and chooses to fight back" (BBC News)
"How_do_we_study_misogyny_in_the_digital_age_A_syst.pdf" (Citation: Fontanella, L., Chulvi, B., Ignazzi, E. et al. How do we study misogyny in the digital age? A systematic literature review using a computational linguistic approach. Humanit Soc Sci Commun, 2024. https://doi.org/10.1057/s41599-024-02978-7) [https://doi.org/10.1057/s41599-024-02978-7)]
"Jag blev groomad online som 13-åring" – Gäst: Myra Petersdotter - Spöktimmen | Podcast on Spotify"
"Le Monde The Fall of Coco.fr: Justice for an Online Predator’s Den" https://www.lemonde.fr/en/france/article/2025/01/10/france-charges-founder-of-adult-website-linked-to-mass-rape-trial_6736899_7.html [https://www.lemonde.fr/en/france/article/2025/01/10/france-charges-founder-of-adult-website-linked-to-mass-rape-trial_6736899_7.html])
"Meta's 'pervert glasses' fuel trend of creeps filming women, posting videos online" (New York Post)
"Online misogyny and its impact on girls" | Plan International UK
"STOPPING THE SURGE OF DIGITAL MISOGYNY" | EESC
"Sleeping with the Enemy: A W5 investigation" [Youtube]
"Smart glasses: 'I was secretly filmed and trolled online'" (BBC News)
"Taking Down the Dark Web Killer | The Case of Amanda Todd | UNSEEN - Unseen | Podcast on Spotify
Article Title: 4 Ways Men Are Taught to Objectify Women From Birth - Everyday Feminism
Article Titles: Popular Female Twitch Streamers Targeted In Deepfake Pornography Scandal / Deepfake Porn Creator Deletes Internet Presence After Tearful ‘Atrioc’ Apology - Kotaku / Vice)
"The Gisèle Pelicot rape trial shines a new spotlight on consent" | Courthouse News Service
"The New Age of Sexism!, with Laura Bates - YouTube (The Conduit)
"The Retro Backlash: 90s Nostalgia and the Anti-Feminist Resurgence" https://theconversation.com/the-return-of-90s-culture-echoes-a-backlash-to-feminism-that-weve-seen-throughout-history-238162) [https://theconversation.com/the-return-of-90s-culture-echoes-a-backlash-to-feminism-that-weve-seen-throughout-history-238162)]
"UK schools blackmailed with sexualised AI deepfakes of pupils, experts warn" | The Independent
"When Misogyny Goes Viral: The Digital Roots of Modern Sexism! – UAB Institute for Human Rights Blog
"Women filmed in secret for social media content - then harassed online" (BBC News)
En hyllning till livet : skammen måste byta sida av Gisèle Pelicot and Judith Perrignon, Albert Bonniers Förlag, 2026
https://etheses.bham.ac.uk/id/eprint/10412/7/Whiteman2020PhD.pdf [https://etheses.bham.ac.uk/id/eprint/10412/7/Whiteman2020PhD.pdf] Whiteman, Julie. ENDURING NOTIONS OF HETEROSEXUALITY: A STUDY IN CONTEMPORARY SEX AND RELATIONSHIPS, University of Birmingham, 2020
"music-and-misogyny-a-content-analysis-of-misogynistic-antifeminist-forums.pdf" (Citation: de Boise, Sam. Music and misogyny: a content analysis of misogynistic, antifeminist forums, Cambridge University Press. 10.1017/S0261143020000410)
"pelicot case" (Text excerpt: France charges founder of adult website linked to mass rape trial - Le Monde)
"‘I’ll never call him dad again:’ Gisèle Pelicot’s daughter says she suspects her father also drugged her for sexual abuse" (CNN)