As news of yet another deadly shooting spree shocked the US, the conversation online took an unexpected turn as women around the world condemned the misogynistic motive behind the killings and shared their stories of everyday gender-based violence.
The discussion began over the weekend as the manifesto of Elliot Rodger, who allegedly killed six people before turning a handgun on himself on Friday night, came to light detailing his plans to take revenge on women for refusing his advances.
"All while I was suffering this lonely existence, other boys my age lived their happy lives of pleasure and sex. I can never forgive such an injustice. ... It was women's fault for refusing to have sex with me," he wrote in the manifesto, entitled My Twisted World, which had been published in full by The New York Times.
In his almost 140-page screed, Rodger described a "day of retribution", on which he planned to "wage a war against all women and the men they are attracted to".
"If I can't have it, I will destroy it. I will destroy all women because I can never have them. I will make them all suffer for rejecting me," he wrote.
News that makes sense
Your trusted source for staying up-to-date with the world around you. Get free daily news updates and analysis, straight to your inbox.
The 22-year-old student stabbed dead three male roommates in a coastal enclave in Santa Barbara County, California, before driving through his university campus on a shooting spree, killing two sorority sisters and another male student and injuring at least eight people.
As disturbing details about Rodger's misogynistic manifesto surfaced, a conversation began on Twitter over the underlying cause of gender-based violence that women experience every day.
Soon, the hashtag Yes All Women was trending in many countries, with more than 1 million short messages posted and re-tweeted as women shared their experiences and pain from sexual violence and societal inequality.
Rebecca Solnit, feminist writer, historian and activist, said that Rodger's manifesto shed light on "sexual entitlement", according to an interview with Democracy Now, a leftwing US news program.
Solnit said the manifesto gave the "sense that this guy was owed something by women and was furious at them for not giving it to him", for which he felt he had the right to seek vengeance.
Solnit said the Twitter discussion arose in response to the underlying assumptions in Rodger's objectification of women and the common response from men that not all of them think like that.
"We know it's not all men, but we need to talk about the fact that it is all women. And that's what 'yes all women' said, is: 'Yeah, we know not all men are rapists and murderers, are not abusers and misogynists, but all women are impacted by the men who are'," Solnit said.
Women on Twitter shared the struggles they face every day and questioned societal assumptions for the way men are taught to think of women.
"Because we are told that 'boys will be boys' - as if men can't and shouldn't take responsibility for their actions."
"Because I feel the need to avoid making eye contact with men when I'm walking late at night."
"Because we still treat misogyny like it's built into male biology."
"Because women are taught to hate themselves if men reject them, and men are taught to hate women if women reject them."
"YesAllWomen is necessary, because when you find out how many women the same thing has happened to, you no longer feel alone and ashamed."
