Analyzing the Use of Insulting Utterance for Men and Women: Focusing on Comments of the Everytime Hot Forum

This study investigates the use of insulting utterances directed at men and women in their 20s within the comments section of Everytime’s hot forum, an online platform for university students in Korea. By examining the data collected over 20 months from December 2021 to July 2023, 10 keywords of hate speech targeting women and men were selected, applied to the database, and relevant comments were collected. Additionally, the research identifies and categorizes sexist language strategies and discriminatory content. The analysis employs Sharizal & Bakar’s (2023) taxonomy and the classification systems of Kim (2015) and Lee (2010) to explore how these insulting utterances differ in targeting men and women. The findings aim to provide a comprehensive understanding of the trends and perceptions of sexist language online, addressing a gap in existing studies which predominantly focus on misogynistic speech without comparative analysis of language targeting men. This research offers insights into the broader landscape of online hate speech, contributing to the field of sociolinguistics and applied linguistics by highlighting the dynamics of gendered insulting utterances in digital communication.