Feminist writer Jessica Valenti has left social media after receiving a "rape and death threat" aimed at her 5-year-old daughter, she said on Wednesday.
Valenti, 37, an alumna of Rutgers University who is a columnist for the Guardian US and recently wrote about Michelle Obama's speech at the Democratic National Convention, explained her decision to take a hiatus from social media in a series of tweets .
"That this is part of my work life is unacceptable," she began. She said she was "sick of being told to suck it up" when faced with such messages.
"I should not have to fear for my kid's safety because I write about feminism," she tweeted. She didn't say what the threat was in response to, but was critical of both law enforcement and social media companies for not doing more to address online threats.
Valenti, who earned a master's degree in women's and gender studies from Rutgers and, according to her Facebook page , lives in Brooklyn with her husband and daughter, is the founder of Feministing, a blog for young feminists .
She is the author of books including her recently published memoir "Sex Object " and "The Purity Myth: How America's Obsession with Virginity is Hurting Young Women" and the editor of the anthology "Yes Means Yes: Visions of Female Sexual Power and a World Without Rape."
Online harassment recently came into focus when "Ghostbusters" and "Saturday Night Live" star Leslie Jones temporarily left Twitter after becoming the target of racist and sexist messages. In response, Breitbart technology editor Milo Yiannopoulos, accused of inciting the inflammatory messages, was banned from Twitter .
"No one deserves to be the target of abuse on Twitter," Variety reports Twitter founder and CEO Jack Dorsey told investors . "We haven't been good enough at ensuring that's the case, and we need to do better."
[<a href="//storify.com/NJentertainment/jessica-valenti-quits-social-media-after-threat" target="_blank">View the story "Jessica Valenti quits social media after threat" on Storify</a>]<h1>Jessica Valenti quits social media after threat</h1><h2>The feminist writer says her daughter was targeted </h2><p>Storified by <a href="https://storify.com/NJentertainment">NJ.com</a>· Wed, Jul 27 2016 23:29:47
</p><div>This morning I woke up to a rape and death threat directed at my 5 year old daughter. That this is part of my work life is unacceptable.Jessica Valenti</div><div>I am sick of this shit. Sick of saying over and over how scary this is, sick of being told to suck it up.Jessica Valenti</div><div>I should not have to fear for my kid's safety because I write about feminism.Jessica Valenti</div><div>I should not have to wade through horror to get through the day. None of should have to.Jessica Valenti</div><div>I can deal with a lot of things, I've taken a lot of abuse over the years. But my child? No.Jessica Valenti</div><div>Law enforcement needs to get their shit together on online threats. Social media companies need to fucking do something.Jessica Valenti</div><div>In the meantime, I'm taking a break from social media. I don't know how long. I just know that I can't live like this. It's too much.Jessica Valenti</div><div>The people who need to know how to reach me. Thanks for all the support. xJessica Valenti</div>
Amy Kuperinsky may be reached at akuperinsky@njadvancemedia.com . Follow her on Twitter @AmyKup or on Facebook .
