Women are having their images stolen from Vinted and posted on misogynistic websites

By Charlie Sawyer

Published Oct 28, 2024 at 02:15 PM

Reading time: 2 minutes

62868

There are very few safe places left for women online. Incelism is rife, deepfakes have become commonplace, and the comments section under videos tackling trending conversations such as ‘would you rather be stuck in the forest with a man or a bear?’ serve as a constant reminder that misogyny is well and truly alive. Naively, I assumed a platform like Vinted, an online marketplace where people can sell their pre-loved clothing, wouldn’t play a role in this ever-growing manosphere. But naturally, I was wrong.

The combination of an article from Glamour published on 24 October 2024 and a recent Channel 4 Dispatches documentary have sparked conversations online regarding a seriously concerning trend. Investigators have discovered that women’s photos are being taken from Vinted without their permission and subsequently uploaded to highly misogynistic external websites. One of the most prolific sites, which has now been shut down, was called Vinted sluts.

https://twitter.com/nordicmodelnow/status/1850808124829041084

While women being sexualised on the internet is nothing new, the fact that individuals can no longer post innocent images of themselves on a site such as Vinted without fearing potential exploitation is truly wild.

@politicsjoe

EllIe Flynn’s documentary Vinted’s Dirty Laundry airs on Channel 4 at 7.30pm

♬ original sound - PoliticsJOE

Moreover, the men who are revelling in this gross misconduct are actively seeking out these women on Vinted, sending sexually explicit messages and altogether creating a highly unsafe and dangerous environment.

One woman, 21-year-old Deimantė, who’d been victim to the Vinted sluts platform told Glamour: “I had no idea this was happening. When I first started receiving unsolicited sexual messages on Vinted, I didn’t think much of it. It’s just ‘creeps being creeps’. I uploaded a screenshot of one interaction to Reddit thinking it would make people laugh. Almost immediately, my inbox was flooded with women warning me about groups where people post photos of women from Vinted for sexual gain.”

Indeed, a quick search on Reddit and you come across dozens of threads and posts—mainly from women warning others of this malicious new trend. One user, explaining the seriousness of the situation, wrote: “They’re zooming in on areas of the body, making comments of the women and even making a profile for each woman. They’re putting the locations, adding links to each woman’s vinted, socials etc. The photos are basically normal photos of women, just regular pics you take to show an outfit or when you’re out wearing it and this is being exploited for disgusting reasons.”

A majority of men online have the mindset that women’s bodies are ripe for the picking. If an image exists within the digital space, there is zero sense of duty or responsibility to treat it respectfully. I mean it’s Vinted for crying out loud. Are you saying that I now can’t post an image of myself in a jacket or pair of trousers on an online marketplace without worrying that my picture, or even just my likeness, will end up on the desktop of some creep halfway around the world?

Elena Michael, Co-Founder and Director of Not Your Porn, told Glamour: “The intention of Vinted is to share, buy, and sell clothing, but what we see here shows and illustrates the way in which technology is weaponized against women and girls.”

“The online space is incredibly hostile towards women and girls. A wider conversation has to be had about the role every platform plays in facilitating a culture of entitlement to our bodies. If we’re not tackling this behaviour online, that will only perpetuate this attitude in the offline world,” she continued.

A lot of women online have blamed porn addictions for this new insidious form of exploitation:

https://twitter.com/EFCevie/status/1739035156717924854
https://twitter.com/sairaspooks/status/1188714989407875072
https://twitter.com/louiseyhannah/status/1336732263426428931
https://twitter.com/simpkkuno/status/1620213463191789569

So, what do we do now? In September 2024, the UK government announced that sharing intimate images without consent would be made a ‘priority offence’ under the Online Safety Act. And while this move is positive and sits within a greater push from the government to “tackle sexual offending and the normalisation of misogynistic material online,” the existence of a platform such as Vinted sluts aptly reflects how strategic these men are.

When one site goes down, it’ll be just days before another pops up. These men seem to take legitimate pride in finding new ways to degrade and humiliate women they’ve never even met. Drastic action has to be taken if we ever want to reach a point where women and girls can feel safe online again. And sadly, I don’t know if we’ll ever get there.

Keep On Reading

By Monica Athnasious

Downblousing and deepfakes: what are they and why does a UK Law Commission want to criminalise them?

By Charlie Sawyer

Incelism and the ‘manosphere’: research proves Andrew Tate’s misogyny is just the beginning

By Abby Amoakuh

UK police officers complain unisex uniforms lead to squashed testicles and fungal infections

By Abby Amoakuh

Looking for a man in finance? Good luck, you might need to get in line with the TikTok girlies

By Charlie Sawyer

Why North West’s Lion King performance has made me team nepo baby

By Abby Amoakuh

Why are cheating partners putting upside down bell peppers in their shopping carts?

By Abby Amoakuh

Backpack bans amid US school shootings leave students hiding tampons in their hair and shoes

By Charlie Sawyer

Jenna Ortega seriously shades Johnny Depp in recent viral interview

By Fleurine Tideman

We’re not ready for TikToker Caroline Lusk, or women in general, to call themselves pretty

By Abby Amoakuh

MAGA-themed fashion show goes viral as netizens discover it’s not a joke

By Fatou Ferraro Mboup

Armie Hammer breaks silence on cannibal rumours and assault allegations in podcast interview

By J'Nae Phillips

Well-read, intelligent, and nonchalant: The rise of the lit girl aesthetic on TikTok

By Abby Amoakuh

Inside the alarming rise of teen radicalisation online: From chatrooms to the Vienna Taylor Swift concert terror suspect

By Abby Amoakuh

MAGA pushes wildest conspiracy theory yet about Tim Walz ahead of US presidential election

By Fatou Ferraro Mboup

Polls reveal Joe Biden’s stance on Israel-Hamas war isn’t the top priority for young voters

By Fatou Ferraro Mboup

Who is Usha Vance? The divisive wife of Republican VP candidate JD Vance

By Charlie Sawyer

Watch Coldplay bring out Michael J. Fox in emotional moment at Glastonbury festival

By Fatou Ferraro Mboup

Inside the surge of juvenile crime in China: The role of left-behind children

By Alma Fabiani

As the US TikTok ban looms, here’s how Alyssa McKay grew a brand via Snapchat

By Abby Amoakuh

Why is step-incest so sexy right now? We asked actual step-siblings to find out