Naughty by Nature
The Boston Rants and Raves space on Craigslist is the bawdiest in the country. What is it that makes our online musings so disproportionately uncouth?
- Illustration by Yuko Shimizu.
It’s another sunny day on the Boston pages of Craigslist: A woman is getting mocked for being a bit overweight, a man is bragging about masturbating at work, and someone just uploaded a picture of her rear end. Who are these cretins? Why, they’re your friends and neighbors, masked in anonymity, belching into cyberspace.
Craigslist, that ballyhooed Web portal that operates local bulletin boards across the country, may be famously useful for finding a new roommate or guitar, but its Rants and Raves section (where the aforementioned posts, and much worse, reside) is not for the prudish. That part of the site is an open forum Bostonians fill with vulgarity and vitriol; blowing off steam here is like farting into a dumpster. But it’s also a unique glimpse into the city’s online habits. Bostonians no doubt spew crudity on all corners of the Internet, but nothing else aggregates the filth geographically. Of Craigslist’s more than 300 localized sites, Boston’s is so loutish that even Craigslist brass has taken note. “I have noticed from time to time that Boston R&R seemed especially attitudinous and no-holds-barred,” Craigslist CEO Jim Buckmaster says. “The East Coast cities in general are that way, but particularly Boston. Not sure why.”
It doesn’t surprise Boston University sociology professor Daniel Monti, who studies American civic culture. He says Boston’s tradition of cultural tolerance and liberalism could actually have something to do with it. The anonymity of an online setting elevates outlandish chatter, Monti explains. But the difference between cities depends on the level of randiness those conversations are starting at—something taboo somewhere else can be considered casual conversation here. Maybe it’s that when Bostonians want to get bawdy, we have to reach further to push a boundary. “If you’re living in a place where openness is more accepted than other places,” Monti says, “that ratchets up the probability that you’re going to get someone who says something slightly more outrageous than in another place.” Meaning, if you want to ruffle feathers without getting dirty, you might try posting on the Tulsa pages.
Craigslist, that ballyhooed Web portal that operates local bulletin boards across the country, may be famously useful for finding a new roommate or guitar, but its Rants and Raves section (where the aforementioned posts, and much worse, reside) is not for the prudish. That part of the site is an open forum Bostonians fill with vulgarity and vitriol; blowing off steam here is like farting into a dumpster. But it’s also a unique glimpse into the city’s online habits. Bostonians no doubt spew crudity on all corners of the Internet, but nothing else aggregates the filth geographically. Of Craigslist’s more than 300 localized sites, Boston’s is so loutish that even Craigslist brass has taken note. “I have noticed from time to time that Boston R&R seemed especially attitudinous and no-holds-barred,” Craigslist CEO Jim Buckmaster says. “The East Coast cities in general are that way, but particularly Boston. Not sure why.”
It doesn’t surprise Boston University sociology professor Daniel Monti, who studies American civic culture. He says Boston’s tradition of cultural tolerance and liberalism could actually have something to do with it. The anonymity of an online setting elevates outlandish chatter, Monti explains. But the difference between cities depends on the level of randiness those conversations are starting at—something taboo somewhere else can be considered casual conversation here. Maybe it’s that when Bostonians want to get bawdy, we have to reach further to push a boundary. “If you’re living in a place where openness is more accepted than other places,” Monti says, “that ratchets up the probability that you’re going to get someone who says something slightly more outrageous than in another place.” Meaning, if you want to ruffle feathers without getting dirty, you might try posting on the Tulsa pages.
Originally published in Boston magazine, August 2006
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