Women are pretending to be men online in a bid to avoid the vicious misogynist abuse that has become routine, a British academic claims.
A survey of more than 100 prominent female technology journalists found one in five participants were so intimidated by threats of violence and rape that they took steps to mask their gender.
As part of her bid to uncover the extent of cyber-sexism Catherine Adams, senior lecturer in communications at Nottingham Trent University , discovered a massive 62% of respondents had been subject to sexist abuse.
Although her research was confined to the field of technology journalism, Adams said it should serve as a grim warning that sexism is not dying - and may actually be flourishing in the "cesspits" of the internet.
"It was chilling to find out that that this kind of abuse seems to be the norm," she told Mirror Online.
"They continue to face a barrage of death threats, rape threat and bomb threats," she continued.
"They told me about panic attacks and nervous breakdowns, reporting treatment which was brutal, devastating and frightening.
"This sort of online abuse should be regarded as a violent act because it can have physical repercussions, forcing women to move home or jobs against their will."
The academic spoke to a range of women including games developer Zoe Quinn,who came under attack from a group of men known as GamerGate .
Quinn, 27, received countless rape threats and was forced to leave her home.
"Men are like wounded dinosaurs, fighting to stop women getting involved in places they used to be comfortable," Adams added.
"Women tell me that men get more and more angry the more successful they become."
Before publishing the study, Adams down her social media profiles to protect her own safety, with her employer taking steps to protect the security of workplace emails and other sensitive emails.
But she said this level of support was all too rare and women were often left to fend for themselves after coming under attack.
"It doesn't seem to matter until someone's blood is spilled," she said.
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