Lewis' Law

About

Lewis’ Law is an internet axiom asserting that any comment section of an article dealing with the Feminism movement will always contain derogatory comments justifying the need for feminism in our societies. In a way similar to Godwin’s Law and The Greater Internet Dickwad Theory, it serves as a reminder that the longer an online discussion lasts, the more likely it will eventually contain ad hominem attacks and shitposting.

Origin

The phrase was coined by English journalist Helen Lewis on her twitter account^[1] on August 9th 2012 (shown below). As of July 2015, the tweet has gained around 800 retweets and 700 favorites.

Its definite usage as a law reads as follows:

“The comments on any article about feminism justify feminism.”

Spread

The tweet itself remained rather unknown for several months before it was brought to light in a Wired article reporting on the Donglegate incident and discussing the online rise of MRA as well as sexism in the tech industry, published March 23th 2013. On April 2th, 2013, Lewis, acknowledging the Wired article, commented on the newborn fame of her eponymous law on her tumblr^[3]. On April 3th, the law was picked by the “Feminist Philosopher” blog^[4] and began to be embraced by feminists online, as shown by opinion pieces and articles written on The King’s Tribune^[5] in September 2014, on Pipe Dream^[6] in October 2014 or Belle Brita^[7] in June 2015.

Following its popularity online, the law was added to Urban Dictionary in September 2013^[8], to the Geek Feminism Wiki in April 2013^[9] and to the Rational Wiki in May 2013^[10].

External References