As the leader of the UK’s largest education union calls for an independent inquiry into the rise of misogyny among boys and young men, Halima Jibril investigates whether the problem is more complex than the pessimistic picture being painted
At the start of the year, the Financial Times reported that a new gender divide is emerging worldwide. While there has been consistent debate over whether Gen Z is the most progressive generation in history or the most conservative, there was a point in the latter part of the 2010s when many believed that the world needed to change and that Gen Z as a whole would be the ones to make it better. But this new research tells a less idealistic story.
Through an analysis of General Social Surveys and Election Studies in Korea, Germany, the US and the UK, data journalist John Burn-Murdoch found that in the UK, Gen Z women are 25 percentage points more liberal than Gen Z men. In Germany and the US, Gen Z women are 30 percentage points more liberal than the men in their generation. The voting patterns of young men around the world also highlight their more conservative leanings: In the Polish elections last year, almost half of the men aged 18 to 21 voted for the far-right Confederation party, and in South Korea, young men largely voted for the right-wing People Power party in 2022.
Many believe this divide is the result of backlash towards feminist movements such as #MeToo and the fact that popular feminism, while still challenged, was able to enter mainstream discourse successfully. Even though backlash towards feminist progression is normal, as Susan Faludi wrote in her 1991 text Backlash: The Undeclared War Against American Women, acknowledging its normalcy should not make us complacent. These statistics are worrying, as those with conservative ideals are more likely to display violent anti-women, anti-immigration and racist attitudes openly, and there is a possibility that the divide will grow further.
As soon as I heard this news, I immediately thought about Gen Alpha boys (born between 2010 and 2025) and Gen Z’s youngest members (often lumped in with Gen Alpha). A generation already described as illiterate, lazy, rude and ignorant, not just by the usual suspects (Gen X and Baby Boomers) but also by older members of Gen Z, who not too long ago suffered the same critiques from older generations. While there is an unnecessary moral panic surrounding Gen Alpha, worries about how they understand their gender, the gender of others and gender roles are rightful causes for concern. Just this week, the leader of the UK’s largest education union called for an independent inquiry into the rise of sexism and misogyny among boys and young men, describing it as “a huge issue” in schools. With the prevalence of misogynistic male influencers on social media, many believe that Gen Alpha boys are “not going to be OK” and are already “doomed.”
But are they really doomed? Or is what’s going on with Gen Alpha boys more complex than the pessimistic picture being painted?
My son is 10, and when I asked him if he knew who Andrew Tate was he said although the had never watched him, he heard some of his classmates talking about him a few times. That day I had to have a 1 hour conversation with him about how dangerous that man is.
— Mauvaise Pute 🧚🏾♀️ (@jenny_gxo) June 20, 2023
“I believe an element of this is unprecedented,” explains John*, a 23-year-old working at an educational charity. “[One of my] colleagues’ parents has been a teacher for decades and says she sees more misogyny and homophobia in schools now than ever before. There are waves of online content reaching young men, and nobody, including us, knows exactly what to do.” Andrew Tate, who is now facing extradition to the UK over rape and human trafficking claims, is still one of the main misogynistic influencers that John hears young boys speak about. “They regurgitate ideas and phrases of his. These sometimes are shown through their idea of what a man should be, involving being a ‘Top G,’ ‘providing for your family.’ They make fun of women and their appearance regularly. People who counter their ideas, especially women, are seen as dangerous and liars.”
One of the reasons young men find themselves so attracted to Tate, as John highlights, is because he teaches them how to exist in the world. In her book Collapse Feminism, writer and video essayist Alice Cappelle argues that while some young men do go out of their way to look for misogynistic content online, others are simply looking for self-improvement tips. Since influencers like Tate and Jordan Peterson brand themselves as “self-help” gurus, selling courses on how to be a ‘Top G’, attract the right kind of women and achieve financial freedom, impressionable boys and young men believe they’ve discovered the secret to performing their gender “correctly” and succeeding in life.
“Tate will become cringe eventually. The problem is the trail of misogynistic destruction he has left behind” – Issa
It’s easy to put sole blame on individuals like Tate (or even on pornography, as the teachers’ union leaders are doing) for the rise in misogyny among young men, but we already live in an incredibly gendered society. Even when we don’t think we’re pushing a gendered ideology, most of the time, we are, and young people internalise that way of thinking very quickly. For example, in her book, The Will To Change: Men, Masculinity and Love, bell hooks highlights how mothers can be some of the biggest perpetrators of patriarchy. “The single mom who insists that her boy child, ‘be a man’ is not anti-patriarchal; she is enforcing patriarchal will,” she writes. 23-year-old history teacher Lauren, who has been a victim of misogynistic catcalling at her school, similarly agrees with hooks’ sentiments. “I think many issues within school, including children’s perception of gender, come from the parents at home. So regardless of what we can do in school, I don’t think this has a great impact unless we educate their parents, which is extremely hard to do.”
28-year-old Issa*, an English teacher in an inner city secondary school, believes our focus should not be on individuals like Tate because teenagers are incredibly fickle. “Tate will become cringe eventually. The problem is the trail of misogynistic destruction he has left behind.” This is where charities like Beyond Equality come into play. Founded in 2016, they facilitate workshops in schools, universities, workplaces, sports teams, and other community groups, focusing on boys and men. They explore topics such as physical and mental well-being, gender-based violence, and healthy relationships. “We help them understand their position in the patriarchy and support them in contributing to a more gender-equitable world,” Tomara Garrod, volunteer and community manager of Beyond Equality, tells Dazed.
“Teenagers are used to being told by adults what they should believe, how they should behave, and being punished when they don’t follow these rules. But many are more than willing to have a sensitive, nuanced conversation as long as they feel they’ll be genuinely listened to and respected” – Tomara Garrod
Beyond Equality believes that one of the best ways to support boys who find themselves drawn to misogynistic content is by speaking with them honestly. “To actually have transformative, liberatory conversations about misogyny, we have to be able to face it openly and without judgement,” explains Garrod. “Teenagers are used to being told by adults what they should believe, how they should behave, and being punished when they don’t follow these rules. But many are more than willing to have a sensitive, nuanced conversation as long as they feel they’ll be genuinely listened to and respected. Many engage far more critically with the content they consume than we might assume. What they need is a space to engage and encourage this critical thinking, one rooted in curiosity, compassion, and justice.”
The work done by organisations like Beyond Equality is much more impactful than just placing “positive” male influencers in schools, as Labour proposed in February. While the idea is nice on paper, as Cappelle argues in Collapse Feminism, “the goal should not be to switch one type of masculinity (toxic) to another type of masculinity (healthy/positive), but rather to reject the idea that the formation of one’s identity, meaning one’s value system and tastes, can only mediate through a fixed gender expression.” In other words: “it is time to imagine the formation of a man’s identity outside of the constraints of masculinity and outside of the constraints of a fixed definition.”
It takes all of us, not just teachers and those who work in charities, to dismantle and challenge patriarchal culture, and we must do it together if we do not want the ideological gender divide to deepen.
*Names have been changed