A new Australian study from the University of Melbourne surveyed 3,429 people, including teenagers aged 13-17, and found that young people, particularly boys and young men, were more likely than previous generations to express hostile and misogynistic attitudes toward women. Among teenage boys, substantial minorities believed gender equality had gone too far, that men should have greater access to scarce jobs, or that feminism is harmful to society and should be resisted through violence. The study found that misogynistic attitudes were the strongest predictor of support for violent extremism. Engagement with manosphere content, pornography, and online dating also showed strong associations with misogynistic views. And the results of this study are consistent with a large global study about gender and sex roles that we covered back in March.
If we consider the findings of these studies against the back drop of the burgeoning “tradwife” cultural trend, we may we really start to wonder about (or fear) what’s happening to gender equality.
