A recent study suggests that males from Gen Z are more inclined to believe that feminism causes more harm than good, in contrast to the Baby Boomer generation. Experts warn of a “real risk of significant division” among future generations.
According to a recent study, young men from Generation Z are more likely than those from the Baby Boomer generation to believe that feminism brings more harm than good.
In a survey conducted by Ipsos for King’s College London Policy Institute and the Global Institute for Women’s Leadership, it was revealed that one in every four young men aged 16-29 in the UK believes that being a man is more challenging than being a woman. Among the survey participants, which included over 3,600 individuals, one-fifth expressed a positive view of social media influencer Andrew Tate.
Andrew Tate, a British-American former kickboxer with 8.7 million followers on the social media platform X, is facing charges in Romania related to human trafficking, rape, and allegedly setting up a criminal gang to exploit women sexually. Tate openly identifies as ‘thoroughly anti-woman’.
Additionally, the research indicated that 37% of men aged 16 to 29 view the term ‘toxic masculinity’ as an unhelpful phrase.
“This is a new and unusual generational pattern,” said Prof Bobby Duffy, director of the Policy Institute. “Normally, it tends to be the case that younger generations are consistently more comfortable with emerging social norms, as they grew up with these as a natural part of their lives. There is a consistent minority of between one-fifth and one-third who hold the opposite view. This points to a real risk of fractious division among this coming generation.”
The first generation primarily informed by social media
According to Professor Rosie Campbell, Director of the Global Institute for Women’s Leadership at King’s College London, one contributing factor is that this group is predominantly the first generation to rely heavily on social media for information.
“There has been a zeitgeist where young women feel they can own the idea of feminist identity … [Young men] hear a lot about girl power but don’t, at this stage in their lives, understand the inequalities that we know are in the world when you hit work and childcare.”
Campbell suggests that social media algorithms exacerbate this gap. “This could be something that changes when young men enter the workforce but we can’t take that for granted given how important social media is in the way we understand ourselves.”
Source: Guardian