Hannah Mays and Dr Nelli Ferenczi submitted written evidence to the Women and Equalities Committee’s inquiry into Misogyny: the manosphere and online content; where they addressed questions on how prevalent misogynistic views and attitudes are among young people, how social media influencers are shaping attitudes towards women and girls, and how online content is contributing to sexist and misogynistic attitudes and behaviour.
Their evidence highlighted:
- The ‘manosphere’ refers to communities which promote misogynistic views, attitudes, ideologies, and behaviour.
- A key aspect of online misogyny is the belief that women are inferior to men, and that men are being oppressed by a feminist society.
- Misogynistic content often refers to physical appearance, sexualisation, and dehumanisation and depersonalisation of women.
- Whilst online misogyny is prevalent across social media platforms, TikTok is one of the main sources of misogynistic content for young people.
- Influencers such as Andrew Tate are well-known to young people and impact attitudes towards women and girls through their portrayal of a desirable lifestyle (e.g., work, or financial success).
- Misogynistic content has an impact on women’s participation in online spaces, negative attitudes towards women, and psychological well-being.
- The impact of misogynistic content on young people’s behaviour and attitudes is a particular concern for both primary and secondary school teachers, and has been observed in school settings.