tag:theconversation.com,2011:/ca/topics/misogyny-4045/articlesMisogyny – The Conversation2024-03-25T17:08:27Ztag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2265282024-03-25T17:08:27Z2024-03-25T17:08:27ZImmaculate: how a nunsploitation film tunes into women’s anger over misogyny and oppression<p><em>Warning: this article contains spoilers</em></p>
<p>Camp, provocative and often kitsch, the “nunsploitation” subgenre rose to prominence in 1970s European cinema. Exemplifying this trend were films including Ken Russell’s <a href="https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0066993/">The Devils</a> (1971) – which received an “X” (18) rating in the UK and the US due to its explicit sexual and violent scenes – and pornographic Italian films <a href="https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0165325/">Images in a Convent</a> (Joe D'Amato, 1979) and <a href="https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0070404/?ref_=fn_al_tt_4">The Nun and the Devil</a> (Domenico Paolella, 1973).</p>
<p>Many film critics have been labelling <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/film/2024/mar/20/immaculate-sydney-sweeney-review#:%7E:text=Immaculate%20isn't%20above%20the,be%20both%20laughable%20and%20refreshing.">Immaculate</a>, the new horror film from Michael Mohan (The Voyeurs, 2021), as nunsploitation, but I believe it offers a greater level of sophistication than this label suggests, reflecting recent political events in America that have profoundly affected women’s freedoms when it comes to their own bodies. </p>
<p>The film acknowledges the prevalent cinematic stereotype of the “sexy nun”. When Sister Cecilia (Sydney Sweeney) is initially introduced, she is en route to Italy from her previous post in Michigan. She draws the attention of two male border agents who make sexist comments in Italian. Despite not understanding the language, Cecilia senses their meaning. This experience reflects the discomfort many women feel when being harassed or objectified in public spaces.</p>
<p>This early scene hints at the film’s potential to challenge expectations associated with nunsploitation films and address more culturally relevant themes. With lead actress Sydney Sweeney also serving as a producer, the film gains a unique feminist perspective that interrogates the disturbing and increasingly relevant topic of <a href="https://www.weforum.org/agenda/2022/03/what-is-bodily-autonomy-and-why-does-it-matter-for-women/">women’s bodily autonomy</a> – a woman’s power and agency over her own body.</p>
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<p>Sweeney plays Sister Cecilia, a devout young woman who is invited to take her vows at an Italian countryside convent dedicated to caring for elderly nuns in their final years. Cecilia is summoned to a meeting with the convent’s leaders and asked to confirm that she has honoured her vow of chastity.</p>
<p>A subsequent scan reveals her unexpected pregnancy. While the nuns view this as a miracle heralding the second coming of Christ, a sequence of unsettling nightmares and mysterious events hints at a darker force at work.</p>
<p>From satanic cults in <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/film/2010/oct/22/rosemarys-baby-polanksi-horror">Rosemary’s Baby</a> to murderous offspring in <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/film/2017/feb/12/prevenge-review-alice-lowe-sightseers">Prevenge</a>, numerous films have shown that horror can be a powerful genre for exploring anxieties surrounding motherhood. Immaculate exemplifies this, fitting into what journalist Jordan Crucchiola describes as <a href="https://www.vulture.com/2017/03/prevenge-is-proof-we-need-more-horror-movies-about-pregnancy.html">“pregnancy horror”</a>“.</p>
<h2>Reproductive rites</h2>
<p>The film speaks to ongoing concerns about women’s reproductive rights. In 2022 the US Supreme Court <a href="https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-65956103#:%7E:text=On%252024%2520June%252C%25202022%252C%2520America's,which%2520is%2520about%252024%2520weeks.">overturned Roe v Wade</a>, the pivotal 1973 ruling that established women’s constitutional right to abortion. Since then, <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/ng-interactive/2023/nov/10/state-abortion-laws-us">14 states have implemented near-total abortion bans</a>.</p>
<p>The overturning of Roe v Wade reflects the growing influence of conservative religious groups on political agendas. Even the self-proclaimed misogynist influencer <a href="https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-64125045">Andrew Tate</a> has <a href="https://www.msnbc.com/opinion/msnbc-opinion/andrew-tates-muslim-conversion-cant-hide-misogyny-rcna64707">used religious rhetoric</a> to spread his extremist ideology.</p>
<p>Just as Margaret Atwood’s dystopian novel <a href="https://www.britannica.com/topic/The-Handmaids-Tale-by-Atwood">The Handmaid’s Tale</a> warned, when far-right politics, male dominance and religious beliefs align, women’s bodies become state property and are subjected to inhumane restrictions.</p>
<p>The shadow of post-Roe America looms over Immaculate. The fact that Cecilia – the sole American nun in the film – finds herself ensnared in an oppressive religious institution controlled by a dangerous patriarch intent on exploiting women’s bodies, speaks volumes.</p>
<p>The nuns insist on treating the pregnant Cecilia like a religious idol, at one point even dressing her to resemble the Virgin Mary. A poignant close-up shot reveals Cecilia’s inner turmoil as she stands motionless, teary-eyed and trapped in circumstances she never consented to.</p>
<p>Despite being worshipped, Cecilia is denied access to proper medical care. She resorts to faking a miscarriage in the hope of being taken to a hospital. Reflecting the sentiments of the post-Roe landscape, the wellbeing of Cecilia’s unborn child is prioritised over her own.</p>
<h2>Women’s bodies and Hollywood</h2>
<p>Sweeney’s role in Immaculate forms a dialogue with her Hollywood star image, especially in light of her remarks in interviews about how her body is perceived by the public.</p>
<p>In a recent <a href="https://variety.com/2024/film/news/sydney-sweeney-immaculate-glen-powell-euphoria-season-3-1235943028/">sit-down with Variety</a>, she reflected on the media’s tendency to objectify her physique, stating: "People feel … free to speak about me in whatever way they want, because they believe that I’ve signed my life away. That I’m not on a human level any more, because I’m an actor”.</p>
<p>Canada’s <a href="https://nationalpost.com/opinion/amy-hamm-wokeness-is-no-match-for-sydney-sweeneys-undeniable-beauty">National Post</a> recently ran a story doing just that, asking: “Are Sydney Sweeney’s breasts double-D harbingers of the death of woke?”.</p>
<p>The themes of bodily autonomy and ownership of women’s bodies explored in Immaculate extend beyond reproductive rights. They also resonate in celebrity culture, where women in the public eye have long battled sexual objectification and intrusive scrutiny of their physical appearances.</p>
<p>From her breakthrough role in <a href="https://www.imdb.com/title/tt8772296/">Euphoria</a> to her powerful leading role in Immaculate, Sweeney has proved herself to be a daring and dynamic actress who deserves to be praised for her talent rather than objectified for her looks.</p>
<p>Cecilia fights back against the patriarchal and religious forces attempting to dictate her bodily autonomy. The film’s climactic act is a bloody and visceral outpouring of female rage. Cecilia’s cries convey not only her personal anguish but resonate as a wider expression of women’s collective anger.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/226528/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Harriet Fletcher does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>The increasing misogyny and oppression against women is reflected in this new horror, elevating it to something more than a mere nunsploitation movie.Harriet Fletcher, Lecturer in Media and Communication, Anglia Ruskin UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2256202024-03-13T14:47:19Z2024-03-13T14:47:19ZThe abuse of Diane Abbott by a top Tory donor should have us all thinking about how we normalise racism against women MPs<p>Yet again a black woman in British public life has been subjected to racist and sexist abuse. This may be shocking, but it is not surprising. </p>
<p>When Tory donor Frank Hester said that looking at Diane Abbott “<a href="https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2024/mar/11/biggest-tory-donor-looking-diane-abbott-hate-all-black-women">makes you want to hate all black women</a>” his comments were extreme. Yet they were hardly out of the ordinary.</p>
<p>Likewise, the reluctance of some parliamentary colleagues to address the <a href="https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-politics-68542621">racial and gendered nature of the comments</a> is sadly unsurprising, as was the slowness with which the prime minister responded, only belatedly and after pressure from ministers, <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2024/mar/12/conservative-donor-frank-hester-comments-diane-abbott-racist-wrong-no-10-rishi-sunak#:%7E:text=No%2010%20and%20Conservative%20ministers,MP%20%E2%80%9Cshould%20be%20shot%E2%80%9D.">admitting the remarks were racist</a>. </p>
<p>Whether you love or loathe Abbott (who has been suspended from the parliamentary Labour party for her <a href="https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-politics-65374104">own comments on race</a>) this is more than a story about a single individual.</p>
<p>All politicians in the UK are facing increasing levels of violence, harassment and abuse. Data from the <a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/1467-923X.13070">representative audit of Britain</a> survey shows that in 2019, 49% of parliamentary candidates indicated that they had suffered some form of abuse, harassment and intimidation while campaigning. This is a rise of 11 percentage points compared with 2017. </p>
<p>However, evidence also shows ethnic minority women face exceptional dangers in public life. Variation in experiences of harassment and intimidation is enormous: 63% of ethnic minority women candidates reported experiencing abuse compared with 38% of ethnic minority men, 34% of white men and 45% of white women. </p>
<p>The intimidation experienced by ethnic minority women also sometimes originates <a href="https://renewal.org.uk/archive/vol-29-2021/inconvenient-voices-muslim-women-in-the-labour-party/">within their own political parties</a>. Muslim women in both Labour and the Conservatives have spoken up about this problem. </p>
<p>On top of this, black women experience specific forms of anti-black racism combined with misogyny. African American scholar Moya Bailey coined the term “<a href="https://www.degruyter.com/document/doi/10.18574/nyu/9781479803392.001.0001/html">mysogynoir</a>” to describe this phenomenon in the US, but the UK also abounds with examples. For example, in 2016, Dawn Butler, another black woman Labour MP, revealed that she had been <a href="https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-england-london-35685169">mistaken for a cleaner by a fellow MP</a>. She said this was just a single example of “so many incidents” in parliament.</p>
<p>And although headlines often ostensibly celebrate “diversity” in politics, campaign press coverage also <a href="https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/1940161216673195">subjects minority ethnic women to extreme scrutiny</a>. This renders figures such as Abbott hyper-visible, at the same time as being exceptionally negative in tone and narrowly focused on ethnicity and gender. </p>
<p>Untangling the relationship between these forces is extremely tricky. While black and minority ethnic women MPs are uncomfortably visible, the ethnic minority women that all MPs are supposed to represent actually face a <a href="https://doi.org/10.1332/251510821X16739744241737">crisis of representation</a> in parliament. </p>
<p>They are very rarely spoken about in parliamentary debates, and when they are, it is usually by white men and in relation to an extremely narrow range of issues, such as <a href="https://theconversation.com/uk/topics/fgm-5898">female genital mutilation</a> and trafficking. There is less debate about how race and gender permeate many other aspects of minority ethnic women’s lives.</p>
<h2>Taking black and ethnic minority women MPs seriously</h2>
<p>While Frank Hester’s comments are therefore deeply concerning, they should not be viewed as an exception. Racial and gendered inequalities are still rife in British politics, and they hit black and ethnic minority women the hardest. </p>
<p>We cannot treat examples like this as isolated incidents or as being the work of “bad apples”. Instead, we need to take heed of clear patterns in the data and ask uncomfortable questions about political institutions. What would it take to eliminate these dynamics from political parties, parliament and the press?</p>
<p>Perhaps one way to start is to listen to, and take seriously, the words of people like Abbott herself. In response to Hester’s remarks, she <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/politics/live/2024/mar/12/minister-calls-tory-donor-frank-hesters-diane-abbott-comments-completely-unacceptable-but-refuses-to-go-further-uk-politics-live">revealed</a> how vulnerable she feels when just travelling around her constituency. </p>
<p>“For all of my career as an MP I have thought it important not to live in a bubble, but to mix and mingle with ordinary people,” she said. “The fact that two MPs have been murdered in recent years makes talk like this all the more alarming.”</p>
<p>When his comments were exposed, Hester admitted that he had been “rude about Diane Abbot in a private meeting several years ago” but insisted that his comments “had nothing to do with her gender nor colour of skin”. The character of Hester’s apology itself speaks to the normalisation of abuse and incivility, as well as racism and sexism. </p>
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<p>Abbott and others have told the public before that they are frightened and that they are unable to do their jobs because of the dangers involved. If we start to take them seriously, we resist both the normalisation of incivility in public life and the comfortable notion that politics is now a level playing field.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/225620/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Orly Siow has previously received an ESRC scholarship for research on press coverage of Black and ethnic minority women as political candidates.</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Sofia Collignon received funding from the British Academy /Leverhulme and was part of the ESRC -funded research team behind the Representative Audit of Britain survey. </span></em></p>Frank Hester’s words are only the latest extreme example of the constant discrimination black and ethnic minority women face when they enter public life.Orly Siow, Associate Senior Lecturer in Gender Studies, Lund UniversitySofia Collignon, Lecturer in Comparative Politics, Queen Mary University of LondonLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2235062024-03-08T13:35:33Z2024-03-08T13:35:33ZCenturies after Christine de Pizan wrote a book railing against misogyny, Taylor Swift is building her own ‘City of Ladies’<p>In her work, Taylor Swift has taken inspiration from women of the past, including actress <a href="https://www.billboard.com/music/lyrics/taylor-swift-tortured-poets-department-clara-bow-family-reacts-1235607902/">Clara Bow</a>, socialite <a href="https://www.vogue.com/article/the-outrageous-life-of-rebekah-harkness-taylor-swifts-high-society-muse">Rebekah Harkness</a> and her grandmother <a href="https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-news/taylor-swift-marjorie-song-video-evermore-album-sheffield-1103100/">Marjorie Finlay</a>, who was an opera singer. </p>
<p>But sometimes I wonder what the 34-year-old pop star would think of the life and work of Italian-born French writer <a href="https://www.brooklynmuseum.org/eascfa/dinner_party/place_settings/christine_de_pisan">Christine de Pizan</a>. </p>
<p>Back in the 15th century, Christine – who scholars customarily refer to using her first name, because “de Pizan” simply reflects her place of birth, and she may not have had a last name – dealt with her share of “<a href="https://www.kansascity.com/news/local/article282745283.html">dads, Brads and Chads</a>,” just as Swift has in the 21st century. </p>
<p>Thought to be the first French woman to make a living as a writer, Christine compiled “<a href="https://www.loc.gov/item/2021667679/">The Book of the City of Ladies</a>” in 1405 to challenge the negative stereotypes of women in the Middle Ages. In it, she offers dozens of examples of accomplished women found throughout history, including queens, saints, warriors and poets. </p>
<p>Christine’s writings continue to resonate – especially with women – and are used widely in college courses on women and gender. I recently used excerpts from “The Book of the City of Ladies” in my course on women and gender in early modern Europe.</p>
<p>In reflecting on Christine’s writings from over 600 years ago, I am struck by how she recognized the pernicious effects of attacks on women’s intellect and accomplishments – the ways in which they could be internalized and accepted if women did not challenge the stereotypes. </p>
<h2>Building the ‘City of Ladies’</h2>
<p>Christine de Pizan was born in Italy but spent much of her life in the royal court of France during the rule of <a href="https://www.britannica.com/topic/Valois-dynasty">the House of Valois</a>. </p>
<p>Her father, a court physician and astrologer, encouraged her education alongside her brothers. She had three children with her husband, a French royal secretary named Etienne de Castel, who died when Christine was just 25 years old.</p>
<p>Widowed and facing the prospect of raising and financially supporting children on her own, she turned to composing works that appealed to elites, resulting in commissions from patrons. She wrote on a variety of topics, including <a href="https://roseandchess.lib.uchicago.edu/rose.html">a poem celebrating Joan of Arc’s success on the battlefield</a>.</p>
<p>But her most ambitious and enduring work is “The Book of the City of Ladies.” </p>
<p>Discouraged by all the misogyny she had read, Christine whimsically claimed that she had received a vision from three ladies: Reason, Rectitude and Justice, who tasked her with the project.</p>
<p>By gathering stories about the accomplishments of women, Christine set out to build an allegorical city where women and their achievements would be safe from the insults and slander of men. </p>
<p>In “The City,” she specifically referenced “<a href="http://www.theabsolute.net/misogyny/matheol.html">The Lamentations of Matheolus</a>,” from 1295, a lengthy essay written in Latin by a cleric from Boulogne-sur-Mer, France. Its French translation from the late 1300s would have been the version Christine read. </p>
<p>It is full of hateful views of women, but Matheolus saves most of his ire for wives.</p>
<p>“Anyone who wishes to immolate himself on the altar of marriage will have a lot to put up with,” he writes, adding that the torture of marriage “is worse than the torments of hell.” He derides women as “always quarrelsome … cruel, and shrewish” – “terribly perverse” individuals who have “deceived all the greatest men in the world.”</p>
<p>Matheolus was not alone in his low views of women. Other popular writings of the time included Jean de Meun’s “<a href="https://roseandchess.lib.uchicago.edu/rose.html">The Romance of the Rose</a>,” which portrayed women as untrustworthy and jealous, and an anonymous treatise, “<a href="https://pius.slu.edu/special-collections/?p=4037">On the Secrets of Women</a>,” which offered misinformation about the biology of women. </p>
<p>With so much misogyny coming from so many sources, Christine acknowledged how easy it was for women to believe what was said about them: </p>
<blockquote>
<p>“It’s no wonder that women have been the losers in the war against them since the envious slanderers and vicious traitors who criticize them have been allowed to aim all manner of weapons at their defenseless targets.” </p>
</blockquote>
<p>Christine recognized the reasons behind this widespread misogyny: Women who were smarter and kinder than men were seen as a threat and a challenge to <a href="https://sites.udel.edu/britlitwiki/women-in-medieval-literature-and-society/">the established patriarchy</a> of Western society. </p>
<h2>Taylor Swift’s ‘big ole city’</h2>
<p>Like Christine, Swift is a gifted writer who began making a living with her pen when she was a teenager. </p>
<p>She has built her own city of sorts to protect her reputation, her music and her self-esteem.</p>
<p>In her 2020 documentary “<a href="https://www.imdb.com/title/tt11388580/">Miss Americana</a>,” Swift opens up about her struggles with media scrutiny, which contributed to an eating disorder. In it, she describes herself as “trying to deprogram the misogyny in my own brain.”</p>
<p>She <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2017/08/14/arts/music/taylor-swift-trial-jury-verdict.html">sued a DJ that groped her and won</a>, leading to her being featured as one of the “silence breakers” <a href="https://www.vox.com/culture/2017/12/6/16742166/taylor-swift-time-magazine-person-year-2017-silence-breaker-me-too">on the cover</a> of Time magazine in 2017 at the dawn of the #MeToo movement. And in 2021, she began reclaiming her words and music <a href="https://www.today.com/popculture/music/taylors-version-meaning-swift-rerecording-albums-rcna98513">by re-recording her older albums</a> as “Taylor’s Versions” after the original masters were sold by her first record label without her consent. </p>
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<img alt="Tattooed arms peruse vinyl records featuring a young woman on the cover." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/580547/original/file-20240307-18-oq6pk5.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/580547/original/file-20240307-18-oq6pk5.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/580547/original/file-20240307-18-oq6pk5.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/580547/original/file-20240307-18-oq6pk5.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/580547/original/file-20240307-18-oq6pk5.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/580547/original/file-20240307-18-oq6pk5.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/580547/original/file-20240307-18-oq6pk5.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
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<span class="caption">An employee of an Ohio record store stocks a shelf with copies of ‘1989 (Taylor’s Version)’ in 2023.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://newsroom.ap.org/detail/OhioDailyLife/23ee9d50617546c092a62ec7a51c301f/photo?Query=taylor%27s%20version&mediaType=photo&sortBy=creationdatetime:desc&dateRange=Anytime&totalCount=138&currentItemNo=5">AP Photo/Aaron Doster</a></span>
</figcaption>
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<p>In her songs, Swift also repeatedly confronts the men who have discounted her talent and intellect. Her song “<a href="https://genius.com/Taylor-swift-mean-lyrics">Mean</a>” is widely believed to be about the critics who questioned her talent, such as <a href="https://lefsetz.com/wordpress/2010/02/01/grammys/">Bob Lefsetz</a>, who wrote that Swift clearly couldn’t sing and had possibly destroyed her career after <a href="https://www.usmagazine.com/entertainment/news/taylor-swifts-out-of-tune-grammy-performance-defended-by-label-201042/">a shaky performance</a> at the 2010 Grammys.</p>
<p>“Someday, I’ll be livin’ in a big, ole city,” Swift retorts in the track, “And all you’re ever gonna be is mean.”</p>
<p>At the conclusion of “The Book of the City of Ladies,” her mission to record the achievements of women accomplished, Christine de Pizan invites her female readers to join her: </p>
<blockquote>
<p>“All of you who love virtue, glory and a fine reputation can now be lodged in great splendour inside its walls, not just women of the past but also those of the present and the future, for this has been founded and built to accommodate all deserving women.” </p>
</blockquote>
<p>Though the City of Ladies was built centuries ago, I have a feeling that Taylor Swift would be right at home in that big, ole city.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/223506/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Jill R. Fehleison does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organization that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>By compiling stories about the accomplishments of women, Christine set out to build an allegorical city where women and their achievements would be safe from sexist insults and slander.Jill R. Fehleison, Professor of History and Interdisciplinary Studies, Quinnipiac UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2236492024-03-08T03:30:49Z2024-03-08T03:30:49Z‘Are we dating the same guy?’ These women-run groups are accused of being toxic, but they carry a feminist legacy<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/580618/original/file-20240308-22-ccb0yy.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=26%2C26%2C8648%2C5748&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Shutterstock</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>In 2022, a social network was <a href="https://mashable.com/article/are-we-dating-the-same-guy-facebook">formed</a> in New York for women to share warnings about their interactions with men on dating apps. These were men who had allegedly lied, manipulated, cheated on, ghosted, used or abused them.</p>
<p>Since then, “<a href="https://www.facebook.com/groups/340985311306448">Are we dating the same guy</a>?” (AWDTSG) groups have exploded online across Facebook and other social platforms, attracting anywhere from hundreds to more than 150,000 members depending on the city they serve. </p>
<p>These groups are trying to improve women’s online safety where dating app developers are failing. In doing so, they’re tapping into a long history of feminist initiatives aimed at protecting women from allegedly hostile or predatory men.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/580619/original/file-20240308-30-rfd0w6.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/580619/original/file-20240308-30-rfd0w6.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/580619/original/file-20240308-30-rfd0w6.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=410&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/580619/original/file-20240308-30-rfd0w6.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=410&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/580619/original/file-20240308-30-rfd0w6.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=410&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/580619/original/file-20240308-30-rfd0w6.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=515&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/580619/original/file-20240308-30-rfd0w6.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=515&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/580619/original/file-20240308-30-rfd0w6.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=515&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Globally millions of women are gathering in private, online spaces to safeguard their gender against alleged predators.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Shutterstock</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>How it works</h2>
<p>Globally, millions of women gather in AWDTSG groups. The majority of these private digital spaces are explicit about their intent. The first group to emerge had the unofficial motto: “it’s about protecting women, not judging men”. This has been widely adopted by offshoots. </p>
<p>Posts follow two main themes: unprompted “red flag” warnings about men women have dated, and prompts for “tea or red flags” about potential dates. The men in these posts are identified by name and location, and at least one dating profile screenshot. </p>
<p>Posts can be made anonymously so women don’t risk retaliation, but are vetted by moderators to ensure they comply with group rules. </p>
<h2>Safety is never guaranteed</h2>
<p>Online dating apps are often framed as a necessary evil in the 2020s. They conform to the same conventions as early chatrooms such as <a href="https://www.smithsonianmag.com/innovation/in-25-years-since-its-launch-aol-instant-messenger-has-never-been-away-180980086/">AOL</a>, MSN Messenger and <a href="https://www.wikihow.com/Get-Started-with-IRC-(Internet-Relay-Chat)">IRC</a> (internet relay chat), and digital classifieds such as Craigslist and Gumtree. </p>
<p>These sites enabled <a href="https://academic.oup.com/princeton-scholarship-online/book/31347/chapter-abstract/264477895?redirectedFrom=fulltext&login=true">random connections</a> with strangers without any vetting; the onus of safety <a href="https://www.latimes.com/archives/blogs/technology-blog/story/2011-02-24/craigslist-challenges-study-from-rival-that-says-330-crimes-12-deaths-were-linked-to-its-site">was on the user</a>. They have become the source of both heartwarming <a href="https://www.huffpost.com/entry/roommate-wanted-wedding-married_n_5f32d6fbc5b6960c066d35d6">success stories</a>, as well as tales of <a href="https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-21872757">murder</a> and <a href="https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-2010-jan-11-la-na-rape-craigslist11-2010jan11-story.html">revenge rape</a> offences.</p>
<p><div data-react-class="Tweet" data-react-props="{"tweetId":"1679123692268187649"}"></div></p>
<p>Dating app developers <a href="https://datingsafetyguide.com/pdf/dating-safety-guide.pdf">admit</a> there are safety risks inherent to their business model – and they’ve yet to adequately address them. Many apps have an optional verification feature, but this merely weeds out catfishes: people using a fake online identity. It doesn’t guarantee safety.</p>
<p>Bumble advertises itself as a <a href="https://www.ibtimes.com/bumble-feminist-tinder-women-reach-out-first-within-24-hours-1858772">feminist</a> app that’s focused on <a href="https://bumble.com/en-au/the-buzz/safety">safety</a>, as women must initiate the conversations with their matches. However, as posts on AWDTSG groups demonstrate, this puts the onus on women <a href="https://www.pewresearch.org/internet/2020/02/06/the-virtues-and-downsides-of-online-dating/">to be particularly discerning</a>. </p>
<p>Dating app users have to open themselves to random interactions with strangers (and therefore to unqualified risk) just to be able to use the service. One 2022 survey found <a href="https://theconversation.com/3-in-4-people-experience-abuse-on-dating-apps-how-do-we-balance-prevention-with-policing-198587">three in four people</a> experienced abuse while using these apps. </p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/49-women-have-been-killed-in-australia-so-far-in-2023-as-a-result-of-violence-are-we-actually-making-any-progress-217552">49 women have been killed in Australia so far in 2023 as a result of violence. Are we actually making any progress?</a>
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</em>
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<hr>
<h2>A history of women supporting women</h2>
<p>Historically, <a href="https://theconversation.com/the-long-history-of-gender-violence-in-australia-and-why-it-matters-today-119927">governments and communities</a> have been reticent to take responsibility for family and domestic violence. In the 1970s, those in the women’s liberation movement understood they had very limited protections from sexual and physical abuse that came at the hands of <a href="https://www.brazenhussies.com.au/aboutthefilm">boyfriends or husbands</a>. </p>
<p>This prompted the liberationists to form <a href="https://daily.jstor.org/consciousness-raising-groups-and-the-womens-movement/">consciousness raising groups</a>. These groups aimed to spread knowledge about the many facets of women’s oppression, and implement solutions such as providing <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/0312407X.2023.2228289">refuge</a> for women and children escaping family violence. </p>
<p>Into the 1990s, women and girls started to embrace new kinds of feminism that aggressively prioritised the sisterhood over men, including “<a href="https://www.smh.com.au/lifestyle/life-and-relationships/the-problem-with-girl-power-feminism-isn-t-meant-to-be-fun-20220824-p5bcek.html">girl power</a>” and “<a href="https://www.feministpress.org/books-n-z/riot-grrrl-collection">grrrl power</a>” feminism. </p>
<p>These branches built on the gains of <a href="https://www.britannica.com/topic/feminism/The-second-wave-of-feminism">second wave feminism</a> which taught women they could, and should, embrace power and step up to solve their problems. That same decade, <a href="https://commons.lib.jmu.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1018&context=jmurj">do-it-yourself feminism</a> spawned from the merger of these ideas, teaching women the way to solve societal sexism was to solve it themselves. </p>
<p>AWDTSG groups follow in these footsteps. By providing a space where women can support and empower each other, they fulfil the consciousness raising and DIY aspirations of previous generations of feminists.</p>
<p>They also demonstrate how, even now, there are limited societal protections for women who <a href="https://www.abc.net.au/news/2022-12-22/background-and-criminal-checks-flagged-for-dating-apps/101803688">have faced</a>, or may face, violence or harassment by men. </p>
<p><div data-react-class="Tweet" data-react-props="{"tweetId":"1765839165940478221"}"></div></p>
<h2>The counterargument</h2>
<p>Both the admins and members of AWDTSG groups face risks in the process of facilitating these spaces. While group posts mainly remain private, there can be retaliation or even <a href="https://www.minclaw.com/are-we-dating-same-guy-facebook-group/">legal</a> repercussions when someone “snitches” and leaks a post.</p>
<p>In cases where men have discovered posts about them and wish to have them removed, the admins tend to only do this if the man is willing to <a href="https://www.reddit.com/r/AWDTSGisToxic/comments/18mwcu3/keep_at_it_fellas/">“rat out” the snitch</a> (which they usually are). This ensures women undermining the group’s aims of sisterhood and safety are named, shamed and removed.</p>
<p>Several counter group such as <a href="https://www.reddit.com/r/AWDTSGisToxic/">r/AWDTSGisToxic</a>, <a href="https://endawdtsg.com/">End AWDTSG</a>, and <a href="https://www.facebook.com/groups/625302573086924">victims of AWDTSG</a> have emerged to rail against the movement. They claim AWDTSG groups enable the bullying and shaming of men just for being bad dates. </p>
<p>The goals of both the pro- and counter-AWDTSG groups give rise to <a href="https://www.vice.com/en/article/dy375q/are-we-dating-the-same-guy-facebook-groups">spurious claims</a>. Each side can end up facilitating forms of “bullying”, “toxicity” and even <a href="https://www.wtkr.com/news/wife-charged-with-husbands-vb-homicide-accused-of-affair-prior-to-shooting-court-docs">serious violence</a> against individuals.</p>
<h2>Grey areas</h2>
<p>Anti-AWDTSG groups claim they support protecting women from <em>truly</em> violent men, but a lack of verification means there are more <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/technology/2024/03/02/dating-same-guy-facebook-groups/">false accusations</a> than true ones. </p>
<p>Last month, a man from Chicago launched a <a href="https://storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.uscourts.ilnd.449909/gov.uscourts.ilnd.449909.1.0.pdf">lawsuit</a> against the city’s AWDTSG group and several social media sites, including Meta, for defamation. The case seeks to force the host platforms, primarily Facebook, to regulate these private groups to protect men.</p>
<p>Off the back of that, a new group <a href="https://www.facebook.com/groups/804749828144287">AWDTSG Lawsuits</a> was formed. It aims to bring men together to potentially sue Facebook and the groups it hosts for defamation. </p>
<p>It’ll be interesting to see how the case plays out, and whether platforms profiting from women’s engagement in AWDTSG groups are willing to take sides in this supposed battle of the sexes. </p>
<p>Either way, one thing is certain: the patriarchy’s influence is diminished in a generation of tech-savvy women who wholeheartedly believe the “<a href="http://www.carolhanisch.org/CHwritings/PIP.html">personal is political</a>”. </p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/tinder-fails-to-protect-women-from-abuse-but-when-we-brush-off-dick-pics-as-a-laugh-so-do-we-147909">Tinder fails to protect women from abuse. But when we brush off 'dick pics' as a laugh, so do we</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/223649/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Natasha Szuhan does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>These private online communities represent a long-held feminist maxim: to solve sexism requires women to solve it themselves.Natasha Szuhan, Lecturer, History and Sociology, Australian National UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2243702024-03-07T19:24:18Z2024-03-07T19:24:18ZPolitical power in Australia is still overwhelmingly male. But beneath the despair, there’s reason for hope<p>It’s 2024, but power still looks like a man. Despite Australia’s claim to egalitarianism, achieving equal political participation and representation remains a formidable challenge for women. Concerningly, the persistent and ingrained obstacles in women’s way are affecting the aspirations of the next generation of female leaders. </p>
<p>According to 2022 <a href="https://plan-international.org/uploads/2022/10/SOTWGR-2022-EN-Final-SD.pdf">research</a> spanning 29 countries, including Australia, satisfaction among young females aged 15-24 with their leaders’ decisions on issues they care about stands at a mere 11%. An overwhelming 97% acknowledged the importance of political participation. Yet, only 24% of those aspiring to engage in politics could see themselves running for office. </p>
<p>Worse still, 20% have been personally discouraged from political involvement. This is often because they’re either considered to be <a href="https://www.brookings.edu/wp-content/uploads/2016/06/05_women_lawless_fox.pdf">less qualified</a> or that they will inevitably <a href="https://www.worldbank.org/en/news/feature/2015/01/27/the-female-political-career-women-members-of-parliament-still-face-obstacles-to-elected-office">face discrimination</a> and gendered violence. </p>
<p>I crunched the numbers to assess the situation in Australia. While much has been said about the <a href="https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=web&cd=&cad=rja&uact=8&ved=2ahUKEwjBo7vTp9SEAxU3amwGHUFXBH8QFnoECAYQAQ&url=https%3A%2F%2Fiview.abc.net.au%2Fshow%2Fms-represented-with-annabel-crabb&usg=AOvVaw1oHrBbmWBZQhhBmxEIv6gA&opi=89978449">mistreatment</a> of female leaders, how does this play into the psyche of female constituents? </p>
<p>I found gender gaps have persisted in almost every political measure over the past 20 years. But there’s a glimmer of hope, mostly found online. </p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/whats-the-secret-to-attracting-more-women-into-politics-give-them-more-resources-222159">What's the secret to attracting more women into politics? Give them more resources</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<h2>Politics still unwelcoming and unrepresentative</h2>
<p>Using the <a href="https://australianelectionstudy.org/">Australian Election Study</a>, I examined the gender gaps in political attitudes and behaviours across generations between 2001 and 2022.</p>
<p>The pathway to power for women in politics has never been easy, and it doesn’t get easier once elected. The prevalent discrimination, <a href="https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=web&cd=&cad=rja&uact=8&ved=2ahUKEwiVwpWMp9SEAxW8UWcHHb4eCPAQtwJ6BAg4EAI&url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.youtube.com%2Fwatch%3Fv%3Dz8asUgiCjw0&usg=AOvVaw2_nNYywdfZNl9-qQxzlqys&opi=89978449">gender deafness</a>, sexism and overt abuse not only <a href="https://theconversation.com/expect-sexism-a-gender-politics-expert-reads-julia-gillards-women-and-leadership-142725">force women to abandon</a> their leadership aspirations, but also act as signals that discourage young women from corridors of power. </p>
<p>It is therefore not surprising younger generations of Australian women display a diminished interest in politics, more so than older generations.</p>
<p><iframe id="4MuvN" class="tc-infographic-datawrapper" src="https://datawrapper.dwcdn.net/4MuvN/" height="400px" width="100%" style="border: none" frameborder="0"></iframe></p>
<p>I found they’re less represented than men in traditional participatory practices, such as discussing politics or attending political meetings. They’re also less likely to contribute money to a party or campaign. Girls in various Western democracies reported <a href="https://www.researchgate.net/publication/249019872_Good_Girls_Go_to_the_Polling_Booth_Bad_Boys_Go_Everywhere_Gender_Differences_in_Anticipated_Political_Participation_Among_American_Fourteen-Year-Olds">similar</a> disinterest. </p>
<p><iframe id="P7Jrx" class="tc-infographic-datawrapper" src="https://datawrapper.dwcdn.net/P7Jrx/" height="400px" width="100%" style="border: none" frameborder="0"></iframe></p>
<p>Young Australian women are also less satisfied with democracy than men. They report lower trust in government than their male counterparts and are more likely to believe government is run for few big interests rather than for all. </p>
<p><iframe id="7PvXV" class="tc-infographic-datawrapper" src="https://datawrapper.dwcdn.net/7PvXV/" height="400px" width="100%" style="border: none" frameborder="0"></iframe></p>
<h2>Discouragement is everywhere</h2>
<p>Politics continues to be off-putting because sexism is normalised in the <a href="https://theconversation.com/in-australian-media-womens-voices-are-still-not-heard-172060">media</a>. </p>
<p>Numerous studies show young Australian women <a href="https://www.plan.org.au/publications/she-can-lead/">think</a> female leaders receive unfair treatment from the media. The gendered media coverage is often characterised by negative portrayals of “<a href="https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/0146167210371949">power-seeking</a>” ambitions, scrutiny of fashion choices, judgement based on reproductive decisions, and a <a href="https://theconversation.com/theres-a-big-problem-with-the-murdoch-media-no-one-is-talking-about-how-it-treats-women-leaders-149986">failure to recognise</a> the mistreatment of female leaders (gender blindness). It all serves as a stark reminder of entrenched sexism in our national mindset.</p>
<p>Moreover, there’s <a href="https://theconversation.com/the-missing-women-of-australian-politics-research-shows-the-toll-of-harassment-abuse-and-stalking-168567">scepticism</a> in the personal circles of women aspiring to political roles. Friends and family can express concerns about their loved one’s safety working in parliament or for a political party. This undermines the progress of women in political leadership. </p>
<p>Women also hesitate to <a href="https://theconversation.com/the-missing-women-of-australian-politics-research-shows-the-toll-of-harassment-abuse-and-stalking-168567">encourage</a> others to pursue political careers due to the potential for facing abuse.</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/online-abuse-could-drive-women-out-of-political-life-the-time-to-act-is-now-214301">Online abuse could drive women out of political life – the time to act is now</a>
</strong>
</em>
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<hr>
<p>If the political landscape discourages the pool of potential female leaders, it’s understandable gender quotas have had <a href="https://hir.harvard.edu/equal-representation-the-debate-over-gender-quotas-part-1/">mixed success</a>. Labor’s quotas have not been a panacea for attracting young women to politics. </p>
<p>The reality is women <a href="https://theconversation.com/women-politicians-pay-too-high-a-personal-cost-for-their-leadership-201028">pay too high</a> a personal price in leadership positions. Competing work and family roles create high levels of stress and burn-out. This particularly <a href="https://theconversation.com/whats-the-secret-to-attracting-more-women-into-politics-give-them-more-resources-222159">deters</a> young women from running for local government, for example – more so than older women and men of all ages. </p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/580075/original/file-20240306-20-s0fb71.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="A woman uses her smartphone on public transport." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/580075/original/file-20240306-20-s0fb71.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/580075/original/file-20240306-20-s0fb71.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=398&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/580075/original/file-20240306-20-s0fb71.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=398&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/580075/original/file-20240306-20-s0fb71.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=398&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/580075/original/file-20240306-20-s0fb71.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=501&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/580075/original/file-20240306-20-s0fb71.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=501&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/580075/original/file-20240306-20-s0fb71.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=501&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Young women are increasingly engaging in political discussion online.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/young-woman-using-smartphone-subway-1060222451">Shutterstock</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>Bottom-up quest for parity</h2>
<p>Despite these challenges, the 2022 federal election emerged as a pivotal moment in Australian politics, highlighting a <a href="https://theconversation.com/what-explained-the-seismic-2022-federal-election-the-australian-election-study-has-answers-195286">significant shift</a> in the engagement of women and young people. These two social bases turned away from major parties, signalling a growing disenchantment with the established political order. </p>
<p>Young women are actively challenging traditional power structures, leveraging their access to higher education and social media to redefine the political narrative. They are not hesitant to explore political alternatives to the two major parties. </p>
<p>Young women have also been challenging the established political order through getting involved in politics online. They are participating in political discussions, sharing and blogging political information, accessing election information and creating and joining political groups on social media platforms.</p>
<p><iframe id="Dais0" class="tc-infographic-datawrapper" src="https://datawrapper.dwcdn.net/Dais0/" height="400px" width="100%" style="border: none" frameborder="0"></iframe></p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/jacinda-arderns-resignation-shows-that-women-still-face-an-uphill-battle-in-politics-an-expert-on-female-leaders-answers-5-key-questions-198197">Jacinda Ardern's resignation shows that women still face an uphill battle in politics – an expert on female leaders answers 5 key questions</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<p>This has ushered in younger generations of Australian women who are unwilling to accept abuse and harassment as the inevitable costs of political engagement. With increasing education levels and a <a href="https://theconversation.com/australias-young-people-are-moving-to-the-left-though-young-women-are-more-progressive-than-men-reflecting-a-global-trend-222288">more progressive</a>, <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2024/feb/28/australian-voters-are-increasingly-driven-by-issues-rather-than-party-loyalty-and-thats-bad-news-for-the-old-political-order">issue-based mindset</a>, young women are raising their demands and expectations.</p>
<p>This is heartening. We’re starting to see a generation of women who refuse to accept the limitations imposed on them. This development signals a promising shift towards a more inclusive and representative political landscape.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/224370/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Intifar Chowdhury does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Data show young Australian women are less politically engaged than men. Given the negative experiences of female politicians, that’s hardly surprising. But there’s a glimmer of hope.Intifar Chowdhury, Lecturer in Government, Flinders UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2220092024-02-07T10:26:46Z2024-02-07T10:26:46ZDo women have to be naked to get into museums? Why female artists continue to be underrepresented in the art world<p>We challenge you to name, off the top of your head, a few women artists exhibited in museums. If male names come more readily to mind, it’s not by chance: women, in art as in many other spheres associated with a form of power, influence or prestige, are <a href="https://boutique.centrepompidou.fr/fr/product/10092-pourquoi-t-il-pas-eu-de-grands-artistes-femmes.html">far less recognised, exhibited and studied</a> than their male counterparts.</p>
<h2>Female artists’ feeble presence in museums</h2>
<p>The anger over this state of affairs boiled over decades ago. Back in the 1980s, the <a href="https://awarewomenartists.com/artiste/guerrilla-girls/">Guerrilla Girls</a>, a collective of anonymous women artists, took issue with the lack of representation of women at the MoMa’s <a href="https://www.tate.org.uk/art/artworks/guerrilla-girls-do-women-have-to-be-naked-to-get-into-the-met-museum-p78793">“International Retrospective of Contemporary Painting and Sculpture”</a>, which aimed to showcase the biggest names in contemporary art. Of the 169 artists chosen, only 13 were women – less than 8%. The feminists would ask a question that would go on to ring into the 21st century: “Do women have to be naked to get into the Met museum?</p>
<p>According to recent research, there are still few women artists in museums. In the United States in 2019, in the 18 largest museums in terms of visitor numbers, <a href="https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0212852">87% of the artists exhibited in the permanent collections were men</a>. Similarly, in France, a <a href="https://www.culture.gouv.fr/Thematiques/Musees/Les-musees-en-France/Les-collections-des-musees-de-France/Decouvrir-les-collections/Les-femmes-artistes-sortent-de-leur-reserve/Informations-complementaires/informations/Milieu-artistique/Les-sujets">2021 study</a> lists 93.4% male artists in the catalogues of national public museums.</p>
<p>One might retort that a <a href="https://artherstory.net/museum-exhibitions-about-historic-women-artists-2023/">good number of European exhibitions</a> have been devoted to women artists of late. The Parisians will put forward the Centre Pompidou’s <a href="https://www.centrepompidou.fr/en/program/calendar/event/OmzSxFv">"Women in Abstraction”</a> (May-August 2021) or the Musée du Luxembourg’s <a href="https://museeduluxembourg.fr/en/agenda/evenement/pionnieres">“Pioneers”</a>, while Madrilenians can boast <a href="https://www.museothyssen.org/en/exhibitions/women-masters">“Women Masters, Old and Modern”</a> (October 2023–February 2024), a retrospective of the period from the late 16th century to the early decades of the 20th century curated by the Spanish art historian Rocío de la Villa. In Hamburg, <a href="https://www.buceriuskunstforum.de/en/exhibitions/geniale-frauen">“Ingenious Women”</a> (October 2023–January 2024) traced the careers of women artists from 16th to the 18th century, placing their works alongside those of their fathers, brothers, husbands, and fellow painters.</p>
<p>In fact, such a proliferation only underscores the problem of gender inequality: male artists do not need to be associated with a specific category to be the subject of thematic or monographic exhibitions. They have had nearly the entire space to themselves for centuries. To correct this inequality, efforts are being made to shine a light on women by creating exhibitions dedicated to them. But as an article in <a href="https://www.lequotidiendelart.com/articles/19939-faut-il-encore-des-expositions-100-artistes-femmes.html"><em>Le quotidien de l'art</em></a> pointed out in 2021:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>“There is a danger that this kind of initiative will lump together artists who have little in common other than their gender, and reduce them to the same category.”</p>
</blockquote>
<p>Why are women so rarely represented in museums? The difficulty women artists have in finding their place in art museum catalogues is reminiscent of the difficulty women have in breaking through the glass ceiling in the corporate world.</p>
<p>As this subject is now well documented in management literature, we can attempt to draw parallels with the reasons for the low representation of women artists in museum catalogues and exhibition halls.</p>
<h2>Stereotypes and presumption of unfitness</h2>
<p>A first element of explanation seems to be linked to gender stereotypes, with the presumption that women are unfit to create “official” art. Historically, in France, art was legitimised by the Royal Academy of Painting and Sculpture, created by Cardinal Mazarin in 1648, which organised a salon, an annual exhibition of official artists, validated by judges from the Academy. It was there that the state <a href="https://www.beauxarts.com/grand-format/quest-ce-que-le-salon/">bought works for display in museums</a>. Between 1800 and 1830, women accounted for no less than 14% of exhibitors at the salon, but only 1.74% in the museum catalogues of the time, failing to break the glass ceiling set by the male experts at the Académie.</p>
<p>Nowadays, women’s access to strategic positions in organisations continues to heavily rely on their male counterparts’ assessment. Since the 1970s, a number of studies have shown that “masculine” characteristics are more widely associated with the ideal type of leader. Despite increasing numbers of women in business and academia, these stereotypes are relatively stable, particularly among men who perceive women as unsuitable for <a href="https://dumas.ccsd.cnrs.fr/dumas-00914558/document">strategic managerial positions</a>.</p>
<h2>“Think artist, think male”</h2>
<p>As <a href="https://www.cairn.info/revue-cahiers-du-genre-2007-2-page-113.htm">Trasforini</a> notes:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>“In art, we associate the author, the man, the maker, while women are the ‘author’ not of a work but of a useful and often collective product.”</p>
</blockquote>
<p>Our instinctive association of artistic genius with the male gender stems from a broader tendency to link leadership roles with men – a psychological phenomenon known as <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/women-in-leadership/2015/jul/15/think-manager-think-man-women-leaders-biase-workplace">“Think manager, think man”</a>. Our <a href="https://www.edhec.edu/fr/recherche-et-faculte/centres-et-chaires/chaire-diversite-inclusion/publications/mars-2018-etude-diversite-inclusion-et-leadership">2018 study</a> concurs with this view, highlighting the qualities of a leader are particularly associated with so-called “masculine” characteristics. In contrast, interviewees thought women lacked the agency (determination, confidence, independence, etc.) to be skilled leaders.</p>
<p>This assimilation of man-leader, man-artist feeds a vicious circle that keeps women away from positions of power in companies and ambitious projects in the art world.</p>
<h2>Differentiated access to opportunities</h2>
<p>Even if a small number of women artists manage to be exhibited in museums, historically, they remain mostly confined to less prestigious painting genres (portraits, still life, miniatures). The Académie established <a href="https://www.culture.gouv.fr/Thematiques/Musees/Les-musees-en-France/Les-collections-des-musees-de-France/Decouvrir-les-collections/Les-femmes-artistes-sortent-de-leur-reserve/Informations-complementaires/informations/Milieu-artistique/Les-sujets">a hierarchy of genres</a>, with history painting, depicting heroic figures, and the “petit genre”, depicting intimate or light subjects, at the top, followed by landscape and still life.</p>
<p>Long sidelined from sculpture, the study of the nude and the major genres of painting, several women artists, such as <a href="https://www.connaissancedesarts.com/arts-expositions/conquetes-feminines-elisabeth-vigee-le-brun-et-les-artistes-femmes-du-xviiie-siecle-11134221/">Elisabeth Vigée Le Brun and Rosalba Carriera</a>, nevertheless made their mark in portraiture. However, the more women devoted themselves to this “modest” type of art, the less they were exhibited and the less their works were brought to posterity, i.e. displayed in museums.</p>
<h2>Network and influence</h2>
<p>Beyond the gender of the art, the work and the talent, the recognition and quality of a work depend very much on the opportunities it has to meet the public and the financial and human resources available to the artist. <a href="https://www.culture.gouv.fr/Espace-documentation/Rapports/Mission-EgaliteS">The Prat report</a> (2009) underlines this reality, which is not favourable to women because of their limited access to networks that enable the sharing of know-how, means of production and work tools.</p>
<p>Unequal access to professional networks and influential people limits women artists’ opportunities for development, visibility and recognition. <a href="https://www.culture.gouv.fr/Espace-documentation/Rapports/Mission-EgaliteS">Male social networks</a>, which generate active solidarity, have no female equivalent, or only marginal ones. Access to institutions and exhibitions eludes them while they are still alive; and once they are gone, their work has no access to archives, and so cannot arouse the interest of curators.</p>
<p>Similarly, to access strategic positions in companies, it is necessary to be part of networks of influence in order to forge links, build social capital and be able to seize opportunities and emerge as leaders. Compared with men, women have more difficulty accessing professional networks, which <a href="https://www.onufemmes.fr/nos-actualites/2021/3/2/le-leadership-est-il-une-affaire-de-sexe-">limits their access to leadership roles</a>. Studies show that women also have less access to influential sponsors and mentors who can help them accelerate their careers and <a href="https://www.hbrfrance.fr/leadership/le-leadership-feminin-une-construction-sociale-60341">reach senior positions</a>.</p>
<p>Despite equal access to education, opportunities are still unequal: women artists account for <a href="https://haut-conseil-egalite.gouv.fr/IMG/pdf/hce_rapport_inegalites_dans_les_arts_et_la_culture_20180216_vlight.pdf">60% of school pupils in France, but only 10% of award-winning artists</a>.</p>
<p>It’s time to break this vicious circle that minimises women both in positions of power and in museums, and to (re)ask the question <a href="https://pba-opacweb.lille.fr/fr/collections/ou-sont-les-femmes">“Where are the women?”</a>.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/222009/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Les auteurs ne travaillent pas, ne conseillent pas, ne possèdent pas de parts, ne reçoivent pas de fonds d'une organisation qui pourrait tirer profit de cet article, et n'ont déclaré aucune autre affiliation que leur organisme de recherche.</span></em></p>Notwithstanding the proliferation of exhibitions devoted to women, the question that feminists asked in the 1980s is more relevant than ever.Hager Jemel-Fornetty, Associate professor, EDHEC Business SchoolGuergana Guintcheva, Professeur de Marketing, EDHEC Business SchoolLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2217472024-01-31T19:08:10Z2024-01-31T19:08:10ZA new government inquiry will examine women’s pain and treatment. How and why is it different?<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/572314/original/file-20240131-25-o9jwvw.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=25%2C12%2C4228%2C2812&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/older-woman-massaging-tensed-rubbing-muscles-2365171835">Shutterstock</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>The Victorian government has announced an <a href="https://www.health.vic.gov.au/inquiry-into-womens-pain">inquiry</a> into women’s pain. Given women are disproportionately affected by pain, such a thorough investigation is long overdue. </p>
<p>The inquiry, the first of its kind in Australia and the first we’re aware of internationally, is expected to take a year. It aims to improve care and services for Victorian girls and women experiencing pain in the future.</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/there-is-overwhelming-gender-bias-in-the-ndis-and-the-review-doesnt-address-it-220042">There is overwhelming gender bias in the NDIS – and the review doesn't address it</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<h2>The gender pain gap</h2>
<p>Globally, more women report chronic pain than men do. A survey of over 1,750 Victorian women found 40% are living with chronic <a href="https://www.premier.vic.gov.au/gender-pain-gap-revealed-and-women-arent-surprised">pain</a>. </p>
<p>Approximately <a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/36038207/#:%7E:text=About%20half%20of%20chronic%20pain,a%20higher%20prevalence%20in%20men.">half of chronic pain conditions</a> have a higher prevalence in women compared to men, including <a href="https://academic.oup.com/painmedicine/article/22/2/382/5961453">low back pain</a> and <a href="https://www.mdpi.com/2077-0383/10/14/3178">osteoarthritis</a>. And female-specific pain conditions, such as endometriosis, are much more common than male-specific pain conditions such as <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3894747/">chronic prostatitis/chronic pelvic pain syndrome</a>. </p>
<p>These statistics are seen <a href="https://www.abs.gov.au/statistics/health/health-conditions-and-risks/stressors-and-bodily-pain/latest-release">across the lifespan</a>, with higher rates of chronic pain being reported in females <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0304395911004751?casa_token=fDkFvlrL930AAAAA:SonUMuMgqohViJ2Ok9gGQ7K4G0hChxZYolroR7t5LVSd_uzMnSe_2EBZ4b8blh3GscewZ1bI7Ac">as young as two years old</a>. This discrepancy <a href="https://www.aihw.gov.au/reports/chronic-disease/chronic-pain-in-australia/summary">increases with age</a>, with 28% of Australian women aged over 85 experiencing chronic pain compared to 18% of men. </p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/people-with-endometriosis-and-pcos-wait-years-for-a-diagnosis-attitudes-to-womens-pain-may-be-to-blame-179500">People with endometriosis and PCOS wait years for a diagnosis – attitudes to women’s pain may be to blame</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<h2>It feels worse</h2>
<p>Women also experience pain differently to men. There is some evidence to suggest that when diagnosed with the same condition, women are more likely to report <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1526590011008728">higher pain scores than men</a>. </p>
<p>Similarly, there is some evidence to suggest women are also more likely to report higher pain scores during experimental trials where the same painful pressure stimulus is applied to <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0304395911007019?casa_token=ZK8PjH4pXUYAAAAA:UI8K8sKlrWM3OCC7qBucplrA-mct4EU5NZUpQsLQ6WooNWlfxC6MCtTdTKmtyQYjh9kcE08okiQ">both women and men</a>. </p>
<p>Pain is also more burdensome for women. Depression is twice as prevalent in women with chronic pain <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0033318207710022">than men with chronic pain</a>. Women are also more likely to report <a href="https://journals.lww.com/spinejournal/FullText/2007/05200/Sex_Differences_in_Consequences_of_Musculoskeletal.17.aspx?casa_token=mgToFxqQuiwAAAAA:Plx0N_ILNIVK_D8NDODFYaYi_HDxbZN2enulMAS0VmIwyCNHd3c62lhEDi_AYDw8Dhz7uX2dPIZ3HoqwnuWoanLH">more health care use</a> and be <a href="https://www.aihw.gov.au/getmedia/10434b6f-2147-46ab-b654-a90f05592d35/aihw-phe-267.pdf.aspx">hospitalised due to their pain</a> than men. </p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/572316/original/file-20240131-16-pjgp8g.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="woman lies in bed in pain" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/572316/original/file-20240131-16-pjgp8g.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/572316/original/file-20240131-16-pjgp8g.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/572316/original/file-20240131-16-pjgp8g.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/572316/original/file-20240131-16-pjgp8g.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/572316/original/file-20240131-16-pjgp8g.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/572316/original/file-20240131-16-pjgp8g.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/572316/original/file-20240131-16-pjgp8g.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Women seem to feel pain more acutely and often feel ignored by doctors.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/young-woman-having-stomach-ache-on-1780468907">Shutterstock</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/whats-a-tens-machine-can-it-help-my-period-pain-or-endometriosis-201389">What's a TENS machine? Can it help my period pain or endometriosis?</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<h2>Medical misogyny</h2>
<p>Women in pain are viewed and treated differently to men. Women are more likely to be told their pain is psychological and dismissed as <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/03630242.2017.1306606?casa_token=twusk7mU5EcAAAAA%3AG--5Y_nl_bDqsR9k4w-fF8sEMGuGiMlrifAGQKC_j6swOBhYdzzwXeXiNUoR4C9vM2CydSppwLN2">not being real or “all in their head”</a>.</p>
<p>Hollywood actor <a href="https://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/health-and-families/selma-blair-ms-misdiagnosis-symptoms-b2454317.html">Selma Blair</a> recently shared her experience of having her symptoms repeatedly dismissed by doctors and put down to “menstrual issues”, before being diagnosed with multiple sclerosis in 2018. </p>
<p>It’s an experience familiar to many women in Australia, where medical misogyny still runs deep. <a href="https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1177/09593535221083846?journalCode=fapa&">Our research</a> has repeatedly shown Australian women with pelvic pain are similarly dismissed, leading to lengthy diagnostic delays and serious impacts on their quality of life. </p>
<p><div data-react-class="Tweet" data-react-props="{"tweetId":"1752111921006797065"}"></div></p>
<h2>Misogyny exists in research too</h2>
<p>Historically, misogyny has also run deep in medical research, including pain research. Women have been viewed as smaller bodied men with different reproductive <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S156925580334024X">functions</a>. As a result, most pre-clinical pain research has used male rodents as the default research <a href="https://journals.lww.com/pain/fulltext/2005/09000/the_case_for_the_inclusion_of_female_subjects_in.1.aspx?casa_token=BcqYDDSRxo4AAAAA:nLvLqpNfuwSm6N4n1kn-Wcj4n9HW__ISaNz57PYp0zX8Nfu9a5cWZdJkjCXVXeU_HKjraI5NbND-rqqzanYuF864">subject</a>. Some researchers say the menstrual cycle in female rodents adds additional variability and therefore uncertainty to experiments. And while variability due to the menstrual cycle may be true, it may be no greater than male-specific sources of variability (such as within-cage aggression and dominance) that can also <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s41583-020-0310-6">influence research findings</a>. </p>
<p>The exclusion of female subjects in pre-clinical studies has hindered our understanding of sex differences in pain and of response to treatment. Only recently have we begun to understand various genetic, neurochemical, and neuroimmune factors contribute to sex differences in <a href="https://www.annualreviews.org/doi/full/10.1146/annurev-neuro-092820-105941">pain prevalence and sensitivity</a>. And sex differences exist in pain processing itself. For instance, in the spinal cord, male and female rodents process <a href="https://theconversation.com/pain-really-is-in-the-mind-but-not-in-the-way-you-think-1151">potentially painful stimuli</a> through <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/nn.4053">entirely different immune cells</a>. </p>
<p>These differences have relevance for how pain should be treated in women, yet many of the existing pharmacological treatments for pain, including opioids, are largely or solely based upon research completed on male rodents. </p>
<p>When women seek care, their pain is also treated differently. Studies show women receive <a href="https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s11916-023-01135-0#ref-CR6">less pain medication after surgery compared to men</a>. In fact, one study found while men were prescribed opioids after joint surgery, women were <a href="https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s11916-023-01135-0#ref-CR17">more likely to be prescribed antidepressants</a>. In another study, women were more likely to receive sedatives for pain relief following surgery, while men were <a href="https://link.springer.com/content/pdf/10.1007/BF00289259.pdf">more likely to receive pain medication</a>. </p>
<p>So, women are disproportionately affected by pain in terms of how common it is and sensitivity, but also in how their pain is viewed, treated, and even researched. Women continue to be excluded, dismissed, and receive sub-optimal care, and the recently announced inquiry aims to improve this. </p>
<h2>What will the inquiry involve?</h2>
<p>Consumers, health-care professionals and health-care organisations will be invited to share their experiences of treatment services for women’s pain in Victoria as part of the year-long inquiry. These experiences will be used to describe the current service delivery system available to Victorian women with pain, and to plan more appropriate services to be delivered in the future. </p>
<p>Inquiry <a href="https://www.health.vic.gov.au/public-health/inquiry-into-womens-pain-submissions">submissions</a> are now open until March 12 2024. If you are a Victorian woman living with pain, or provide care to Victorian women with pain, we encourage you to submit.</p>
<p>The state has an excellent track record of improving women’s health in many areas, including <a href="https://www.premier.vic.gov.au/groundbreaking-clinic-improving-womens-heart-health">heart</a>, <a href="https://www.health.vic.gov.au/publications/victorian-womens-sexual-and-reproductive-health-plan-2022-30">sexual, and reproductive health</a>, but clearly, we have a way to go with women’s pain. We wait with bated breath to see the results of this much-needed investigation, and encourage other states and territories to take note of the findings.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/221747/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Jane Chalmers receives funding from The Hospital Research Foundation. </span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Amelia Mardon does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Women are disproportionately affected by pain in terms of how common it is and sensitivity, but also in how their pain is viewed, treated, and even researched.Jane Chalmers, Senior Lecturer in Pain Sciences, University of South AustraliaAmelia Mardon, PhD Candidate, University of South AustraliaLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2217242024-01-31T04:41:41Z2024-01-31T04:41:41Z‘Looksmaxxing’ is the disturbing TikTok trend turning young men into incels<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/572323/original/file-20240131-25-x809b1.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=81%2C57%2C5381%2C3579&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Shutterstock</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>A new trend <a href="https://www.tiktok.com/tag/looksmaxxing?lang=en">taking over TikTok</a> is targeting vulnerable young men. The “looksmaxxing” phenomenon – to maximise one’s looks – is aimed at young men and boys who want to change their appearance to become more attractive and gain social acceptance.</p>
<p>Unhappy with their appearance, teenage boys and young men scrolling the app are directed to chat rooms where they’re instructed to upload photos in exchange for advice.</p>
<p>It begins with “<a href="https://drpaulcoceancig.com.au/navigating-the-pitfalls-of-looksmaxxing-a-surgeons-take-on-cosmetic-trends-in-the-age-of-social-media/">softmaxxing</a>”. This includes basic hygiene such as teeth brushing and whitening, removal of face and body hair, and “<a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/looksmaxxing-softmaxxing-mewing-self-improvement-experiment-toxic-dangerous-2023-11">mewing</a>” (tongue exercises that supposedly help tone facial muscles).</p>
<p>This progresses to “<a href="https://www.dailydot.com/news/looksmaxxing-trend-men/">hardmaxxing</a>”, which is to improve one’s appearance by any means necessary. More extreme measures include:</p>
<ul>
<li>steroid use</li>
<li>hair transplants and plastic surgery</li>
<li>using pumps for penis stretching</li>
<li>removing ribs for a sculpted waist</li>
<li>“<a href="https://www.vice.com/en/article/93kz73/looksmaxing-mewing-bone-smashing-trend">bone-smashing</a>”, which involves using hammers to break bones in the face to look more masculine</li>
<li>“starvemaxxing”, which encourages extreme dieting and eating disorders</li>
<li>“whitemaxxing”, which involves using creams to present as more White</li>
<li>and “edgemaxxing”, which is <a href="https://www.purewow.com/family/looksmaxxing-parent-opinion">described as</a> “withholding climaxing in order to boost testosterone to improve appearance”. </li>
</ul>
<p>Looksmaxxing may appear harmless, encouraging self-care, exercise and healthy eating. But at its core it has ties to <a href="https://www.sbs.com.au/news/the-feed/article/rob-has-stood-up-350-women-on-dates-he-says-incels-are-getting-revenge/zwocc61rr">violence</a>, <a href="https://www.qualitativecriminology.com/pub/z1961qto/release/1">suicide</a> and <a href="https://www.qualitativecriminology.com/pub/z1961qto/release/1">incels</a> (involuntary celibates) – men who blame women for their struggles with establishing romantic or sexual relationships.</p>
<p><div data-react-class="TiktokEmbed" data-react-props="{"url":"https://www.tiktok.com/@baxate_carter/video/7275754624727125294?lang=en"}"></div></p>
<h2>A click away from the incel rabbit hole</h2>
<p>Looksmaxxing <a href="https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s10610-023-09559-5?utm_source=miragenews&utm_medium=miragenews&utm_campaign=news">videos on TikTok</a> have amassed many millions of views. </p>
<p>They pull young boys and men into a dark subculture of incels. Incel and extremist content is suggested to users on multiple platforms including <a href="https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s10610-023-09559-5?utm_source=miragenews&utm_medium=miragenews&utm_campaign=news">TikTok</a> Instagram and Youtube.</p>
<p>Within minutes, TikTok users may be bombarded with <a href="https://www.vice.com/en/article/qjv4jw/tiktok-incels-targeting-young-users">videos that promote</a> suicide and gendered hate speech. One 2021 research report found young <a href="https://dl.acm.org/doi/pdf/10.1145/3479556">YouTube users</a> will sometimes be suggested incel-related videos by YouTube’s algorithm within just five hops when starting from a non incel-related video. </p>
<h2>‘Hunter’ versus ‘prey’ eyes</h2>
<p>Male model <a href="https://www.abc.net.au/news/2019-06-16/incels-plastic-surgery-for-face-improvement-misogyny-remains/11205336">Jordan Barrett</a> has become an envied idol for men and boys following the looksmaxxing trend. </p>
<p>Many looksmaxxers believe having his “hunter eyes” with a positive canthal tilt (the canthal is the angle between the inner and outer corner of the eye), along with pursed lips and hollow cheeks, translates to a dominating stare women can’t possibly resist.</p>
<p>On anonymous incel forums, young men are trained to calculate their “sexual market value”. If they’re deemed below average, they’re bullied, accused of being “bitches who are feminine, weak and submissive, too ugly to live” and told to take their own lives.</p>
<p><div data-react-class="TiktokEmbed" data-react-props="{"url":"https://www.tiktok.com/@dillon.latham/video/7261997730506263854?q=looksmaxxing\u0026t=1706659777909"}"></div></p>
<h2>The Bateman effect</h2>
<p>At the apex of the incel beauty tower is the character <a href="https://www.gq-magazine.co.uk/lifestyle/article/sigma-grindset-tiktok-trend-2022">Patrick Bateman</a> from the 2000 satire-thriller American Psycho. <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2023/11/06/style/looksmaxxing-tik-tok-dillon-latham.html">Bateman</a> is known by incels as a superior <a href="https://www.massivemagazine.org.nz/articles/sigmamale">“sigma” male</a>: a lone wolf and capitalist hustler who attracts money-hungry women. </p>
<p>In fact, he is shallow, manipulative, misogynistic and extremely violent. This sociopathic ideal resonates with many incels. Other characters idolised by incels include <a href="https://variety.com/2023/film/news/fight-club-far-right-incels-david-fincher-responds-1235773001/">Tyler Durden</a> from Fight Club and Joaquin Phoenix’s <a href="https://www.vox.com/culture/2019/9/18/20860890/joker-movie-controversy-incel-sjw">Joker</a>. </p>
<p>Incels who feel they are misunderstood and demoralised by women also look to self-proclaimed powerful male influencers with perceived “social status”, such as <a href="https://www.vox.com/culture/2023/1/4/23539528/andrew-tate-arrest-jail-rape-human-trafficking">Andrew Tate</a>, for solace. Alongside messages about fitness, financial gain and self-improvement, Tate is <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2022/aug/06/andrew-tate-violent-misogynistic-world-of-tiktok-new-star">openly misogynistic</a> and suggests it’s socially acceptable to indulge in violent desires against women. </p>
<p>This false representation of <a href="https://lens.monash.edu/@education/2023/11/16/1386296/tackling-toxic-masculinity-in-australia-we-cant-afford-to-get-this-wrong">masculinity</a> creates a sense of entitlement in men who believe they are repressed. This can then be used as fuel for <a href="https://ad-aspi.s3.ap-southeast-2.amazonaws.com/2023-08/Incels%20in%20Australia_1.pdf?VersionId=QW06l5bfjXbJlspQv0l02MbhoRe4rPhk">gender-based violence</a>, <a href="https://www.spectatornews.com/campus-news/2020/03/jackson-katz-flips-the-narrative-on-gender-violence/">femicide</a>, <a href="https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=4032043">copycat crimes</a> and <a href="https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1177/1557085119896415?journalCode=fcxa">mass killings</a>.</p>
<p>Bateman and incel ideology influenced self-proclaimed incel and mass shooter <a href="https://theconversation.com/elliot-rodger-when-sexual-rejection-turns-deadly-27205">Elliot Rodger</a>. In 2014, Rodger carried out a deadly mass shooting and stabbing spree in Isla Vista, California, killing six people. He blamed women for his celibacy and wanted to seek revenge by killing them. </p>
<p>Many misogynist incels now hail him as a <a href="https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-43892189">hero</a>. Some men <a href="https://www.newamerica.org/political-reform/reports/misogynist-incels-and-male-supremacism/red-pill-to-black-pill/">use his initials claiming</a> they want to “go ER” or “be a hERo”, implying they’re ready to commit mass murder.</p>
<p>A <a href="https://ad-aspi.s3.ap-southeast-2.amazonaws.com/2023-08/Incels%20in%20Australia_1.pdf?VersionId=QW06l5bfjXbJlspQv0l02MbhoRe4rPhk">2023 report</a> from the Australia Strategic Policy Centre highlights concerning incel content online. One user says “women should be stripped of their rights because they still have primitive minds that need to be tamed”. Another says “I might start a political movement. ‘BRING BACK RAPE’ […] ‘WANNA STOP BEING INCEL, TIME TO START RAPING’.”</p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/elliot-rodger-when-sexual-rejection-turns-deadly-27205">Elliot Rodger: when sexual rejection turns deadly</a>
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<h2>Young people are under pressure</h2>
<p>Our preoccupation with having a <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8001450/">perfect appearance</a> is an <a href="https://www.apa.org/news/press/releases/2023/02/social-media-body-image">obsessive social disease</a> alienating us from ourselves and others.</p>
<p><a href="https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/full/10.1177/13675494231153900">Researchers</a> point to a link between trends such as looksmaxxing and the broader cultural pressures young people face. They’re growing up in an increasingly precarious world with war, post-pandemic anxiety, environmental degradation, unaffordable living and unstable employment. This is juxtaposed with <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC9605858/">neoliberal hyper-individualism</a>, hypersexuality and consumer capitalism. </p>
<p>Where young people feel like they can’t control their environment, they may turn to trends such as looksmaxxing as something they <em>can</em> control. </p>
<p><div data-react-class="TiktokEmbed" data-react-props="{"url":"https://www.tiktok.com/@james_hausmann/video/7256980725403077894?q=incelibate%20looksmaxxing\u0026t=1706660873976"}"></div></p>
<p>In recent years, former members of the <a href="https://dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/english/manosphere">manosphere</a> have started producing their own counter-forums that challenge the beliefs they once held. </p>
<p><a href="https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/full/10.1177/13675494231153900">Studies</a> highlight young men and boys are beginning to recognise misogynistic ideology and restrictive performances of masculinity. These studies also argue these forums can offer alternative perspectives, with information that emphasises the importance of healthy socialising, consent and respectful relationships.</p>
<p>In the age of TikTok algorithms, schools and communities must do more to educate on masculinity, what it means to be a “man” and the dangers of incel culture, extremism, <a href="https://www.anrows.org.au/media-releases/new-report-finds-education-is-an-important-step-in-reducing-rates-of-gender-based-violence/">gendered hate speech</a> and <a href="https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/full/10.1177/13675494231191490">sexual violence</a>.</p>
<p>Celebrities and influencers also have a role to play. Actors such as <a href="https://www.independent.co.uk/news/people/mark-ruffalo-tells-ignorant-people-who-aren-t-feminists-to-kiss-my-a-10291291.html">Mark Ruffalo</a> and <a href="https://time.com/6287484/barbie-male-fragility-ken/">Ryan Gosling</a> have helped foster positive ideas about what it means to be a man. Real, positive change can come from instilling the belief that collectively we can create a more equal and empathetic world.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/221724/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Jamilla Rosdahl does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>From ‘starvemaxxing’ and ‘edgemaxxing’ to ‘whitemaxxing’ – young men and boys are being bombarded with a plethora of problematic content online.Jamilla Rosdahl, Senior Lecturer, Australian College of Applied PsychologyLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2171822023-11-28T21:53:23Z2023-11-28T21:53:23ZCyberbullying girls with pornographic deepfakes is a form of misogyny<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/561919/original/file-20231127-19-5mwcx3.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=0%2C51%2C3840%2C1931&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Much commentary has focussed on the political harms of deepfakes, but we've heard less about how they are specifically being used to degrade girls and women. </span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">(Shutterstock)</span></span></figcaption></figure><iframe style="width: 100%; height: 100px; border: none; position: relative; z-index: 1;" allowtransparency="" allow="clipboard-read; clipboard-write" src="https://narrations.ad-auris.com/widget/the-conversation-canada/cyberbullying-girls-with-pornographic-deepfakes-is-a-form-of-misogyny" width="100%" height="400"></iframe>
<p>The BBC recently reported on a <a href="https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-66877718">disturbing new form of cyberbullying that took place at a school</a> in Almendralejo, Spain. </p>
<p>A group of girls were harmed by male classmates who used an app powered by artificial intelligence (AI) to generate “deepfake” pornographic images of the girls, and then distributed those images on social media. </p>
<p>State-of-the-art AI models can generate novel images and backgrounds given three to five photos of a subject, and <a href="https://arstechnica.com/information-technology/2022/12/thanks-to-ai-its-probably-time-to-take-your-photos-off-the-internet">very little technical knowledge</a> is required to use them. While deepfaked images were easier to detect a few years ago, today, amateurs can easily create work rivalling <a href="https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2023/11/20/a-history-of-fake-things-on-the-internet-walter-j-scheirer-book-review">expensive CGI effects by professionals</a>. </p>
<p>The harms in this case can be partially explained in terms of <a href="https://doi.org/10.1007/s13347-023-00657-0">consent and privacy violations</a>. But as researchers whose work is concerned with AI and ethics, we see deeper issues as well.</p>
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<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/how-to-combat-the-unethical-and-costly-use-of-deepfakes-184722">How to combat the unethical and costly use of deepfakes</a>
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<h2>Deepfake porn cyberbullying</h2>
<p>In the Almendralejo incident, more than 20 girls between 11 and 17 came forward as victims of fake pornographic images. This incident fits into larger trends of how this technology is being used. A 2019 study <a href="https://futurism.com/the-byte/porn-deepfakes-96-percent-online">found 96 per cent of all deepfake videos online were pornographic</a>, prompting significant commentary about how <a href="https://www.vox.com/2019/10/7/20902215/deepfakes-usage-youtube-2019-deeptrace-research-report">they are being specifically used to degrade women</a>.</p>
<p>The political risks of deepfakes have received high-profile coverage, but as philosophy researchers Regina Rini and Leah Cohen explore, <a href="https://jesp.org/index.php/jesp/article/view/1628">it is also relevant to consider deeper personal harms</a>. </p>
<p>Legal scholars like Danielle Keats Citron note it is clear society “<a href="https://www.hup.harvard.edu/books/9780674659902">has a poor track record addressing harms primarily suffered by women and girls</a>.” By staying quiet and unseen, girls might escape becoming victims of this new and cruel form of cyberbullying.
We think it is likely this technology will create additional barriers for students — especially girls — who may miss out on opportunities due to the fear of calling attention to themselves. </p>
<h2>Used as tool for misogyny</h2>
<p>Philosopher Kate Manne provides a helpful framework for thinking about how deepfake technology can be used as a tool for misogyny. For Manne, “<a href="https://global.oup.com/academic/product/down-girl-9780190604981">misogyny should be understood as the ‘law enforcement’ branch of a patriarchal order</a>, which has the overall function of policing and enforcing its governing ideology.”</p>
<p>That is, misogyny polices women and girls, discouraging them from taking traditionally male-dominated roles. This policing can come from others, but it can also be self-imposed.</p>
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<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/trolling-and-doxxing-graduate-students-sharing-their-research-online-speak-out-about-hate-210874">Trolling and doxxing: Graduate students sharing their research online speak out about hate</a>
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<p>Manne explains there are punishments for women perceived as resisting gendered norms and expectations. External policing of misogyny involves the disciplining of women through various forms of punishment for deviating from or resisting gendered norms and expectations. </p>
<p>Women can be denied a career opportunity, harassed sexually or harmed physically for not living up to gendered expectations. And now, women can be punished through the use of deepfakes. The patriarchy has another weapon to wield. </p>
<p>When considering Manne’s <a href="https://www.penguinrandomhouse.ca/books/608442/entitled-by-kate-manne/9780593287767">notion of male entitlement</a>, we can predict instances of this policing occurring if female students are offered positions male students deem they are entitled to, such as winning the student council elections or receiving academic awards in traditionally male-dominated fields. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="A young man seen looking at a phone while two women walk past." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/561899/original/file-20231127-24-ovh6wh.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/561899/original/file-20231127-24-ovh6wh.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=401&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/561899/original/file-20231127-24-ovh6wh.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=401&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/561899/original/file-20231127-24-ovh6wh.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=401&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/561899/original/file-20231127-24-ovh6wh.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/561899/original/file-20231127-24-ovh6wh.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/561899/original/file-20231127-24-ovh6wh.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Will cyberbullying via deepfakes be presented as ‘just a joke’?</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">(Shutterstock)</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>A ‘joke’?</h2>
<p>The technology of deepfakes is a very accessible weapon to wield in these cases, and one that can cause a lot of harm. The shame and threat to personal safety are already evident. Cultural misogyny additionally harms by trivializing this experience: he can still say it is just a joke, that she is taking it too seriously and she shouldn’t be hurt by it because it isn’t real.</p>
<p>Self-imposed policing can be reinforced through deepfakes and other image manipulative technology. Knowing that this form of cyberbullying is available can lead to self-censoring. </p>
<p>Students who are visible in public leadership have more likelihood of being deepfaked; these students are known by more people in their school communities and are scrutinized for public roles. </p>
<h2>Will we become more used to them?</h2>
<p>It could be that once these deepfakes become more common, people will be less surprised to see these images and videos, so they will not be as scandalous to others and embarrassing to the victim. </p>
<p>Yet, philosophy scholar Keith Raymond Harris discusses how people can <a href="https://doi.org/10.1007/s11229-021-03379-y">make psychological associations even when they know they are basing these on false content</a>. These associations, even if they may not “rise to the level of belief” can be classified as a harm of deepfakes. </p>
<p>That means that when students make deepfakes of their classmates, it can alter their perception of their targets and cause further real-life mistreatment, harassment and disrespect. </p>
<p>It means that boys are less likely to consider their peers, who are girls, as capable students deserving of opportunities. The use of this technology amongst peers in schools risks damaging girls’ confidence through the sexist education environment that this technology will enforce.</p>
<h2>Another tool for ‘typecasting’ girls</h2>
<p>Manne’s analysis also suggests how even if a girl does not have a deepfake of her made directly, deepfakes can still impact her. As she writes, “women are often treated as interchangeable and representative of a certain type of woman. Because of this, women can be singled out and treated as representative targets, then standing in imaginatively for a large swath of others.” </p>
<p>Girls are often classified into types in this way, from the ‘80s “<a href="https://www.tripletsandus.com/growing-up-in-the-80s/slang-terms-from-the-80s/#:%7E:text=Valley%20Girl%2FVal,%2C%20omygod%2C%20so%20rad!%22">Valley Girl</a>,” the millennial notion of the “<a href="https://www.thecut.com/2014/10/what-do-you-really-mean-by-basic-bitch.html">basic bitch</a>” to Gen Z classifications of <a href="https://www.vox.com/the-goods/2019/9/24/20881656/vsco-girl-meme-what-is-a-vsco-girl">“VSCO-Girl</a>,” (named from a photo editing app) or a <a href="https://www.cosmopolitan.com/sex-love/a42134933/what-is-a-pick-me-girl-definition/">“Pick-Me Girl</a>.” </p>
<p>When these psychological associations made of a particular woman lead to misogynistic associations of all women, misogyny will be further enforced.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="(A girl's face against technological imagery like a fingerprint and a grid." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/561905/original/file-20231127-28-cgy6zn.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=0%2C431%2C6000%2C3260&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/561905/original/file-20231127-28-cgy6zn.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/561905/original/file-20231127-28-cgy6zn.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/561905/original/file-20231127-28-cgy6zn.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/561905/original/file-20231127-28-cgy6zn.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/561905/original/file-20231127-28-cgy6zn.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/561905/original/file-20231127-28-cgy6zn.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Deepfakes are the latest technology used to uphold patriarchy.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">(Shutterstock)</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>Lampooning, shunning, shaming women</h2>
<p>Manne explains that misogyny does not solely manifest through violent acts, but “women [can]… be taken down imaginatively, rather than literally, by vilifying, demonizing, belittling, humiliating, mocking, lampooning, shunning and shaming them.”</p>
<p>In the case of deepfakes, misogyny appears in this non-physically violent form. Still, in Almendralejo, one parent interviewed for the story rightly classified the artificial nude photos of the girls distributed by their classmates “an act of violence.” </p>
<p>We doubt this technology is going away. Understanding how deepfakes can be used as a tool for misogyny is an important first step in considering the harms they will likely cause, and what this may mean for parents, children, youth and schools addressing cyberbullying.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/217182/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>The authors do not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and have disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Understanding how deepfakes can be used as a tool for misogyny is an important first step in considering the harms they will likely cause, including through school cyberbullying.Amanda Margaret Narvali, PhD Student, Philosophy, University of GuelphJoshua August (Gus) Skorburg, Associate Professor, University of GuelphMaya J. Goldenberg, Professor of Philosophy, University of GuelphLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2097142023-10-19T15:17:53Z2023-10-19T15:17:53ZHow Vivien Leigh survived Hollywood before #MeToo<p>Vivien Leigh’s achievements in cinema were extraordinary. Known for her glamour and beauty, the actress rose from a bit-part player to become one of the most famous women in Hollywood, playing Scarlet O’Hara in <a href="https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0031381/">Gone with the Wind</a> in 1939. And November 5 marks the 110th anniversary of the birth of the two-time Oscar winner. </p>
<p>But Leigh also worked in an era of deeply ingrained inequality, sexism and racism in the Hollywood industry. The lessons from her life and career arguably take on a new meaning in the wake of <a href="https://metoomvmt.org">#MeToo</a> and <a href="https://www.timesupuk.org">#TimesUp</a>, and the changes they have wrought on women’s agency and equality in the industry since 2017.</p>
<h2>Career control</h2>
<p>Like many of the whistleblowers of #MeToo, Leigh arrived in Hollywood as a young and highly ambitious actress hoping that a personal connection with an important industry figure would lead to her big break. She put herself in the running for one of the most coveted roles of all time in Gone with the Wind by <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/film/2013/nov/22/vivien-leigh-life-on-screen">showing up</a> on set with her then lover, actor Laurence Olivier, demanding the attention of producer David O. Selznick. </p>
<p>The career which followed was punctuated by two Best Actress Academy awards and public struggles with mental health. It was also presided over by powerful men in the industry, from director Alexander Korda to Selznick. </p>
<p>Leigh worked in a period where female stars were contracted, controlled and crafted. Her working partnership with Olivier afforded her a mentorship which she deeply valued, but also placed her in his shadow. Theatre critic <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/arts/critic/feature/0,,567652,00.html">Kenneth Tynan</a> famously hounded her with <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2021/aug/08/from-the-observer-archive-the-fiery-life-of-vivien-leigh-remembered-in-1977">negative reviews</a> of her theatre work – always in direct contrast to his admiration of Olivier’s achievements.</p>
<p>Letters from her <a href="https://academic.oup.com/book/39639">archive</a>, which I have studied, also reveal her difficult experiences on set, particularly during Gone With the Wind, where she was made to work 16 hour days for six days a week with extremely limited rest and sleep, often in conflict with her director Victor Fleming.</p>
<p>But Leigh worked in an era where outrageous misogyny was an industry norm in many regards. Take, for example, the treatment of Judy Garland on the set of The Wizard of Oz by the ultra-powerful producer Louis B. Mayer. Garland, who was just 16 at the time, was subjected to sexual harassment and physical and psychological abuse throughout her time at <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/podcasts/retropod/judy-garland-and-the-long-history-of-me-too-in-hollywood-1/">MGM</a>.</p>
<p>Leigh also crossed paths with stars whose abuse at the hand of male industry figures has been well documented. Marilyn Monroe took over the role that Leigh had played on stage in The Prince and the Showgirl in 1957, for example, co-starring with Olivier. Monroe had written a piece for the fan periodical <a href="https://onlinebooks.library.upenn.edu/webbin/serial?id=mpmag">Motion Picture Magazine</a> a few years earlier titled <a href="https://archive.org/details/wolves-story/mode/2up">Wolves I Have Known</a>, calling out the sustained sexual harassment she had faced from men in the industry from the earliest days of her career. </p>
<p>And Leigh herself portrayed a character who suffered at the hands of abusive and controlling men: most famously in her role as the ageing southern belle Blanche in <a href="https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0044081/">A Streetcar Named Desire</a>.</p>
<h2>Actress or Activist?</h2>
<p>But what would Leigh have made of #MeToo? After all, she was no stranger to a protest. She led a rally through London in July 1957 campaigning against theatre closures while sporting a distinctive eye-patch (the result of <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/books/2001/oct/07/biography.features1">domestic violence</a> in her own marriage). That same year she loudly <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/theguardian/2010/jul/13/archive-a-cue-for-miss-vivien-leigh">protested</a> in the House of Lords against the demolition of the St James’s Theatre. </p>
<p>Yet her public causes were focused more on the arts and on patriotism than inequality and gender. It’s also important to remember that she essentially stood on the sidelines when others around her stepped forward to address intersectional inequality, where people encountered discrimination because of gender and race, for instance, in the industry within which she prospered. </p>
<p>When African-American actress Hattie McDaniel was barred from the 1940 Academy Awards ceremony, it was co-star <a href="https://theweek.com/articles/539316/remembering-hattie-mcdaniel-75-years-since-historic-oscar-win">Clark Gable</a>, not Leigh, who threatened to boycott unless she was allowed to attend.</p>
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<figcaption><span class="caption">Vivien Leigh accepts her Oscar in 1940.</span></figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>Age and (in)visibility</h2>
<p>Leigh rarely commented on the gendered nature of her experiences despite her high profile status in Hollywood. The restrictions she experienced as a female star became more pronounced as she aged, however. </p>
<p>Though she died in 1967, aged just 53, she had been struggling to gain any significant roles for more than a decade. Like many other actresses of her era, she was a victim of the extreme fetishisation of youthfulness and sex appeal that has only recently begun to shift in Hollywood. </p>
<p>Leigh made 19 films in total, but only three after she turned 40. Her struggle to find meaningful roles as she aged now seems a stark contrast with the thriving careers of other A-List female Oscar winners post-#MeToo. Stars such as <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/19392397.2022.2157296">Kate Winslet</a>, as my recent research has shown, are enjoying access to a wide range of roles as they enter middle age. </p>
<p>Reframing the careers of classical stars like Leigh through the lens of #MeToo reminds us that the movement isn’t just about <a href="https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-41594672">Harvey Weinstein</a>, but about a system of gendered power that has run through the industry from its classical period to the present day. </p>
<p>Were Leigh working today, perhaps she would have reaped some of the benefits of the movement. And what an intriguing body of work she may have produced into her later years.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/209714/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Lisa Smithstead received funding for this research from the Arts and Humanities Research Council. </span></em></p>As Hollywood continues to reckon with its past, Vivien Leigh’s story is a reminder of the challenges faced by women, even the most successful ones.Lisa Smithstead, Senior Lecturer in Film Studies, Swansea UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2141982023-09-27T21:34:26Z2023-09-27T21:34:26ZHidden in plain sight: Women face subtle forms of discrimination and bias in the workplace<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/550442/original/file-20230926-19-ovbqmb.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=0%2C8%2C5472%2C3628&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">The subtler, more insidious forms of discrimination that women face at work often go unnoticed.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">(Shutterstock)</span></span></figcaption></figure><iframe style="width: 100%; height: 100px; border: none; position: relative; z-index: 1;" allowtransparency="" allow="clipboard-read; clipboard-write" src="https://narrations.ad-auris.com/widget/the-conversation-canada/hidden-in-plain-sight-women-face-subtle-forms-of-discrimination-and-bias-in-the-workplace" width="100%" height="400"></iframe>
<p>Gender discrimination remains a <a href="https://www.pewresearch.org/short-reads/2017/12/14/gender-discrimination-comes-in-many-forms-for-todays-working-women/">pervasive issue</a> in <a href="https://www.canada.ca/en/employment-social-development/corporate/reports/women-symposium.html">the workplace</a>. While obvious cases of discrimination against women — like <a href="https://www.thestar.com/podcasts/this-matters/a-toronto-police-officer-shares-her-story-of-surviving-workplace-sexual-harassment/article_1a600227-7864-5388-bdcf-521010066b89.html">sexist comments</a> or <a href="https://www.cbc.ca/player/play/2199225923548">the systematic underpayment of women</a> — dominate headlines, there are subtler, more insidious forms of discrimination that often go unnoticed.</p>
<p>Take Kelly, for example, a seasoned marketing manager we recently interviewed as part of a workplace discrimination project. Kelly had diligently worked towards a promotion, only to witness her junior colleague, Mark, receive it instead. This led her to wonder if Mark genuinely outperformed her, or if there was something more nefarious at play.</p>
<p>Kelly’s quandary isn’t unique. It reflects a pervasive, subtle challenge faced by women in many fields: incidents tinged with potential gender bias, yet ambiguous enough to defy clear categorization as discrimination.</p>
<p>It’s easy to condemn blatant discrimination because of how obvious it is. But discrimination doesn’t always reveal itself so openly; instead, <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2017/07/19/us/was-that-racist.html">it can be a spectre</a> looming uncertainly in the background. </p>
<h2>Examining ambiguous incidents</h2>
<p><a href="https://doi.org/10.15195/v10.a18">Our recent research</a> aimed to investigate women’s experiences of ambiguous incidents in the workplace. Seeking to understand the issue from multiple angles, we conducted interviews, a survey and an experiment.</p>
<p>The project uncovered myriad tales of women grappling with incidents that might have been driven by bias, but were cloaked in uncertainty. Their stories encompassed a wide spectrum of experiences, ranging from daily microaggressions, such as being ignored during meetings, to significant career milestones, like missing out on promotions. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="A forlorn-looking woman stands with her arms folded while two men shake hands in the background" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/550439/original/file-20230926-15-1v6b7y.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/550439/original/file-20230926-15-1v6b7y.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=460&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/550439/original/file-20230926-15-1v6b7y.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=460&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/550439/original/file-20230926-15-1v6b7y.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=460&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/550439/original/file-20230926-15-1v6b7y.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=578&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/550439/original/file-20230926-15-1v6b7y.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=578&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/550439/original/file-20230926-15-1v6b7y.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=578&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">The experiences of women in the workplace range from daily microaggressions, such as being ignored during meetings, to significant career milestones, like missing out on promotions.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">(Shutterstock)</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Most of the women we interviewed wrestled more with ambiguous incidents than with overt discrimination. As Kelly put it: </p>
<blockquote>
<p>“I think I would feel better if it was overtly gender discrimination, because at least you would feel somewhat validated in your perception, whereas you always question, like, maybe I’m not seeing things right, maybe I’m biased.”</p>
</blockquote>
<p>Like Kelly, 74 per cent of the women we surveyed reported that they had struggled with such ambiguities in the past year. Only 64 per cent said they had faced clear-cut discrimination. These aren’t just numbers; they represent the silent battles and moments of self-doubt that many women experience.</p>
<h2>Responding to possible discrimination</h2>
<p>Following ambiguous incidents, many women reported feeling confused or frustrated, often ruminating over their experiences and struggling to make sense of them. But, as we found, ambiguous incidents had more than just emotional impacts. </p>
<p>We designed an experiment in which participants were exposed to the same discrimination incident, but at different levels of ambiguity. Some participants experienced the incident as clear-cut discrimination, whereas others experienced it as ambiguous. </p>
<p>The experiment revealed that when a situation is clearly discriminatory, women are more likely to turn outwards by speaking to human resources, consulting with supervisors or seeking advice from diversity and inclusion groups. This sort of action not only addresses the issue at hand, but also sets the stage for organizational change.</p>
<p>But when an incident is ambiguous, women tend to turn inwards. They try to adopt a more formal communication style, work harder or draw more attention to their achievements. While this may help them navigate discrimination in the short term, it does little to catalyze the kind of systemic change necessary to foster gender equality.</p>
<h2>A call to leaders and allies</h2>
<p>What can leaders and allies do to help? </p>
<p>First, we all need to shatter the silence that surrounds these incidents. Ambiguity thrives when communication is stifled. Creating an environment where whispers of concern are welcomed, not shunned, is paramount. This goes beyond just having an <a href="https://doi.org/10.5465/amj.2007.26279183">open-door policy</a>; it’s about building trust so that people know those doors lead to empathetic listeners.</p>
<p><a href="https://hbr.org/2022/11/7-ways-to-practice-active-allyship">Allies can also play a powerful role</a>. When someone stands up and acknowledges these subtle biases, it doesn’t just validate feelings, but also builds bridges. When colleagues and managers notice ambiguous discrimination, they should take the initiative to engage in private discussions with the affected women. A simple acknowledgement or private conversation can shift the narrative from doubt to trust. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="Two women have a conversation at a desk. One woman has her back to the camera." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/550440/original/file-20230926-15-fsn084.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/550440/original/file-20230926-15-fsn084.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/550440/original/file-20230926-15-fsn084.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/550440/original/file-20230926-15-fsn084.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/550440/original/file-20230926-15-fsn084.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/550440/original/file-20230926-15-fsn084.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/550440/original/file-20230926-15-fsn084.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">When colleagues and managers notice ambiguous discrimination, they should take the initiative to engage in private discussions with affected women.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">(Shutterstock)</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>However, it’s essential to exercise caution. While it’s important to listen, it’s equally critical to distinguish between unintentional missteps and genuine bias. Colleagues and managers must take concerns seriously without unfairly penalizing people whose actions were ambiguous, but not biased. </p>
<p>To navigate this fine line, we must adopt a prudent approach. This involves seeking multiple perspectives, conducting thorough investigations and thoughtfully considering the context in which incidents occurred. </p>
<p>Lastly, as women start sharing their ambiguous experiences, their managers and colleagues should look for recurring themes. A single event may be an aberration, but a pattern is a cause for alarm. It signals systemic problems that require attention. </p>
<p>It’s vital to recognize that, in the journey towards diversity and inclusion, it’s not just the visible mountains we need to climb. Often, it’s the foggy valleys of ambiguity that prove the most challenging to traverse.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/214198/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Laura Doering receives funding from the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada.</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>András Tilcsik receives funding from the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada.
</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Jan Doering receives funding from the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada.</span></em></p>While blatant discrimination is easy to condemn because of how obvious it is, there are subtler, more insidious forms that also need to be rooted out.Laura Doering, Associate Professor of Strategic Management, University of TorontoAndrás Tilcsik, Professor of Strategic Management, University of TorontoJan Doering, Assistant Professor of Sociology, University of TorontoLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2137842023-09-25T10:38:26Z2023-09-25T10:38:26Z‘Mum-shaming’ of Sophie Turner is part of a problem that harms all parents<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/549602/original/file-20230921-27-l8ugp9.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=134%2C80%2C5856%2C3979&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">The high-profile divorce of Joe Jonas and Sophie Turner is sparking discussions about mum-shaming.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/new-york-ny-may-3-2022-2153471465">lev radin/Shutterstock</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>Like many celebrity divorces, the split of Sophie Turner and singer Joe Jonas has been accompanied by a flurry of rumours. It was reported that the breakup happened because the Game of Thrones actress “<a href="https://www.tmz.com/2023/09/05/joe-jonas-files-divorce-sophie-turner-split-children-joint-custody/">likes to party</a>” whereas “he likes to stay at home”.</p>
<p>There has been a swift backlash to this speculation. Commentators from <a href="https://www.rollingstone.com/culture/culture-commentary/sophie-turner-joe-jonas-divorce-motherhood-misogyny-media-gossip-1234820043/">Rolling Stone</a>, <a href="https://www.glamourmagazine.co.uk/article/joe-jonas-sophie-turner-divorce-mum-shaming">Glamour</a>, <a href="https://www.vogue.co.uk/article/sophie-turner-mum-shaming">Vogue</a>, <a href="https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p0gcftw0">Radio 4 Women’s Hour</a> and others have denounced the rumours as misogyny and “mum-shaming”.</p>
<p>It is not surprising that these comments hit a nerve. Many mothers (and other parents, such as non-binary parents who are <a href="https://www.npr.org/2021/06/15/1006183612/the-natural-mother-of-the-child-non-binary-parenthood">seen as mothers</a>), far less famous than Turner, have had their own experiences of shaming. </p>
<p>The parents who make use of childcare and hear comments like: “Why do people have children when they don’t mean to raise them?” Or the observation that you are “so lucky” that the father of your children has agreed to “babysit” so you can attend work drinks. This was evident in the Turner-Jonas discourse too, with Jonas painted as caring for the couple’s children “<a href="https://www.tmz.com/2023/09/05/joe-jonas-files-divorce-sophie-turner-split-children-joint-custody">pretty much all of the time</a>” in recent months.</p>
<p>The practice of mum-shaming – criticising mothers for their parenting styles or choices – is <a href="https://www.vox.com/2019/4/23/18508136/pregnancy-mothers-moms-babies-advice-quinlan-johnson">centuries old</a>. In 1762, philosopher <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Emile,_or_On_Education">Jean-Jacques Rousseau</a> held women who did “deign to breastfeed their children” responsible for all society’s problems. <a href="https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-56890264">Social media</a> has made it easier to shame mothers from behind a screen.</p>
<p>My work in the philosophy of pregnancy, birth and early parenthood tries to understand why all this happens. I identify <a href="https://jme.bmj.com/content/43/8/515">mistakes in society’s thinking about motherhood</a> and show how they contribute to the pressure that <a href="https://theconversation.com/how-philosophy-can-help-mothers-avoid-judgment-guilt-and-shame-196975">mothers experience</a>. </p>
<p>There is a gendered <a href="https://cupofjo.com/2022/02/07/have-you-seen-this-viral-comic-about-parenting-double-standards">double standard</a> inherent in many mum-shaming comments, where fathers are likely to be praised for parenting that would be seen as the bare minimum for a mother. </p>
<p>But fathers can also suffer from assumptions that they are not capable of caring for their children. This may well contribute to barriers to men taking time off work for <a href="https://www.vwv.co.uk/news-and-events/blog/employment-law-brief/shared-parental-leave-scheme-reform">caring responsibilities</a>.</p>
<h2>The conflicting ideals of motherhood</h2>
<p>Depictions of motherhood in popular culture often communicate the idea that the mother who sacrifices everything for her children is the best kind of mother. Like many aspects of parent shaming, there is a contradiction here: mothers who don’t work are often looked down on, as are mothers who work “too much”.</p>
<p>Petra Bueskens, an expert in motherhood, psychoanalysis and social and political theory, argues that modern mothers are caught between two conflicting ideals of individual freedom and self-sacrificing motherhood. </p>
<p>And these ideals <a href="https://www.routledge.com/Modern-Motherhood-and-Womens-Dual-Identities-Rewriting-the-Sexual-Contract/Bueskens/p/book/9780367460129#">depend on one another</a>: the original free individuals were men, who were able to be free precisely because their wives and mothers were taking on all caring responsibilities. Women claimed equality with men as individuals, but the expectations of motherhood remained.</p>
<p>Despite the problems she identifies, Bueskens’ conclusion is hopeful. Her book contains case studies of mothers finding ways to navigate the contradictions between freedom and care. Bueskens even argues that recognition of these contradictions might transform society. </p>
<p>What’s more, sacrifice by mothers is seen as a good thing for their children. But this might not be true. </p>
<h2>Respecting mothers’ choices</h2>
<p>I’m a bit wary of justifying women’s choices by appealing to the positive effect on their children. If women matter in their own right, then we should not need to do this. Having said that, claiming your own identity does send a positive message to your children, especially if those children are girls. </p>
<p>Research suggests that <a href="https://journalistsresource.org/economics/working-mother-employment-research/">having a mother who works can have long-term benefits for children</a>. It is also important to tell our children that mothers are entitled to have interests that aren’t either family or work-related. </p>
<p>As outside observers – and even other parents – we must notice and be very suspicious of inclinations to judge individual mothers. We should ask ourselves whether we would react the same way to a father. If not, it is possible that we are being influenced by these unfair ideas about motherhood. </p>
<p>Parents are also likely to be judged even more harshly if they do not <a href="https://www.worldcat.org/title/mothers-mothering-and-motherhood-across-cultural-differences-a-reader/oclc/876425204">fit the image</a> of a “typical” or “good” mother or father, such as parents who are <a href="https://www.stylist.co.uk/life/judge-women-when-choose-have-baby-children-44-old-motherhood-delayed-child-free-survey-janet-jackson/64226">older</a>, <a href="https://cafemom.com/parenting/208911-people-judging-young-moms">younger</a>, <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/society/2023/feb/19/i-did-not-expect-motherhood-to-legitimise-me-parenting-with-a-disability">disabled</a> or <a href="https://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/entry/racism-parenting_uk_5dfcaf38e4b0843d35fa3b72">from an ethnic minority</a>.</p>
<p>Ideally, I would like to help improve the way society treats parents. In the meantime, it can be helpful for parents to recognise their individual experiences as part of a larger pattern. This can help them feel less alone and to make informed decisions about how to respond.</p>
<p>Getting the balance right between our own needs and our children’s needs is tricky. Stopping mum-shaming is just the start.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/213784/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Fiona Woollard was part of the Better Understanding the Metaphysics of Pregnancy (BUMP) project funded by European Research Council. She has also received funding from the Arts and Humanities Research Council; the Economic and Social Research Council (through the University of Southampton ESRC Impact Acceleration Account); the Southampton Ethics Centre and the Mind Association. </span></em></p>Young parents and others who don’t fit the ‘ideal’ of parenthood are especially vulnerable.Fiona Woollard, Professor of Philosophy, University of SouthamptonLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2105682023-09-04T14:13:16Z2023-09-04T14:13:16ZWhat is institutional misogyny in policing? Our research shows what it looks like – and why it matters<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/545253/original/file-20230829-21-higc5n.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=116%2C125%2C5874%2C3862&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Protesters react to policing at a vigil for Sarah Everard.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/london-uk-mar-13-2021-thousands-1935299357">Vincenzo Lullo/Shutterstock</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>Britain has witnessed a torrent of appalling examples of misogyny by those serving on the front line of public services in recent years. This has included police officers <a href="https://news.sky.com/story/six-of-the-worst-scandals-the-metropolitan-police-has-faced-in-recent-years-as-pressure-grows-on-force-12839492">committing</a> acts of violence and abuse against women.</p>
<p>Both the <a href="https://www.london-fire.gov.uk/media/7211/independent-culture-review-of-lfb-report953f61809024e20c7505a869af1f416c56530867cb99fb946ac81475cfd8cb38.pdf">London Fire Brigade</a> and <a href="https://www.met.police.uk/police-forces/metropolitan-police/areas/about-us/about-the-met/bcr/baroness-casey-review/">London’s Metropolitan Police</a> have been subject to damning independent reviews designating them as “institutionally misogynist”. </p>
<p>Rather than referring to one-off instances, “institutional misogyny” points to ongoing practices that secure and support men’s power over women.</p>
<p>There is a wealth of evidence in these reviews about how women are regularly devalued and demeaned within these institutional cultures. They experience mocking and insults dismissed as “jokes”, colleagues sharing sexist or explicitly sexual stories, and sexual harassment. The Fire Brigade Union’s recent <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2023/jul/24/female-firefighters-in-kent-made-to-strip-to-underwear-in-front-of-male-colleagues">demand</a> to end the “unnecessary and degrading practice” of female firefighters being forced to strip in front of their male colleagues reveals yet another example of misogynistic practices.</p>
<h2>The effect of institutional misogyny</h2>
<p>The most obvious impact of misogyny is physical violence against women and girls. This was evident in the kidnap, rape and murder of <a href="https://theconversation.com/sarah-everard-why-women-shouldnt-have-to-risk-trading-their-freedom-for-safety-157029">Sarah Everard</a> by serving Met police officer Wayne Couzens, the conviction of former officer <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/society/2023/feb/07/david-carrick-jailed-life-rapes-met-police-officer">David Carrick</a> for dozens of rapes and assaults, and the <a href="https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-london-59474472">violations</a> of Bibaa Henry and Nicole Smallman’s bodies by two Met PCs.</p>
<p>Policing authorities have often dismissed these and other incidents as rare behaviour by <a href="https://www.reuters.com/world/uk/one-thousand-bad-apples-placed-outside-london-police-hq-demonstration-2023-01-20/">“bad apples”</a>. But when institutional misogyny is part of the work culture in an organisation such as the police, it influences the behaviour of all employees.</p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/misogyny-in-policing-how-some-male-officers-abuse-their-power-over-female-victims-and-colleagues-199551">Misogyny in policing: how some male officers abuse their power over female victims and colleagues</a>
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<p>In <a href="https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/00323217231178630">recent research</a>, we investigated the impact of proposals for police forces to classify misogyny as a hate crime. Speaking to senior police officers and police and crime commissioners, what we found along the way were shocking examples of institutional misogyny. </p>
<p>We found that police officers struggle to identify or empathise with female victims of crime, and to understand the social context in which violent offending against women and girls took place. Police, including some female police officers, were often dismissive of how incidents such as street harassment affected victims, and did not view addressing the issue as being core to their purpose as police. </p>
<p>One female police officer said that if she received a comment in the street about how she looked she would choose to take it as a compliment. Another spoke dismissively about being called out on the job to respond to a “slap on the bum”.</p>
<p>Institutional misogyny can negatively affect the public’s perception of the performance, fairness and trustworthiness of public institutions. Indeed, a non-profit research organisation <a href="https://www.moreincommon.org.uk/media/fumb1zjz/where-are-the-police-january-2023.pdf">More in Common</a> found that trust in the police fell from 63% to 53% in the wake of Couzens’ sentencing.</p>
<h2>Responding to misogyny</h2>
<p>Despite an <a href="https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-56399862">ongoing national campaign</a>, only seven forces have tried to implement a policy of classifying misogyny as a hate crime. Within some of those forces, the reaction to the rule change has lifted the curtain on institutional values when it comes to violence against women and girls.</p>
<p>One senior police officer with responsibility for hate crime said that many frontline officers simply didn’t recognise that street harassment from men was “not wanted” by women. Instead, they saw it as “just life”. </p>
<p>Even within police forces that chose to classify misogyny as a hate crime, frontline police officers often used their discretion to bypass the measure, derailing its impact. </p>
<p>Misogynistic institutional cultures are <a href="https://www.emerald.com/insight/content/doi/10.1108/EDI-01-2015-0006/full/html">often marked</a> by a refusal to admit to a lack of knowledge as well as an emotional detachment about problems affecting women. Our research showed that police officers <strong>often</strong> struggled with the emotional complexities of misogynistic offending, and so often chose not to identify it as such. </p>
<p>Some forces chose to exclude domestic violence from their recording of misogynistic hate crime. In doing so, they would inadvertently draw a distinction between violence committed by intimate partners and that by strangers. This is a distinction that campaigners against violence towards women and girls have sought to erase, as it creates a hierarchy where intimate partner violence is considered less serious or worthy of attention.</p>
<h2>The ‘institutional’ label</h2>
<p>Met police commissioner Sir Mark Rowley has refused to accept the force is “institutionally misogynistic”, one of the Casey report’s key demands. He <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2023/mar/21/khan-criticises-rowley-refusal-describe-met-police-institutionally-misogynistic-racist-homophobic">described</a> the term “institutional” as “confusing” and “political”. </p>
<p>The labelling of institutional cultures as misogynistic is an important step forward in recognising how our public institutions can act against the interests of women and girls. It draws our attention to pervasive and normalised ways of working in organisations that are meant to serve the public. Refusing to name it can obscure the effects of misogyny that go beyond the actions or decisions of particular “bad apples”. </p>
<p>The horrific cases of violence against women by Met police officers will stick with the public for years to come, but they do not show the full scope of the problems with British policing and public institutions. Our conversations with members of these institutions themselves show how misogyny is not just a series of events, it is part of the culture.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/210568/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>The authors do not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and have disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Institutional misogyny affects women and girls every day, not just in cases of horrific violence.Catherine Durose, Professor of Public Policy, University of LiverpoolVivien Lowndes, Professor emerita, Institute of Local Government Studies, University of BirminghamLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2058842023-08-08T12:27:53Z2023-08-08T12:27:53ZThe movie ‘Barbie’ has put the phrase ‘toxic femininity’ back in the news – here’s what it means and why you should care<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/540560/original/file-20230801-17-7b8p88.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=198%2C58%2C7517%2C5384&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Some conservative commentators have labeled roles in the recent 'Barbie' movie as examples of 'toxic feminity.'</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://newsroom.ap.org/detail/BritainBarbiePremiere/70c043cbf9d4403a82eeac962fcf438d/photo?Query=barbie&mediaType=photo&sortBy=&dateRange=Anytime&totalCount=574&currentItemNo=21&vs=true">Scott Garfitt/Invision/AP</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>As the “Barbie” movie’s worldwide box office <a href="https://www.vulture.com/2023/08/barbie-breaks-1-billion-box-office.html#:%7E:text=Warner%20Bros.%20has%20announced%20that,29%20people%20to%20do%20so.">passes the billion-dollar mark</a>, and some conservative pundits push back against its popularity with <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2023/jul/20/barbie-movie-republicans-reaction">negative hot takes</a>, the phrase “toxic femininity” is back in the news. </p>
<p>On National Public Radio’s “It’s Been a Minute,” panelists <a href="https://www.npr.org/transcripts/1187805008">discussing “Barbie” speculated</a> about whether toxic femininity exists as the opposite of toxic masculinity. Conservative pundits have been less tentative. A Salon story reporting on conservative coverage of the film noted that the <a href="https://www.salon.com/2023/07/20/barbie-conservative-backlash/">right wing has blasted “Barbie” with charges of toxic femininity</a>. On Fox News, conservative panelist Douglas Murray <a href="https://www.mediaite.com/tv/toxic-femininity-fox-news-outnumbered-panel-rips-barbie-movie-for-marginalizing-men/">associated the movie – which he admitted to not having seen – with toxic femininity</a>. </p>
<p>The phrase toxic femininity has become <a href="https://theswaddle.com/the-internet-wants-to-talk-about-toxic-femininity-but-gets-it-all-wrong/">popular with conservatives in recent years</a>. However, it lacks a consistent definition and is often invoked by people with competing and even opposing views about women, men and gender. </p>
<p>As a scholar of <a href="https://communicationstudies.colostate.edu/people/karrin/">gender and communication</a>, I study how language shapes people’s understanding of themselves, others and society. Examining how toxic femininity means different things to different people reveals important insights about gender, power and how language affects our well-being. </p>
<h2>Toxic masculinity</h2>
<p>First, it’s important to consider the role the predecessor of toxic femininity – “toxic masculinity” – has played in U.S. culture.</p>
<p><a href="https://doi.org/10.1002/jclp.20105">Clinical psychologists</a>, academics and feminist advocates have used the phrase to describe a pernicious form of manhood that has <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2019/01/22/us/toxic-masculinity.html">produced widespread harm</a>. </p>
<p>Sociologist <a href="https://www.qut.edu.au/about/our-people/academic-profiles/m.flood">Michael Flood</a> explains that “the phrase <a href="https://theconversation.com/toxic-masculinity-what-does-it-mean-where-did-it-come-from-and-is-the-term-useful-or-harmful-189298">emphasizes the worst aspects</a> of stereotypically masculine attributes,” including “violence, dominance, emotional illiteracy, sexual entitlement, and hostility to femininity.” </p>
<p>The term <a href="https://doi.org/10.1177/1097184X20943254">first appeared in the 1980s</a> but recently has gained prominence in public discussion, cited as a contributing factor to <a href="https://www.motherjones.com/crime-justice/2019/06/domestic-violence-misogyny-incels-mass-shootings/">mass shootings</a>, the <a href="https://midwestgirl.medium.com/gillette-and-metoo-a76d86570389">exploitative behavior exposed by the #MeToo movement</a>, and Donald Trump’s <a href="https://theconversation.com/tweets-reveal-trumps-and-bidens-competing-views-of-masculinity-what-that-will-mean-for-presidential-leadership-149686">persona</a> and <a href="https://19thnews.org/2021/01/trump-toxic-masculinity-harm/">political popularity</a>.</p>
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<span class="caption">Toxic masculinity is seen to be one of the contributing factors behind the exploitation exposed in the #MeToo movement.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://newsroom.ap.org/detail/CaliforniaLegislatureUnfinishedBusiness/59f1c0aae37040a899781942df3e1aa8/photo?Query=metoo&mediaType=photo&sortBy=&dateRange=Anytime&totalCount=216&currentItemNo=17&vs=true">AP Photo/Damian Dovarganes,file</a></span>
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<p>Not all academics agree that using a gendered label to describe structural oppression is helpful. Cultural studies scholar <a href="https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=wbE47ZUAAAAJ&hl=en">Carol Harrington</a> warns that labeling the outgrowths of patriarchy and misogyny as toxic masculinity <a href="https://doi.org/10.1177/1097184X20943254">shifts responsibility from harmful social systems</a> to the behavior of “‘backward’ and ‘mentally unwell’ men,” making sexism an individual, rather than societal, problem.</p>
<p>Nevertheless, when critics talk about toxic masculinity they are invoking a term that has had a mostly consistent meaning for 30 years. The same cannot be said for toxic femininity.</p>
<h2>The many faces of toxic femininity</h2>
<p><a href="https://doi.org/10.1080/19419899.2020.1785534">Toxic femininity</a> is a relatively new phrase that emerged in response to conversations about toxic masculinity. </p>
<p>But people who use the term often have very different motivations for doing so – from <a href="https://doi.org/10.1080/19419899.2020.1785534">altruistic concern about the harms of sexism to indignation over men’s ostensibly dwindling power in society</a>. Given these diverse motivations, people often employ the phrase to mean wildly different things.</p>
<p>Psychologists such as <a href="https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/therapists/meaghan-rice-tucson-az/1023959">Meaghan Rice</a> see toxic femininity as the <a href="https://www.healthline.com/health/mental-health/toxic-femininity">inverse of toxic masculinity</a> – a constellation of characteristics like meekness, emotionalism, passivity and self-sacrifice. Writing for “Psychology Today,” psychologist <a href="https://www.human.cornell.edu/people/rsw36">Ritch C. Savin-Williams</a> describes toxic femininity as “internalized misogyny” that encourages women to <a href="https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/sex-sexuality-and-romance/201908/toxic-femininity">ignore their “mental or physical needs to sustain those around them</a>.” </p>
<p>In other words, toxic femininity is what many people think of as “stereotypical femininity” and is a product of patriarchal gender norms. In this formulation, toxic masculinity and toxic femininity are both fueled by sexism, and each erodes human thriving. </p>
<p>A different perspective regards toxic femininity not as a stereotypical notion of gendered weakness but as an inappropriate demonstration of female strength, cunning or privilege. Psychologists <a href="https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Shoba-Sreenivasan">Shoba Sreenivasan</a> and <a href="https://pressroom.usc.edu/linda-e-weinberger/">Linda E. Weinberger</a> ascribe the trait to professional women who are “<a href="https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/emotional-nourishment/201711/toxic-femininity-machiavellian-mary-in-the-workplace">hostile to nurturance and cooperation, opting instead for aggression and backstabbing to get ahead</a>.” </p>
<p>Similarly, organizational psychologist <a href="https://geniuswithin.org/our-team/prof-nancy-doyle/">Nancy Doyle</a> links “toxic femininity at work” to the infamous “Karen” meme, which refers to white women who use their gender and whiteness <a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/drnancydoyle/2021/07/13/we-need-to-talk-about-toxic-femininity-at-work/?sh=3c020a332769">to manipulate or dominate others</a>. This version presents toxic femininity as a woman’s version of the domineering individualism that drives toxic masculinity.</p>
<p>The conservative pundits arrayed against both “Barbie” and feminism, more broadly, are promoting a third definition of toxic femininity. Cultural studies scholar <a href="https://findanexpert.unimelb.edu.au/profile/768278-hannah-mccann">Hannah McCann</a> explains that many men’s rights activists deploy the term as a <a href="https://doi.org/10.1080/19419899.2020.1785534">rebuff of assertions about toxic masculinity</a>, arguing that men are victimized by “toxic” women – not the other way around. </p>
<p><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dXa1UrtLn-8">Conservative pundits like Matt Walsh</a> and author Jeff Minick invoke toxic femininity to <a href="https://intellectualtakeout.org/2018/10/why-feminists-hate-toxic-femininity/">oppose feminism writ large</a>. Right-wing commentator Candace Owens <a href="https://twitter.com/realcandaceo/status/1328348630567309315?s=21">tweeted</a>, “Terms like ‘toxic masculinity’, were created by toxic females.” </p>
<p>Carrie Gress, author of “<a href="https://tanbooks.com/products/books/the-anti-mary-exposed-rescuing-the-culture-from-toxic-femininity/">The Anti-Mary Exposed: Rescuing the Culture from Toxic Femininity</a>,” takes this perspective to the extreme, asserting that the pro-choice radical feminism of the 1960s ushered in a cultural and spiritual transformation that “led to the toxic femininity that has destroyed the lives of countless men, women and children.”</p>
<p>The right-wing iteration of toxic femininity attempts to neutralize the argument that patriarchy systematically disadvantages women and others who fail to fit traditional gender norms. Toxic femininity is regarded as equally dangerous to men – or even more – as toxic masculinity is to women.</p>
<h2>Beyond a toxic gender binary</h2>
<p>In her examination of popular discussions of toxic masculinity and femininity, McCann argues that what makes gender ideology toxic is <a href="https://doi.org/10.1080/19419899.2020.1785534">rigidity – adherence to an inflexible gender binary</a>. Gender norms are scripts that direct people to behave in ways that are consistent with one group’s ideas about what it means to be a woman or a man. </p>
<p>Of course, these scripts leave many people feeling uncomfortably constrained – not only the men and women who buck tradition, but also nonbinary, transgender and other people whose existence demonstrates that a gender binary is too simplistic to account for the fullness of human experience. </p>
<p>In the end, the movie “Barbie” recognizes the toxicities of both the matriarchal and patriarchal versions of Barbieland. Director Greta Gerwig’s happy ending requires Margot Robbie’s stereotypical Barbie to leave Barbieland for the real world, where she can forge a unique, less toxic, identity.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/205884/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Karrin Vasby Anderson does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organization that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Examining the understandings of what ‘toxic femininity’ means to people can reveal insights about gender, power and the impact of language on health.Karrin Vasby Anderson, Professor of Communication Studies, Colorado State UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2109322023-08-03T14:07:16Z2023-08-03T14:07:16ZRock Follies review: powerful new musical brings 1970s feminist TV sensation to the stage<p><a href="https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0074049/">Rock Follies</a> was a groundbreaking television series about an all-female rock band that originally aired for two seasons in 1976 and 1977. It wove fantastical, trippy and campy rock-musical numbers together with the often less glamorous realities of show business. The television show also led to two soundtrack albums, Rock Follies and Rock Follies of ’77, that charted in the UK.</p>
<p>Now, nearly 50 years after it first aired, the show has been reimagined as a stage musical with a new book by Chloë Moss that showcases the TV show’s original music from Howard Schuman and <a href="https://www.andymackay.co.uk/">Roxy Music’s Andy Mackay</a>. </p>
<p>The Chichester Festival Theatre staging is a successful update for a contemporary live audience. It pays musical homage to the glam decadence of 1970s rock while simultaneously illustrating how far women still have to go in the ongoing struggle for equality. As political as it is fabulous, the new musical plainly shows how the patriarchy is not merely a relic of history. </p>
<h2>A strong staging</h2>
<p>The new production sounds fantastic, with strong performances by not only the Little Ladies – the name of the all-female band – but also the versatile and dynamic supporting cast.</p>
<p>Set designer Vicki Mortimer’s simple setting of stage platforms, lights and road trunks effectively transforms the Minerva Theatre studio into an intimate concert venue. The Little Ladies are backed by a live rock band whom I found myself wishing could jump over the barrier and rock out with the cast at several points during the show. </p>
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<p>Retaining the synth-heavy roots of the original show, this musical feels like a worthy addiction to the world of bombastic and flashy rock musicals like <a href="https://www.batoutofhellmusical.com/">Bat out of Hell</a> or <a href="https://www.rockofagesmusical.co.uk/">Rock of Ages</a>. </p>
<p>The show is packed with more than 30 musical numbers – standouts include Glenn Miller is Missing and The Things You Have To Do, sung by Kitty (a powerhouse Tamsin Carroll), the new American female manager of the Little Ladies. </p>
<p>But perhaps the most timely of the songs, Jubilee, is sung by the Little Ladies at a fundraising gala to protest the event’s corporate whitewashing: </p>
<blockquote>
<p>Take a bus and see the dole queues
Enjoy spectacular inflation<br>
You’ll be knocked out by our poverty<br>
Another British institution<br>
Like the Silver Jubilee.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>These lyrics from 1977 echo newspaper headlines from last year, about a coronation celebration amid a cost of living crisis. Sound familiar? The writers have been able to make this story of 1970s female rock power strikingly contemporary as it tackles issues like sexism, racism and income inequality. </p>
<h2>Voices for change</h2>
<p>While much of the sexism faced by the original television trio was of its time, this new iteration of Rock Follies makes it clear that the patriarchal power structure faced by Q, Dee and Anna in the 1970s are still in place today. </p>
<p>Repeatedly objectified as mere sex objects or dismissed as unqualified, the three women navigate a landscape of obstacles when it comes to establishing their own voices in the music industry. They are as passionate about music as they are about finding their own way, despite the societal pressures at both home and the workplace that keep telling them to stop. </p>
<p>Anna (Carly Bawden), a drug-addicted middle-class Cambridge graduate, is a strong singer but a much better songwriter. When she dreams of performing rock music, her husband instead encourages her to work in an office. “You’d make a good secretary!” he tells her in a backhanded compliment. </p>
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<p>Dee (a fantastic Angela Marie Hurst), who lives in a commune with her boyfriend Spike, faces not only sexism but racism by a whole array of record industry executives who either dismiss her star power as “exotic”, or refuse to support a Black performer. And the charming Q (Zizi Strallen), who offers to do another soft-core porn film to financially support the band, is weighed down by a freeloading partner who only wants her when she is successful. </p>
<p>Each of the performances is strong and charismatic. All three of the Little Ladies also posses the lung power to do Howard Schuman and Andy Mackay’s music more than justice. At a time when celebrating girl power (albeit a more complex version) is back, with big hits like the <a href="https://theconversation.com/hyper-femininity-can-be-subversive-and-empowering-just-ask-barbie-209623">Barbie film</a>, Rock Follies is a welcome fierce feminist addition to the UK’s theatre scene. </p>
<p><em><a href="https://www.cft.org.uk/events/rock-follies">Rock Follies</a> is on at Chichester Festival Theatre, till Saturday 26 August</em></p>
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<p><em>Looking for something good? Cut through the noise with a carefully curated selection of the latest releases, live events and exhibitions, straight to your inbox every fortnight, on Fridays. <a href="https://theconversation.com/uk/newsletters/something-good-156">Sign up here</a>.</em></p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/210932/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Erika Hughes does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Foot stomping songs and charismatic performances make the stage adaptation of the 1970s TV series a hit.Erika Hughes, Reader in Performance, University of PortsmouthLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2094382023-07-17T16:05:26Z2023-07-17T16:05:26ZHow to talk to boys about misogyny<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/537032/original/file-20230712-30-2xs6qr.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=0%2C0%2C3834%2C2155&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/parent-giving-life-advice-teenager-kid-2257360617">Bricolage/Shutterstock</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>Government research suggests that the sexual harassment of girls by boys is <a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/review-of-sexual-abuse-in-schools-and-colleges">extremely widespread in English schools</a>. The highest rates of reports of sexual abuse by people under 25 come from girls <a href="https://learning.nspcc.org.uk/media/1042/child-abuse-neglect-uk-today-research-report.pdf">aged 15 to 17</a>. </p>
<p>The government’s <a href="https://committees.parliament.uk/committee/328/women-and-equalities-committee/">Women and Equalities Committee</a>
<a href="https://publications.parliament.uk/pa/cm5803/cmselect/cmwomeq/331/summary.html">recently emphasised</a> the need to combat misogyny through work with young men and boys. I contributed as an expert witness to the committee on relationships, sex and health education and my input was quoted in its report.</p>
<p>It is vitally important that we talk about misogyny with boys. The <a href="https://committees.parliament.uk/publications/40740/documents/199263/default/">committee’s findings</a> suggest that relationships and sex education at schools is not targeted enough to boys’ needs, and that they may not have a full understanding of what sexual harassment is. Boys may feel <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/14681810701264508?casa_token=bfIHYkMEKpYAAAAA%3Ai47Hq98j8MTBLbtjQQe-7xwU8qYO0ZRKZ16rPUhgUwkBKvPr5BSXuEuxjlm8zt9qdCM4LQdJBR8">shut out of the conversation</a>, leaving them feeling blamed but unable to contribute to solutions. </p>
<p>One key aspect of this that is often overlooked is that misogyny is damaging to boys, too. The idealisation of hyper masculinity and the expectation that men should be heterosexual, dominant and emotionless leaves little room for boys to explore their identity. </p>
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<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/how-misogyny-influencers-cater-to-young-mens-anxieties-201498">How 'misogyny influencers' cater to young men's anxieties</a>
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</em>
</p>
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<p>If you are a parent, you may be uncertain about how to raise this topic with your son. This may also be true if you work with young men and boys. </p>
<p>In my research I work with young people on topics such as relationships and sex education, misogyny and masculinity. My work is underpinned by the importance of listening to young people about matters that concern them. Here is some guidance on how to talk to boys about misogyny that may be helpful. </p>
<h2>Approach the topic without judgment</h2>
<p>Before talking to a boy about misogyny, first think about your own views on boys and young men. Perhaps you feel anger or disgust at the way girls at school may be made to feel by their male peers. But you should try to keep blame out of the conversation. </p>
<p>Violence and sexual harassment against women and girls is <a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/tackling-violence-against-women-and-girls-strategy">carried out mostly</a> <a href="https://rapecrisis.org.uk/get-informed/statistics-sexual-violence/">by men and boys</a>. But the first step in addressing this issue is to <a href="https://boyhoodinitiative.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/11/State-of-UK-Boys.pdf">create dialogue</a> – and this is unlikely to happen if boys feel judged. Blame causes resentment and shame which shuts down communication. </p>
<h2>Let boys say what they feel</h2>
<p>You may find opening a discussion like this incredibly difficult. As a society, we have issues broaching sensitive topics such as sexual behaviour and gender. You could start by asking your child’s opinion on a particular issue, such as online misogyny influencers or sexual harassment at school. You could contact their school to find out what your child is currently learning in relationships and sex education, and raise those topics with them.</p>
<p><div data-react-class="Tweet" data-react-props="{"tweetId":"1676365521804210176"}"></div></p>
<p>Let your son know that they are able to be honest and you will not judge them. You may not like what you hear. But to truly get to the heart of the matter, boys need to feel that they do not have to stick to a social script and are able to say what they are really feeling. </p>
<p>Then gently unpick the issues with them. The important thing is not to blame or shame them for what they may be thinking, but to help them see how misogyny is damaging not only to women, and other genders, but also to themselves. </p>
<h2>Listen to their ideas</h2>
<p>Young people are the experts in the world that they live in now. Your child may well know more than you do about how much pornography is shared between teens, what misogynistic influencers are saying, how sexual harassment happens online and what their peers’ views on gender are. They may also have good ideas about tackling misogyny. </p>
<p>Make your conversation a discussion, not a lecture, and prepare to learn from them, too. </p>
<h2>Masculinity and misogyny aren’t the same</h2>
<p>There are many different ways to be a boy or man. But there is a perception, reinforced by traditional media, social media and pornography, that men should look and act a certain way: dominant, emotionless and strong. </p>
<p>In some places – such as the content produced by misogynistic influencers – this way of being a man is accompanied by negative, harmful views about women. This <a href="https://books.google.co.uk/books?hl=en&lr=&id=YuR2uFxxvPoC&oi=fnd&pg=PR5&ots=GyjYKiIq_X&sig=X9-RyPaUD4CLI6GbROqg5Qgtzxg&redir_esc=y#v=onepage&q&f=false">kind of masculinity</a> has been labelled as “<a href="https://theconversation.com/toxic-masculinity-what-does-it-mean-where-did-it-come-from-and-is-the-term-useful-or-harmful-189298">toxic</a>”. </p>
<p>But traits seen as stereotypically masculine are not inherently bad. Strength, leadership and assertiveness can be positive attributes for all genders. There is nothing wrong with a young man or boy identifying with this type of masculinity. It is misogynistic views, which can be coupled with negative traits such as sexual entitlement and violence, that should be pushed back on. We have to make this distinction and separate them when considering masculinity.</p>
<p>Boys also need support to thrive – and misogynistic perspectives damage everyone. As parents, we should approach these topics with compassion and an awareness that we are all in this together.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/209438/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Sophie King-Hill receives funding from ESRC</span></em></p>Do your best to keep blame out of the conversation.Sophie King-Hill, Senior Fellow at the Health Services Management Centre, University of BirminghamLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2088312023-07-01T00:41:01Z2023-07-01T00:41:01ZUniversity of Waterloo stabbings: We all need to teach ‘gender issues’ to protect our communities from hate<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/535092/original/file-20230630-42568-kpnylj.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=0%2C36%2C2738%2C1549&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">A community event takes place on June 29 outside Hagey Hall at the University of Waterloo to focus on supporting one another and making everyone feel safe after an attack at the university earlier in the week.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">THE CANADIAN PRESS/Nicole Osborne</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>At the end of my interview for my current position as <a href="https://www2.uregina.ca/education/news/faculty-spotlight-dr-j-wallace-skelton/">assistant professor of queer studies in education at the University of Regina</a>, the hiring committee asked me if I had any questions. My first was: “When they come for me — and they will — what will the university do to protect me?”</p>
<p>I’m not paranoid, I’m a realist, and I’m not alone in asking questions like it. It’s also my attempt to be clear that institutions that make their money and reputation from the work of gender scholars are responsible for our safety. </p>
<p>Institutions need to take action to protect scholars and students whose work is feminist, celebratory of trans and nonbinary folks and inclusive of 2SLGBTQIA+ people, reproductive justice and gender justice. </p>
<p>Those of us doing this work have been shouldering the burden of our own and our students’ safety, individually, and often in isolation from each other. We need the burden to be shared — by our institutions, by our colleagues and by you, dear reader. </p>
<p><a href="https://uwimprint.ca/article/stabbing-at-hagey-hall">Collectively, as a society, we failed University of Waterloo</a> philosophy professor <a href="https://www.thestar.com/tr/news/crime/2023/06/29/update-suspect-in-university-of-waterloo-stabbing-identified.html">Katy Fulfer and two of her students on June 28</a>.</p>
<p>Fulfer and her students were stabbed <a href="https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/kitchener-waterloo/emergency-alert-university-waterloo-stabbing-watsafe-1.6892506">while she taught her gender studies class</a> in what the university described as a “<a href="https://twitter.com/UWaterloo/status/1674812676596289539">hate-motivated attack related to gender expression and gender identity</a>.” </p>
<p>The attack was horrific and unacceptable. The conditions that made it possible — <a href="https://www.cbc.ca/radio/thecurrent/lgtbq-pride-rhetoric-1.6881535">escalation of rhetoric of hate</a> <a href="https://acleddata.com/2022/11/23/update-fact-sheet-anti-lgbt-mobilization-in-the-united-states/">accompanied by hateful and violent actions</a> against 2SLGBTQIA+ people — are deliberate, a manifestation of hate and vitriol that is nurtured by people who feel threatened by this teacher’s and other’s work. </p>
<p>This was not senseless, as in without logic. It unfolded in a climate where a political movement desires to push women, queer, trans and nonbinary people out of public life. </p>
<p>If we only blame the attacker, we fail again because this is not an isolated incident. It is part of a campaign of escalating incidents on university and college campuses, <a href="https://globalnews.ca/news/9758155/ottawa-anti-lgbtq-protest/">outside public schools</a>, <a href="https://www.winnipegfreepress.com/breakingnews/2023/06/20/protesters-pack-carman-school-board-meeting-with-book-ban-arguments-on-agenda">inside</a> and <a href="https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/saskatchewan/regina-public-schools-clash-division-pride-inclusion-1.6876273">outside school board meetings</a>. </p>
<h2>Broad responses needed</h2>
<p>Our society’s and universities’ response to this needs to be similarly broad. </p>
<p>First, in keeping with <a href="https://www.latimes.com/opinion/op-ed/la-xpm-2013-apr-07-la-oe-0407-silk-ring-theory-20130407-story.html">Ring Theory</a>, when a specific incident happens, <a href="https://www.psychologytoday.com/ca/blog/promoting-hope-preventing-suicide/201705/ring-theory-helps-us-bring-comfort-in?amp">we provide care in towards the people most impacted</a>, and allow them to share their feelings and needs outward towards those less impacted. </p>
<p>Fulfer and her students need to be at the centre of that care. Also needing care are others across Canada who do similar work, who teach similar material, who study in similar classes. If you have not yet reached out to colleagues or students, do so now. </p>
<p>Let them know you know what happened, that you suspect they may be impacted, offer what you can (support, to be on call if they need something, to talk about security, to support them moving their class online if they feel it is necessary, to co-work, to listen, to advocate for their needs). Offer what is appropriate for your level of knowledge, power and connection. </p>
<h2>Creating safe work, learning environments</h2>
<p>Next, recognizing that this is not an isolated single incident, we need to think about both how we create safe work and learning environments and how we de-escalate movements of misogyny, homophobia and transphobia. Creating safety takes many forms. </p>
<p>Most powerfully, if you are an educator and you <a href="https://www.facultyfocus.com/articles/equality-inclusion-and-diversity/the-uses-of-feminist-pedagogy-before-during-and-after-the-pandemic">are not already</a> teaching <a href="https://www.listennotes.com/podcasts/the-feminist-agenda/episode-13-ileana-jim%C3%A9nez-ZWLxfNQdz3h/">intersectional feminist</a>, <a href="https://www.learningforjustice.org/magazine/summer-2019/teaching-stonewall?utm_source=Learning+for+Justice&utm_campaign=00ec8ddee2-Newsletter-6-27-2023&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_a8cea027c3-00ec8ddee2-102212590">2SLGBTQIA+ content in your courses</a>, start doing so now. We all need to be addressing gender issues. </p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/what-is-intersectionality-all-of-who-i-am-105639">What is intersectionality? All of who I am</a>
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</em>
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<p>Those that wish to do harm can not target all of us at once. We need to do this because our students are encountering hate in all manner of places, and they need our commitment to create safety for them. They need to know that they are not alone in this. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="Feet seen crossing blue, pink and white colours of a trans crosswalk on a road." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/535103/original/file-20230630-29-2e0whd.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/535103/original/file-20230630-29-2e0whd.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/535103/original/file-20230630-29-2e0whd.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/535103/original/file-20230630-29-2e0whd.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/535103/original/file-20230630-29-2e0whd.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/535103/original/file-20230630-29-2e0whd.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/535103/original/file-20230630-29-2e0whd.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Being public with support means things like writing public letters and policy statements or painting trans Pride crosswalks. A person walks on a trans Pride flag crosswalk in Calgary in 2019.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">THE CANADIAN PRESS/Dave Chidley</span></span>
</figcaption>
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<h2>Address misogyny, homophobia, transphobia</h2>
<p>Within or beyond universities, when we encounter misogyny, homophobia and transphobia we need to address it, and address it with everyone who was impacted. We need our institutions to be public in their support. Yes, this means public letters, policy statements, flying rainbow flags and <a href="https://lfpress.com/news/local-news/citys-new-rainbow-crosswalk-to-include-transgender-pride-colours/wcm/47eb12f7-a9ef-4f11-b25d-79b7519c04f5/amp/">painting trans Pride crosswalks</a>. </p>
<p>It means engaging those most targeted by the hate, who need to be centred in the planning. It means recognizing that the work we are already doing about our own and our students’ safety is work, and compensating us for it. We should not let only certain professors who are most targeted do additional labour, while those who are not targeted get to use their paid time for research or writing.</p>
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<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/4-ways-white-people-can-be-accountable-for-addressing-anti-black-racism-at-universities-164983">4 ways white people can be accountable for addressing anti-Black racism at universities</a>
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<p>We need both broad institutional responses and specific ones that meet individual needs. </p>
<h2>More public conversations</h2>
<p>Broadly, our institutions are reflections of our culture. We need a culture shift. We need individual conversations with the people around us, and public conversations in our media, places of worship, businesses and organizations. </p>
<p>We need to make celebration <a href="https://lorimer.ca/childrens/contributor/j-wallace-skelton">of gender diversity, honouring of women and 2SLGBTQIA+ people the culture</a>. We’ve enshrined this in law, in the Charter and in human rights codes, but our practice does not live up to the goals of our legislation. We need all of us to be in this work. We need to create opportunities for people who have been antithetical towards this work to do better, and to change.</p>
<p><a href="https://doi.org/10.1177/01614681221126243">In my own work</a>, I have often felt guided by the words of Supreme Court Justice Beverley McLachlin.</p>
<p>In <a href="https://scc-csc.lexum.com/scc-csc/scc-csc/en/item/2030/index.do">Chamberlain v. Surrey School District No. 36</a>, a decision that was about whether it was appropriate to read lesbian and gay picture books in kindergarten (yes, it is). McLachlin wrote: </p>
<blockquote>
<p>“Exposure to some cognitive dissonance is arguably necessary if children are to be taught what tolerance itself involves. … Children cannot learn this unless they are exposed to views that differ from those they are taught at home.” </p>
</blockquote>
<h2>OK if it feels uncomfortable</h2>
<p>It’s OK if this work is new to you. It’s OK if it feels uncomfortable at first. Do it anyway, and keep doing it and you will get better at it. Figure out your own compelling reasons to do it. Connect with others who are. </p>
<p>As a colleague of mine wrote after reading about the attack, it is OK to be “both afraid and bravely continuing to speak up.” </p>
<p>Universities need to ensure everyone affected is engaged in responses. <a href="https://www.syrusmarcusware.com/art/in-movement">Black</a> and <a href="https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/british-columbia/indigenous-leaders-reflect-biggest-stories-2018-1.4958833">Indigenous</a> colleagues, some of whom are also 2SLGBTQIA+, have significant expertise at combating hate. As I have learned from them and with them, resisting hate of all forms is all of our work, and if we do it together — in solidarity, community, in ongoing conversation — we will win.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/208831/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>j wallace skelton is currently working on a SSHRC funded research project researching parent advocates of trans and nonbinary youth. j is the primary consultant at Juxtapose Consulting, but it not taking on further consulting projects at this time. </span></em></p>We need to care for those most affected, and consider both how we create safe work and learning environments, and how we de-escalate movements of misogyny, homophobia and transphobia.j wallace skelton, Assistant professor, Faculty of Education, Queer Studies in Education, University of ReginaLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2073792023-06-23T14:52:54Z2023-06-23T14:52:54ZWhy a Banksy exhibition in Glasgow makes perfect sense<p>A new solo exhibition by Banksy, the UK’s most famous anonymous artist, has opened at the <a href="https://www.glasgowlife.org.uk/museums/venues/gallery-of-modern-art-goma">Gallery of Modern Art</a> (GoMA) in Glasgow – his first in 14 years.</p>
<p>The graffiti artist was drawn to exhibit in Glasgow ostensibly because of his interest in the symbolism of “Coneheid” – the red traffic cone permanently adorning the head of the Duke of Wellington statue that stands on a plinth outside GoMA. It is, Banksy says, his “favourite work of art in the UK”.</p>
<p>The show, <a href="https://www.glasgowlife.org.uk/event/2/banksy-cut-and-run">Cut and Run</a>, spans the career of the artist who has been <a href="https://www.researchgate.net/publication/307594732_Bansky_What%27s_the_fuss_and_why_does_it_matter">described</a> as “notoriously cryptic, darkly humorous … a global phenomenon, a personality without a persona, a criminal without a record, and a paradox within the world of art.” </p>
<p>Originally influenced by the work of Xavier Pru – AKA father of stencil graffiti <a href="https://www.instagram.com/blekleratoriginal/">Blek le Rat</a> – Banksy has become a major player in the urban and contemporary art world, generating controversy and publicity through his distinctive and creative approach.</p>
<p>Popular with the public and highly valued by the art world, Banksy’s works convey powerful messages via simple but arresting images. His early transgressive artwork was seen by some as <a href="https://fitzrovianews.com/2015/06/24/banksy-is-not-a-disgrace-it-is-westminster-council-that-is-a-disgrace/">vandalism</a>, but for many others, Banksy is an <a href="https://www.myartbroker.com/artist-banksy/articles/why-is-banksy-so-popular-what-makes-him-a-national-treasure-weve-found-out">important counter voice</a> subverting the dominant narrative of capitalism.</p>
<p>The Bristol-based artist is a <a href="https://www.myartbroker.com/artist-banksy/articles/banksy-anti-war-activism">humanitarian and peace activist</a>, using his wealth to benefit many charitable causes. His artworks raise awareness of political iniquities and challenge social injustices, such as the <a href="https://www.myartbroker.com/artist-banksy/articles/new-banksy-mural-for-ukraine-2022">war in Ukraine</a>, <a href="https://www.dailyartmagazine.com/banksy-refugees/">refugee crises</a>, <a href="https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-england-birmingham-50728590">homelessness</a>, <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/artanddesign/2009/dec/21/banksy-copenhagen-regents-canal">global warming</a>, <a href="https://www.myartbroker.com/artist-banksy/articles/fk-the-police-the-theme-of-disorder-authority-in-banksys-prints">police violence</a>, <a href="https://www.thenationalnews.com/arts-culture/art/banksy-in-palestine-a-look-at-the-street-artist-s-work-in-gaza-and-the-west-bank-1.1031618">apartheid</a>, <a href="https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/new-banksy-mural-valentines-day-mascara-domestic-violence-180981644/">misogyny</a> and <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/artanddesign/2014/oct/01/banksy-mural-clacton-racist">racism</a>. These are invariably set within a satirical, witty and humorous style that often confronts those in power. </p>
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<h2>The Glasgow-Banksy connection</h2>
<p>The red traffic cone has historically been placed on Wellington’s head by revellers to signify a great night out in the city and is now an iconic part of Glasgow’s heritage and marketing. It holds great meaning for Glaswegians in its anti-elitist and anti-establishment message, contributing to their social and cultural capital.</p>
<p>It’s also a reminder of the extent to which the expression of all forms of culture have been central to Glasgow’s regeneration over recent decades. First came the <a href="https://burrellcollection.com/the-collection-the-gift-to-glasgow-and-the-charity-that-cares-for-it/">Burrell Collection</a> in 1983, followed by the <a href="https://www.glasgowlive.co.uk/news/history/glasgow-clydeside-garden-festival-history-14578391">International Garden Festival</a> in 1988, which built momentum towards a successful bid for the <a href="https://www.scotsman.com/heritage-and-retro/heritage/what-impact-has-the-1990-city-of-culture-had-on-glasgow-30-years-on-3000426">European City of Culture</a> in 1990 – a life-changing accolade for a city notorious for its poverty, violence and the lowest life expectancy in Europe. </p>
<p>But the connection between Banksy and the city goes much deeper. Both have a history of actively supporting humanitarian causes. Glasgow was the first anti-apartheid city to support Nelson Mandela with a street near the South African consulate renamed to honour him while he was still in prison. It also has a proud reputation for <a href="https://www.refuweegee.co.uk/">welcoming and defending refugees</a>, and <a href="https://www.refugeefestivalscotland.co.uk/organiser/glasgow-afghan-united/">supporting them</a> throughout the city.</p>
<p>Glasgow City Council has promoted street art by <a href="https://www.citycentremuraltrail.co.uk">commissioning and funding murals</a> around the city which have become an urban attraction. Glasgow also hosts the annual <a href="https://swg3.tv/events/2023/may/yardworks-festival-2023-6-may/">Yardworks Festival</a> which is an internationally renowned celebration of urban art.</p>
<p>Glaswegians are known for their friendliness and irreverent humour which resonates with Banksy’s works. The city has actively resourced artists as part of its cultural policy and has been <a href="https://www.glasgowlife.org.uk/news/glasgow-named-uk-s-top-cultural-and-creative-city">named</a> the UK’s top cultural and creative city in a landmark report by the European Commission. The Banksy exhibition will undoubtedly boost Glasgow’s reputation as a centre of creative dynamism.</p>
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<h2>What to expect</h2>
<p>The exhibition starts with a re-creation of his studio space, featuring for the first time the stencils used to create many of his most famous works. Banksy has used these original stencils to create new versions of these works, including <a href="https://banksyexplained.com/kissing-coppers-2004/">Kissing Coppers</a>, which first appeared on a wall of the Prince Albert pub in Brighton in 2004.</p>
<p>It will also feature <a href="https://www.phillips.com/detail/banksy/NY010323/13">Banksquiat: Boy and Dog in Stop and Search</a>, Banksy’s homage to Jean-Michel Basquiat which was displayed on a wall near the Barbican in London as an unofficial collaboration with the art centre’s 2017 Basquiat show. A critique of the often-racist nature of police stop-and-search powers, it sold in May 2023 for an astonishing $9,724,500 (£7,646,277).</p>
<p>The infamous shredding mechanism of Banksy’s <a href="https://www.myartbroker.com/artist-banksy/series-girl-with-balloon/artwork-girl-with-balloon-signed-print">Girl with Balloon</a> is also showcased in the exhibition. In 2018, just after it was purchased at auction for £1 million, the canvas was passed through a secret shredder hidden inside the frame, leaving the bottom half in tatters with only the solitary red balloon untouched.</p>
<p>Three years later this iconic artwork was renamed <a href="https://www.myartbroker.com/artist-banksy/articles/banksys-love-is-in-the-bin-the-greatest-pr-stunt-of-all-time">Love in the Bin</a> and auctioned at Sotheby’s for a mind-bending £18,852,000.</p>
<p>A more recent work from his <a href="https://news.artnet.com/art-world/banksy-created-seven-new-works-on-bombed-out-buildings-throughout-ukraine-see-them-here-2209409">Borodyanka Ukraine</a> series, a stencil of a young female gymnast performing a handstand, balancing on a damaged building in Ukraine, is also on show. While creating this work on a bombed-out building, a local resident remonstrated with Banksy and threatened to call the police.</p>
<p>Banksy has been in the vanguard a new art form that was birthed in street art but has matured to include a strategic use of different kinds of media – graffiti, film, performance, digital and social media – all of which have the capacity to maximise the impact of his message in real time with a global reach. </p>
<p>It feels significant that Banksy has chosen a once-blighted Scottish city that redeemed itself through the arts for his first show in more than a decade. A shared sense of humour, humanitarian values and a disregard for the establishment mean Banksy’s show will be well-received in Glasgow.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/207379/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Blane Savage does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Glasgow welcomes the world’s most famous graffiti artist, drawn to the city by the much-loved ‘Coneheid’ Duke of Wellington statue outside his exhibition.Blane Savage, Lecturer in MA Creative Media Practice and BA(Hons) New Media Art, University of the West of ScotlandLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2072062023-06-11T11:22:19Z2023-06-11T11:22:19ZYes, the incel community has a sexism problem, but we can do something about it<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/530728/original/file-20230607-23-60j1ow.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=51%2C0%2C5699%2C3240&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">A number of online communities and social media influencers engage in misogynistic rhetoric. Incels — short for involuntary celibates — are one of these communities.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">(Shutterstock)</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>A judge in Ontario’s Superior Court has ruled that a 2020 attack on a Toronto massage parlour was an <a href="https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/toronto/incel-toronto-massage-killing-terrorism-1.6867177">incel-inspired act of terror</a>. This is the first time that an incel-related crime has been labelled a terror offence.</p>
<p>Law enforcement groups in <a href="https://theconversation.com/why-charging-incels-with-terrorism-may-make-matters-worse-139457">Canada</a> and the <a href="https://www.cbsnews.com/news/incel-threat-secret-service-report/">United States</a> have identified incels as a growing terror threat.</p>
<p>A number of online communities and <a href="https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-65780107">social media influencers</a> engage in misogynistic rhetoric. <a href="https://doi.org/10.1177/08912432221128545">Incels</a> — short for involuntary celibates — are one of these communities. Incels are men who see themselves as unable to establish romantic relationships with women. Incels <a href="https://doi.org/10.1177/08912432221128545">believe they are victims of lookism</a>, which they define as a social bias in favour of attractive people. </p>
<p>Incels have been connected to <a href="https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/ohio-incel-plotted-slaughter-women-pleads-guilty-attempted-hate-crime-rcna51812">hate crimes</a> against women and <a href="https://www.theglobeandmail.com/opinion/article-ecole-polytechnique-incels-violence-against-women/">celebrate attacks</a> that target them. Despite the link between incels and violence, public figures like <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M1612L2FMHo">Jordan Peterson</a> defend incels and see them as unfairly marginalized. </p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/530731/original/file-20230607-19-xdj9e8.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="A grey government building next to a monument made of grey human figures." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/530731/original/file-20230607-19-xdj9e8.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/530731/original/file-20230607-19-xdj9e8.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=423&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/530731/original/file-20230607-19-xdj9e8.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=423&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/530731/original/file-20230607-19-xdj9e8.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=423&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/530731/original/file-20230607-19-xdj9e8.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=532&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/530731/original/file-20230607-19-xdj9e8.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=532&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/530731/original/file-20230607-19-xdj9e8.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=532&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">The Ontario Superior Court building in Toronto. An Ontario judge has ruled that the murder of a Toronto massage parlour employee amounted to an act of terrorism, setting a new precedent for Canadian law.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">THE CANADIAN PRESS/Colin Perkel</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>Online misogyny</h2>
<p>To better understand incel misogyny, <a href="https://doi.org/10.1177/14614448231176777">we analyzed</a> every comment made on a popular incel discussion board over a period between 2017 and 2021. In total, we collected more than 3.5 million comments. <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2023/feb/10/im-technically-an-incel-but-not-a-misogynist-why-arent-women-attracted-to-me">Some incels</a> say they are not misogynistic, but we found that misogyny is widespread within the incel community.</p>
<p>In the comments we analyzed, incels used misogynistic slurs nearly one million times. They use misogynistic slurs to describe women 3.3 times more often than non-misogynistic terms. More than 80 per cent of discussion board threads contained at least one misogynistic slur. Some users only referred to women using misogynistic slurs. </p>
<p>Our research is not just about the number of misogynistic slurs that incels use, but also the types of slurs they use. Many of these terms are explicitly hostile and dehumanizing. Slurs like “foid” are used to label women as uncaring machines, while words like “roastie” aim to body shame sexually active women. </p>
<p>While our data shows that incels hate all women, incels particularly target racialized women with sexist and racist terms. Incels dehumanized and sexualized racialized women by saying they were sexually available to all white men. Incels labelled women “race traitors” for dating outside their race. </p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/incels-are-surprisingly-diverse-but-united-by-hate-163414">Incels are surprisingly diverse but united by hate</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<p>Why are incels targeting women? Incels argue that women and society treat them like subordinate, failed men and “beta males.” As we argue, incels <a href="https://doi.org/10.1177/08912432221128545">weaponize this subordination</a> by saying women should be rented, bought and sold like property to “solve” the “incel problem.” Incels see themselves as the “real victims,” who are being attacked by women, feminism and society. They think eliminating women’s rights will improve society. </p>
<h2>What can we do to address online misogyny?</h2>
<p>Our study shows that incels do not become misogynistic within the incel community. Instead, they are already misogynistic when they arrive in the community. This suggests that men are becoming misogynistic in other communities, such as men’s rights groups like <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2020/aug/26/men-going-their-own-way-the-toxic-male-separatist-movement-that-is-now-mainstream">Men Going Their Own Way</a> and those formed around online influencers like Andrew Tate. These communities can serve as a pipeline for incels.</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/social-media-misogyny-the-new-way-andrew-tate-brought-us-the-same-old-hate-191928">Social media misogyny: The new way Andrew Tate brought us the same old hate</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/530730/original/file-20230607-30-jyy7le.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="Police stand in front of a damaged van on a city sidewalk." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/530730/original/file-20230607-30-jyy7le.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/530730/original/file-20230607-30-jyy7le.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=430&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/530730/original/file-20230607-30-jyy7le.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=430&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/530730/original/file-20230607-30-jyy7le.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=430&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/530730/original/file-20230607-30-jyy7le.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=541&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/530730/original/file-20230607-30-jyy7le.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=541&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/530730/original/file-20230607-30-jyy7le.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=541&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">In April 2018, Alek Minassian drove a van down a busy Toronto sidewalk, striking dozens of people. After the attack, he told police he sought retribution against society for years of sexual rejection by women.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">THE CANADIAN PRESS/Aaron Vincent Elkaim</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Efforts to disrupt <a href="https://d1y8sb8igg2f8e.cloudfront.net/documents/Misogynist_Incels_and_Male_Supremacism.pdf">online misogyny</a> will need to focus on multiple communities and the networks between them. Simply shutting down online forums or discussion boards is not likely to be effective. Incels and other communities pop up in new locations, and these groups see <a href="https://datasociety.net/library/media-manipulation-and-disinfo-online/">censorship</a> as validation of their beliefs.</p>
<p>Instead, academics, policymakers and the public need to directly challenge misogyny. We can engage with and challenge incel communities to disrupt their ability to operate as <a href="https://www.technologyreview.com/2020/02/07/349052/the-manosphere-is-getting-more-toxic-as-angry-men-join-the-incels/">misogynistic echo-chambers</a>. </p>
<p>We also need to keep supporting organizations that advance gender equity. In addition to organizations that advocate for women, we also need to support groups for <a href="https://nomas.org/">men that challenge sexism</a> and <a href="https://xyonline.net/about-us">promote healthy and positive</a> ideas about masculinity.</p>
<p>We can amplify the voices of <a href="https://abcnews.go.com/US/incel-violent-misogyny-broken-community-sucked-negative-mindset/story?id=64957014">men who have left the incel community</a>. We can also identify and support men who decide not to join the incel community, particularly because our data suggests that the men who did not make misogynistic comments appeared to leave the community. </p>
<p>All of us can challenge how science is misused to create misogynistic misinformation. A page on the incel website we analyzed provided links to hundreds scientific studies that they believe support their sexist claims. </p>
<p>Many of these studies were misinterpreted, misquoted or presented out of context. We can adapt existing tools, such as <a href="https://toolbox.google.com/factcheck/explorer">online fact-checkers</a>, to more efficiently counter such incorrect and misleading misogynistic claims. </p>
<p>What can incels do? The site we studied tells its members to not persecute, harass or attack others. Based on our research, those rules don’t seem to apply to attacking or harassing women. To the extent that incel communities care about misogyny, they need to do better at challenging it in each other.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/207206/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Michael Halpin receives funding from the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada.</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Finlay Maguire receives funding from the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada, the Canadian Institutes of Health Research, the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada, Research Nova Scotia, and Genome Canada.</span></em></p>Efforts to disrupt online misogyny need to focus on stopping online forums from becoming misogynistic echo-chambers.Michael Halpin, Assistant Professor of Sociology, Dalhousie UniversityFinlay Maguire, Assistant Professor, Computer Science / Community Health & Epidemiology, Dalhousie UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2025872023-05-15T12:32:50Z2023-05-15T12:32:50ZWhy so many South Korean women are refusing to date, marry or have kids<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/525713/original/file-20230511-36633-3ze3d6.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=17%2C29%2C3976%2C2628&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">South Korean women protest against sexism and digital sex crimes, such as the making of pornography using hidden cameras.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/news-photo/south-korean-women-protest-against-sexism-and-hidden-camera-news-photo/1046462564">Jean Chung/Getty Images</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>South Korea finds itself embroiled in an all-out gender war – and it keeps getting worse.</p>
<p>The animosity between Korean men and women has reached a point where some women are outright refusing to date, marry and have kids with men – a phenomenon known as <a href="https://www.thecut.com/2023/03/4b-movement-feminism-south-korea.html">the 4B movement</a>. </p>
<p><a href="https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=2_iGT-QAAAAJ&hl=en">As a Korean feminist scholar</a> living in the U.S., I’ve followed this gender war from afar as I conducted research on contemporary Korean gender politics. </p>
<p>However, I also became embroiled in it myself after my research on Korean masculinity <a href="https://www.cnn.com/travel/article/south-korea-western-women-seeking-love-intl-hnk-dst/index.html">was published by CNN</a>. </p>
<p>The article described foreign women who traveled to Korea after becoming enamored of the idea of dating Korean men from watching Korean television dramas. I pointed out that since the tourists’ fantasies were based on fictional characters, some of them ended up disappointed with the Korean men they dated in real life. </p>
<p>The article was about racial politics and the masculine ideals. But some Korean readers thought that I was simply criticizing Korean men for not being romantic and handsome enough. One enraged Korean man commented that I was an “ugly feminist.” </p>
<p>But this was tame in comparison to what women living in South Korea have endured in recent years.</p>
<h2>Extreme misogyny and a feminist backlash</h2>
<p>Over the past couple of decades, there have been flash points in this gender war.</p>
<p>In 2010, Ilbe, <a href="https://koreaexpose.com/south-koreas-angry-young-men/">a right-wing website</a> that traffics in misogyny, started attracting users who <a href="https://www.ilbe.com/view/11200697424">peppered the forums with vulgar posts</a> about women.</p>
<p>Then in 2015, an online extremist feminist group <a href="https://koreaexpose.com/megalia-south-korean-feminism-marshals-the-power-of-the-internet/">named Megalia</a> arose. Its goal was to fight back by <a href="https://10mag.com/megalia-south-koreas-radical-feminism-community/">demeaning Korean men</a> in ways that mirrored the rhetoric on sites like Ilbe. </p>
<p>A year later, a man who had professed his hatred of women <a href="https://www.latimes.com/world/asia/la-fg-south-korea-woman-killed-20160521-snap-story.html">murdered a random woman in a public bathroom</a> near a Seoul subway station. He was eventually sentenced to decades in prison, but the lines were quickly drawn. On one side were feminists, who saw misogyny as the underlying motive. On the other side were men who claimed that it was merely the isolated actions of a mentally ill man. The <a href="https://www.ytn.co.kr/_ln/0103_201605231913446582">two groups violently clashed</a> during competing protests at the site of the murder. </p>
<h2>A backdrop of digital sex crimes</h2>
<p>However, none of these events have elicited as much public controversy as the steep rise in digital sex crimes. These are newer forms of sexual violence facilitated by technology: <a href="https://www.mtsu.edu/first-amendment/article/1532/revenge-pornography">revenge porn</a>; <a href="https://theconversation.com/what-is-upskirting-and-what-are-your-rights-to-privacy-under-the-law-158060">upskirting</a>, which refers to surreptitiously snapping photos under women’s skirts in public; and the use of hidden cameras to film women having sex or undressing.</p>
<p>In 2018, there were <a href="https://easylaw.go.kr/CSP/CnpClsMain.laf?popMenu=ov&csmSeq=1594&ccfNo=1&cciNo=1&cnpClsNo=2">2,289 reported cases</a> of digital sex crimes; in 2021, the number <a href="https://easylaw.go.kr/CSP/CnpClsMain.laf?popMenu=ov&csmSeq=1594&ccfNo=1&cciNo=1&cnpClsNo=2">snowballed to 10,353</a>.</p>
<p>In 2019, there were two major incidents that involved digital sex crimes. </p>
<p>In one, a number of male K-pop stars were indicted for filming and circulating videos of women in group chatrooms <a href="https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-50596943">without their consent</a>.</p>
<p>A few months later, Koreans were shocked to learn about what became known as the “<a href="https://www.esquire.com/uk/culture/tv/a40018199/what-is-nth-room-true-story-cyber-hell-destroy-the-nth-chatroom-netflix/">Nth Room Incident</a>,” during which hundreds of perpetrators – mostly men – committed digital sex crimes on dozens of women and minors. </p>
<p>They tended to target poorer women – sex workers, or women who wanted to make a few bucks by sharing anonymous nude photos of themselves. The perpetrators either hacked into their social media accounts or approached these women and offered them money, but asked for their personal information so they could transmit the funds. Once they obtained this information, they blackmailed the women by threatening to reveal their sex work and their nudes to their friends and family. </p>
<p>Since <a href="https://koreaexpose.com/sex-workers-speaking-out-koreas-shadowy-underbelly/">sex work</a> and <a href="https://easylaw.go.kr/CSP/CnpClsMain.laf?popMenu=ov&csmSeq=901&ccfNo=2&cciNo=1&cnpClsNo=1">posting nude images of yourself online</a> are illegal in Korea, the women, fearing arrest or being ostracized by friends and family, complied with the perpetrators’ demands to send even more compromising images of themselves. The men would then swap these images in chatrooms. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="Protester holds sign that reads 'Korea is from top to bottom the rape cartel itself.'" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/525716/original/file-20230511-19-rpy9jv.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/525716/original/file-20230511-19-rpy9jv.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/525716/original/file-20230511-19-rpy9jv.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/525716/original/file-20230511-19-rpy9jv.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/525716/original/file-20230511-19-rpy9jv.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/525716/original/file-20230511-19-rpy9jv.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/525716/original/file-20230511-19-rpy9jv.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Protests erupted in Seoul in July 2019 after women were drugged and sexually abused at a popular nightclub partly owned by the K-Pop star Seungri.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/news-photo/feminists-chant-slogans-as-they-hold-signs-that-read-korea-news-photo/1157943309?adppopup=true">Jean Chung/Getty Images</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>And yet a 2019 <a href="http://www.mogef.go.kr/kor/skin/doc.html?fn=4ee3d24743c343d9ad7df17a5211eb0c.pdf&rs=/rsfiles/202305/">survey conducted by the Korean government</a> found that large swaths of the population blamed women for these sex crimes: 52% said that they believed sexual violence occurs because women wear revealing clothes, while 37% thought if women experienced sexual assault while drunk, they are partly to blame for their victimization. </p>
<p>In other words, a significant percentage of the Korean population believes that <a href="https://doi.org/10.1080/23268743.2021.1901602">female sexuality is the problem</a> – not the sexual violence.</p>
<h2>Government policy lays the groundwork</h2>
<p>Digital sex crimes are too widespread to lay the blame at the feet of a handful of bad actors. </p>
<p>To me, part of the problem stems from the long history of “gendered citizenship.” </p>
<p>Korean feminist scholar <a href="https://www.vassar.edu/faculty/semoon">Seungsook Moon</a> has written about the ways in which <a href="https://www.dukeupress.edu/militarized-modernity-and-gendered-citizenship-in-south-korea">the government created one track for men and another for women</a> as the country sought to modernize in the second half of the 20th century:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>“Men were mobilized for mandatory military service and then, as conscripts, utilized as workers and researchers in the industrializing economy. Women were consigned to lesser factory jobs, and their roles as members of the modern nation were defined largely in terms of biological reproduction and household management.”</p>
</blockquote>
<p>Although these policies are no longer officially carried out, the underlying attitudes about gender roles remain embedded in Korean life and culture. Women who veer from being mothers and housewives expose themselves to public and private backlash. </p>
<p>The government has created gender quotas in certain industries to try to unravel this system of gendered citizenship.</p>
<p>For instance, some government jobs have <a href="https://www.womennews.co.kr/news/articleView.html?idxno=234654">minimum gender quotas</a> for new hires, and the government <a href="https://www.seoulfn.com/news/articleView.html?idxno=483074">encourages the private sector to implement similar policies</a>. In historically male-dominant industries, such as construction, there are quotas for female hires, while in historically female-dominant industries, such as education, <a href="https://www.seoul.co.kr/news/newsView.php?id=20190222011034">there are male quotas</a>. </p>
<p>In some ways, this has only made things worse. Each gender feels as if the other is receiving special treatment due to these affirmative action policies. Resentment festers. </p>
<h2>‘The generation that has given up’</h2>
<p>Today, the sense of competition between young men and women is exacerbated by the <a href="https://keia.org/the-peninsula/low-youth-employment-in-korea-part-1the-golden-ticket-syndrome/">soaring cost of living</a> and rampant unemployment. </p>
<p>Called the “<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/N-po_generation">N-Po Generation</a>,” which roughly translates as “the generation that has given up,” many young South Koreans don’t think they can achieve certain milestones that previous generations took for granted: marriage, having kids, finding a job, owning a home and even friendships.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="Two women in purple jackets hand out stickers." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/525955/original/file-20230512-15-g1trvp.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/525955/original/file-20230512-15-g1trvp.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=417&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/525955/original/file-20230512-15-g1trvp.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=417&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/525955/original/file-20230512-15-g1trvp.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=417&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/525955/original/file-20230512-15-g1trvp.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=524&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/525955/original/file-20230512-15-g1trvp.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=524&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/525955/original/file-20230512-15-g1trvp.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=524&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Members of South Korea’s Women’s Party campaign ahead of the 2020 election. Though the party didn’t win any races, it marked the first time a feminist party sought seats in the National Assembly.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/news-photo/this-photo-taken-on-april-9-2020-shows-womens-party-news-photo/1209572028?adppopup=true">Jung Yeon-Je/AFP via Getty Images</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Although all genders find themselves discouraged, the act of “giving up” has caused more problems for women. Men see women who forgo marriage and having kids as selfish. And when they then try to compete against men for jobs, some men become incensed. </p>
<p>Many of the men who have become radicalized commit digital sex crimes to take revenge on women who, in their view, have abandoned their duties.</p>
<p>Ultimately, the competitive dynamic created by the Korean government’s embrace of gendered citizenship has stoked the virulent gender war between Korean men and women, with digital sex crimes used as ammunition.</p>
<p>The 4B movement, whereby Korean women forego heterosexual dating, marriage, and childbirth, represents a radical escalation of the gender war by seeking to create an online and offline world devoid of men. Rather than engaging in altercations, these women are refusing to interact with men, period. </p>
<h2>Digital sex crimes are a global problem</h2>
<p>To be sure, digital sex crimes are not unique to Korea. </p>
<p>When I teach my college class on digital sex crimes in the U.S., I’m surprised by how many of my students admit that they’ve been victims of digital sex crimes, or knew of it happening at their high schools. And at the National Women’s Studies Association’s <a href="https://gwss.washington.edu/2022-nwsa-conference">annual conference in 2022</a>, I watched feminist activists and scholars from all over the world present their findings about digital sex crimes back home.</p>
<p>Since each country has its own cultural context for the rise in digital sex crimes, there isn’t a single solution to solve the problems. But in South Korea, continuing to unravel the system of gendered citizenship could be part of the solution.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/202587/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Min Joo Lee does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organization that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>The South Korean government’s embrace of gendered citizenship has fueled the virulent gender war between men and women, with digital sex crimes used as ammunition.Min Joo Lee, Postdoctoral Fellow, Indiana UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2010592023-04-28T12:26:13Z2023-04-28T12:26:13ZWhy we need to talk about porn when we talk about Andrew Tate<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/522772/original/file-20230425-2136-ld8wy5.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">AB WBT</span> </figcaption></figure><p>For decades, <a href="https://www.jstor.org/stable/40239168">many feminists</a> have highlighted the <a href="https://www.culturereframed.org/the-porn-crisis/">harms</a> of pornography. They have argued that pornography incarnates male supremacy, and it not only constitutes male violence against women but it also constitutes <a href="https://www.feministes-radicales.org/wp-content/uploads/2010/11/Andrea-DWORKIN-Pornography-Men-Possessing-Women-1981.pdf">the main conduit</a> for such violence.</p>
<p>Experts have long shown the <a href="https://www.appg-cse.uk/wp-content/uploads/2023/02/Inquiry-on-pornography.pdf">links</a> between pornography, misogyny and sexual violence against women. Research <a href="https://eprints.qut.edu.au/217360/1/__qut.edu.au_Documents_StaffHome_StaffGroupR%24_rogersjm_Desktop_Flood%2C%2BThe%2Bharms%2Bof%2Bpornography%2Bexposure%2B09.pdf">has found</a> that exposure to both violent pornography and non-violent pornography – depicting consensual sexual activity between adults – fosters attitudes supportive of sexual aggression and rape. And that in <a href="https://digitalcommons.uri.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1073&context=dignity">normalising</a> sexual violence, pornography also fuels it. </p>
<p>Recently, Lucy Emmerson, the director of the Sex Education Forum has <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/education/2023/mar/02/impact-porn-not-taught-schools-england-survey?CMP=Share_AndroidApp_Other">warned</a> that “seeing violent sexual acts in pornography is having a knock-on effect on [young people’s] behaviour”. Research has found <a href="https://eprints.qut.edu.au/217360/1/__qut.edu.au_Documents_StaffHome_StaffGroupR%24_rogersjm_Desktop_Flood%2C%2BThe%2Bharms%2Bof%2Bpornography%2Bexposure%2B09.pdf">a correlation</a> among underage boys between frequent consumption of porn and the idea that forcing someone to have sex is ok. </p>
<p>Despite this, porn is only sporadically discussed in connection with violence against women, online and offline. A case in point is <a href="https://theconversation.com/andrew-tate-research-has-long-shown-how-feminist-progress-is-always-followed-by-a-misogynistic-backlash-197433?notice=Article+has+been+updated.">Andrew Tate</a>. </p>
<p>Tate was arrested in December 2022 on suspicion of human trafficking and rape and subsequently moved to house arrest in March 2023. The house arrest <a href="https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-65351270">has been extended</a> as public prosecutors reportedly continue to investigate him and his brother, Tristan, for crimes including sexually exploiting women and, in the case of Tristan Tate, <a href="https://uk.sports.yahoo.com/news/romanian-prosecutors-add-charge-against-105022461.html">inciting others</a> to violence. </p>
<p>This has seen the influencer receive an incredible amount of <a href="https://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/m001jg1t/the-dangerous-rise-of-andrew-tate">media coverage</a>. This has revolved, primarily, around his “<a href="https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2022/aug/06/andrew-tate-violent-misogynistic-world-of-tiktok-new-star">deviant</a>” personality, while <a href="https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-64125045">ignoring</a> the cultural context he operates in: a patriarchal society in which <a href="https://files.libcom.org/files/Theorizing%20Patriarchy%20-%20Sylvia%20Walby.pdf">misogynistic violence</a> is routinely encouraged by mainstream pornography. While Tate arguably promotes the same violence, the two are rarely connected in popular discourse.</p>
<p>Tate’s case it not unique. My research <a href="https://link.springer.com/book/9783031093524">shows</a> how representations of perpetrators of sexual violence, from <a href="https://link.springer.com/book/10.1007/978-3-030-28243-1?source=shoppingads&amp;locale=en-gb&amp;gclid=Cj0KCQiA0oagBhDHARIsAI-Bbgf5WKRSOcRQe6eFiisBta-5clzT-jJaT0vjHXs31BskQ_sKl3nPVB0aAv2zEALw_wcB">Harvey Weinstein to Jimmy Saville</a>, routinely focus on individual “deviancy”. They fail to make the connection between misogyny and wider social problems, like pornography. The “villain” is typically identified and singled out as an abnormal man. The details of his abuse are discussed ad nauseam in public discourse and every attempt is made to purge society of his presence and move on.</p>
<p>This is a problem. In ignoring the broader socio-cultural factors at play, this narrative fails to connect what appear to be the <a href="https://www.politybooks.com/search?s=surviving%20sexual%20violence">most severe</a> instances of misogyny with more “<a href="https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/pdf/10.1177/1077801221996453">mundane</a>” forms, which have been normalised or appear less harmful. As a result, these are allowed to continue undisturbed.</p>
<h2>The mundane misogyny of social media</h2>
<p>It is <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/14680777.2018.1447345">no secret</a> that social media platforms are littered with “mundane” misogyny, from rape apologists to neo-sexist videos which promote the idea that women have achieved equality with men and that men are the “real” victims now.</p>
<p>Men’s podcasts such as <a href="https://www.tiktok.com/@freshandfit_clips?lang=en">Fresh and Fit</a>, <a href="https://www.tiktok.com/@moa.podcast">Men of Action</a> (MOA), <a href="https://www.tiktok.com/@theviralwaypodcast">The Viral Way</a>, for example, are unfiltered repositories of sexism and misogyny. Yet, they are nowhere to be found in mainstream discussions on the topic. The recent, sustained focus on the “extreme” misogyny of Tate has effectively shielded other providers of “mundane” misogyny from media scrutiny.</p>
<p>This kind of tunnel-vision narrative also leaves out of the picture the ordinary misogyny of normalised, yet no less harmful, social practices like pornography. Pornographic websites like PornHub, RedTube, and YouPorn, which have been shown to <a href="https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/pdf/10.1177/1077801210382866?casa_token=7Jj-2itHNkQAAAAA:UOvzyEIm5IFBZfD9d6fZns9xd3cjlbMEKqMk8T5AQj1E87Rbrnw5GM8Vr8ancmoe8sMVq78m-XQ">promote violent and misogynistic content</a>, are accessible to anyone, everywhere. Until March 2023, these online platforms were all owned by the same company, <a href="https://www.reuters.com/markets/deals/pornhub-owner-mindgeek-sold-canadas-ethical-capital-2023-03-16/">MindGeek</a>, and, in 2020, together they reportedly had approximately <a href="https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2022/06/20/the-fight-to-hold-pornhub-accountable">4.5 billion monthly visits</a> – that’s almost double that of Google and Facebook combined.</p>
<p>In the UK, the most prolific users of these porn sites are <a href="https://www.ofcom.org.uk/__data/assets/pdf_file/0013/220414/online-nation-2021-report.pdf">young adults aged 18-24</a>. News reports have highlighted that children <a href="https://www.bbfc.co.uk/about-us/news/children-see-pornography-as-young-as-seven-new-report-finds">as young as seven</a> have been exposed to their content.</p>
<p>Compared to even a generation ago, mobile technology has made pornography widely available and easily accessible. This has caused a major <a href="http://www.beacon.org/Pornland-P891.aspx">cultural shift</a> whose consequences have not been fully explored or understood yet. Today anyone can watch violent porn with the same ease they can watch cat videos and we don’t fully know what this is doing to us.</p>
<p>If we look at the language of pornography, it is not fundamentally different from the language of Tate. Think, for example, of the similarities between Tate’s obsession with <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2022/aug/06/andrew-tate-violent-misogynistic-world-of-tiktok-new-star">grabbing women by the neck</a> and the <a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/32661813/">popularity</a> of strangulation in online pornography.</p>
<p>Yet, while every second, online pornography broadcasts the same ideas expressed by Tate to millions of people, including children and teenagers, it does not generate the same level of public outrage. On the contrary, pornography is often defended as a <a href="https://www.menshealth.com/sex-women/a40616209/sex-education-porn/">sex positive practice</a> and accepted as a <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2020/feb/08/porn-not-real-sex-positive-educators-influencers-breaking-taboos">work of fiction</a>. </p>
<p>Its role in the spread of misogyny is notably absent from most mainstream discussions of violence against women, including those about Tate. Society is wondering <a href="https://www.standard.co.uk/insider/talk-children-andrew-tate-misogyny-online-safety-b1053749.html">how to talk to children about Tate</a>, yet pornography is still largely absent from <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/education/2023/mar/02/impact-porn-not-taught-schools-england-survey?CMP=Share_AndroidApp_Other">sex education</a>.</p>
<h2>It’s about the money</h2>
<p>The question then is why Tate has been branded an <a href="https://hopenothate.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2022/08/Andrew-Tate-Briefing-Final.pdf">extreme misogynist</a> but pornography is defended as a “sex-positive” practice. Why do we find it abhorrent for Tate to talk about violence against women, but believe that watching it is fine? </p>
<p>The answer lies largely in two factors: money and the patriarchy. </p>
<p>On the one hand, tunnel-vision narratives function as a patriarchal tool that distracts the attention from broader social factors like pornography and protects “ordinary” men. Hashtags such as <a href="https://link.springer.com/chapter/10.1007/978-3-030-15213-0_18">#himtoo or #notallmen</a> speak precisely to this idea that violence against women is only perpetrated by a tiny minority of men. Most other men are simply being unfairly accused.</p>
<p>On the other hand, the focus on specific individuals distracts the attention from those who profit from pornography. Pornography is an <a href="https://qz.com/1309527/porn-could-have-a-bigger-economic-influence-on-the-us-than-netflix">extremely lucrative business</a>. The silence that surrounds it allows it to continue undisturbed. It makes it easier for individuals and companies to escape accountability and avoid public scrutiny. Many of us know, by now, what Andrew Tate looks like. Comparatively few, if any, will know exactly who owns Pornhub.</p>
<p>Pornography constitutes the socio-cultural context within which men like Tate operate. While it is important that we educate young people about Tate, it is also crucial to place his success within the patriarchal context in which his actions and words are normalised.</p>
<p>Any analysis of Tate, or whoever came before him or will come after him, that does not consider the broader pornification of society will never be complete. To join the dots between “mundane” and “extreme” misogyny and move away from the “tunnel-vision”, we need to talk about porn.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/201059/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Alessia Tranchese does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>In focussing on individual “deviancy”, we fail to make the connection between misogyny and wider social problems, like pornography.Alessia Tranchese, Senior Lecturer in Communication and Applied Linguistics, University of PortsmouthLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2024722023-04-13T10:00:32Z2023-04-13T10:00:32ZTraditional masculinity is a vague, unhelpful term we should abandon – here’s why<p>Most of us think we know what we mean when we talk about “traditional masculinity”. A term commonly used to describe a broad range of men’s traits and behaviour, it includes things like violence and aggression, emotional restraint, and hunger for power and dominance, to more positive characteristics such as reliability, stability, physical strength, independence and integrity. </p>
<p>Men’s homophobia and misogyny can be framed as traditional masculinity, yet when men sacrifice their comforts and health to provide for family, or give their lives to defend their country, this is regarded as traditional masculinity too. The term has many meanings, yet these are rarely explained.</p>
<p>South African psychology researchers <a href="https://www.psychologistbrittany.com/">Brittany Everitt-Penhale</a> and <a href="https://www0.sun.ac.za/psychology/staff/academic-staff/prof-kopano-ratele/">Kopano Ratele</a> maintain that if we want to <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/21528586.2015.1025826">explore traditional masculinity</a> in a specific context or culture we should not approach it as “a static set of features associated with men that has been timelessly passed down through generations”. In other words, we need to look at its use in its context – geographically, culturally and within specific periods of time.</p>
<p>My <a href="https://research.manchester.ac.uk/en/studentTheses/shifting-masculine-terrains-russian-men-in-russia-and-the-uk">work</a> looks at how masculinity is defined, experienced and negotiated by Russian men living in Russia and Russian <a href="https://www.rescue.org/article/migrants-asylum-seekers-refugees-and-immigrants-whats-difference">immigrant</a> men in the UK. I used to refer to the term “traditional masculinity” to talk about certain views and attitudes of my research participants, but over time I have come to re-evaluate it.</p>
<h2>What are we talking about?</h2>
<p>When we refer to traditional masculinity, which tradition do we have in mind? The Buddhist <a href="https://www.lionsroar.com/the-bodhisattva/"><em>Bodhisattva</em> vow</a> – the commitment to put others before oneself? Or the Jewish tradition of <a href="https://blog.flexfits.com/periods-and-judaism/"><em>niddah</em></a> where men can’t hold hands or hug their wives during or the week after menstruation? Or do we think of the famous English stiff upper lip? There is a wide spectrum of masculinities in any society alongside a plethora of cultural traditions.</p>
<p>Approaching “tradition” as something singular and static doesn’t help us to understand men and masculinities in global and <a href="https://www.birmingham.ac.uk/research/superdiversity-institute/about/about-superdiversity.aspx">superdiverse</a> contexts.</p>
<p>Journalists, activists, academics and organisations such as the <a href="https://eige.europa.eu/publications/gender-equality-index-2021-report/traditional-norms-masculinity">European Institute for Gender Equality</a>, the <a href="https://apps.who.int/iris/handle/10665/332974">World Health Organisation</a> and <a href="https://trainingcentre.unwomen.org/RESOURCES_LIBRARY/Resources_Centre/masculinities%20booklet%20.pdf">UN Women</a> often overlook these nuances. It is commonly stated that traditional masculinity reflects old-fashioned ideals of manhood based on the cult of power, ownership, homophobia, sexism, racism – effectively (and falsely) constructing these phenomena as things of the past. </p>
<p>The label is therefore used to describe some men’s behaviour and attitudes as “stuck in the past” or “backward”. This logic suggests that the opposite of traditional masculinity would be modern masculinity – non-violent, enlightened, caring, compassionate, supportive of women’s emancipation and sexual freedoms.</p>
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<h2>Imperial views</h2>
<p>It is common in western commentary to call non-western and migrant men traditional, portraying them as stuck in <a href="https://www.opendemocracy.net/en/5050/refugee-crisis-demilitarising-masculinities/">oppressive and backward gender roles</a>. Post-colonial theorist <a href="https://www.britannica.com/biography/Gayatri-Spivak">Gayatri Chakravorty Spivak</a> famously captured how white British colonisers in India portrayed brown Hindu men as a <a href="http://www.bahaistudies.net/neurelitism/library/subaltern_speak.pdf">problem that needed fixing</a>: “White men are saving brown women from brown men.”</p>
<p>This kind of binary thinking about traditional and modern masculinities is troubling. It conflates chronological and social progress, sustains division of the world into “<a href="https://read.dukeupress.edu/books/book/2555/chapter-abstract/1360482/The-West-and-the-Rest-Discourse-and-Power-1992?redirectedFrom=fulltext">the west and the rest</a>” and, as I have pointed out in previous <a href="https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/full/10.1177/00380385221110724">research</a>, popularises the assumption that every country will go through the same stages of development and eventually acquire the same levels of gender equality and sexual liberation as the western world.</p>
<p>Conflating a European understanding of gender and sex with the notion of “progress” and imposing it on the diverse societies of colonised countries was a tactic used by <a href="https://enriquedussel.com/txt/Textos_200_Obras/Filosofos_latinos_EU/Heterosexualism-Maria_Lugones.pdf">European colonisers</a>.</p>
<p>Nigerian scholar <a href="https://easteast.world/en/posts/292">Oyeronke Oyewumi</a> describes how the British “civilisational” mission brought gender discrimination to <a href="https://www.britannica.com/topic/Yoruba">Yoruba society</a>, one of the three largest ethnic groups in Nigeria. Before British colonisation, Yoruba women had occupied leadership positions and owned land. Conversion to Christianity promoted strict separation between the world of men and that of women and gradually led to women’s exclusion from public life, education, trade and land ownership. </p>
<p>It’s important to remember that all countries and societies in any period exist in one historical time, yet systems such as imperialism and capitalism continue to <a href="https://www.arabstudiesjournal.org/asj-online/decolonizing-middle-east-men-and-masculinities-scholarship-an-axiomatic-approach">stigmatise</a> boys and men who are poor, resistant to western values and beliefs or racialised (meaning, reduced to racist stereotypes) as backward or traditional.</p>
<p>While masculinity is a historically changing concept, we need to bear in mind that dominant masculinities have been shaped by colonialism, imperialism and capitalism. Australian sociologist Raewyn Connell <a href="https://www.jstor.org/stable/44981834">writes</a> that masculinities of the French and British empires were:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>Bound up with enabling violence – violence sufficient to overcome the considerable military capabilities of the colonised societies … [imperial masculinities] adapted to the need to dominate a colonised population. </p>
</blockquote>
<p>Violence against racialised “others” in the name of civilisational progress continues today in the states with pronounced neo-imperial ambitions such as the <a href="https://engagedscholarship.csuohio.edu/clevstlrev/vol52/iss1/9/">US</a> and <a href="https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/full/10.1177/00380385221110724#bibr12-00380385221110724">Russia</a>. So tradition is hardly enough to understand or explain gendered violence, domination or risk-taking behaviour among men in post-imperial states. </p>
<p>Contemporary Russian masculinities reveal the complexity of the issue. Scholars see Russian masculinities as <a href="https://theconversation.com/vladimir-putin-the-czar-of-macho-politics-is-threatened-by-gender-and-sexuality-rights-180473">traditional, patriarchal and macho</a>. Yet my <a href="https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/full/10.1177/00380385221110724#bibr12-00380385221110724">study</a> demonstrates that Russian men think they are not as “progressive” as European men, but are far less “backward” and “traditional” than Arab or Muslim men.</p>
<p>In essence, such thinking has nothing to do with tradition. It is the same Eurocentric hierarchy of modernity/backwardness in which Russian men see themselves as being somewhere in the middle. </p>
<p>The language we use to talk about social problems associated with men’s aspiration to power and control is critical. Although a seemingly convenient shorthand, the term traditional masculinity is unhelpfully broad, rooted in the history of colonialism and works to deem masculinities of migrants and non-western countries as something that needs to be remedied.</p>
<p>In a nutshell, the term traditional masculinity feeds racism and imperialism. We need to <a href="https://theconversation.com/explainer-what-is-decolonisation-131455">decolonise</a> the discussion and use a more nuanced language when talking about men’s lives and behaviours.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/202472/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Marina Yusupova does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>The rarely explained term is nebulous at best, and can mean many things – negative and positive – to different groups of people.Marina Yusupova, Lecturer in Sociology, Edinburgh Napier UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2015052023-04-03T13:08:48Z2023-04-03T13:08:48ZTackling online misogyny: what needs to be done in schools – and our communities<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/517021/original/file-20230322-18-4doac3.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=0%2C23%2C7906%2C5243&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/depressedsad-teen-girl-sitting-on-curb-1501962551">mooremedia/Shutterstock</a></span></figcaption></figure><p><a href="https://www.childrenscommissioner.gov.uk/resource/a-lot-of-it-is-actually-just-abuse-young-people-and-pornography/">Research</a> from the Children’s Commissioner for England has found that 79% of children have encountered violent pornography before they are 18. <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/society/2023/mar/10/porn-study-survey-uk-teenagers-addicted">One-third of young people</a> have reported receiving nude videos or photographs, with more than half sent from strangers. </p>
<p>There has also been a dramatic rise of hyper-masculine social media influencers, causing alarm among <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2023/feb/12/rapid-rise-in-andrew-tate-related-cases-referred-to-prevent-by-schools">teachers and teaching unions</a>. These influencers are exposing boys to violence against women as a form of biological entitlement, based on their view that males are an inherently superior sex. </p>
<p>Access to this online material has been <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/society/2023/mar/10/porn-study-survey-uk-teenagers-addicted">linked by teachers</a> to increases in <a href="https://inews.co.uk/news/andrew-tate-sexism-rise-schools-pandemic-2028795">sexual assault and misogynistic behaviour</a>. </p>
<p><a href="https://link.springer.com/chapter/10.1007/978-3-030-41668-3_13">Research</a> by two of us (Mullany and Trickett) investigating <a href="https://nottinghamwomenscentre.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/07/Misogyny-Hate-Crime-Evaluation-Exec-Summary-June-2018.pdf">misogyny hate crime</a> recommends education as a key way to tackle the root causes of misogyny. There have been calls from the <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2023/mar/13/schoolchildren-online-misogyny-andrew-tate-pornography">National Police Chief’s Council</a> to teach younger children in primary school the risks and harms of online misogyny, which aligns with our recommendations. <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2023/feb/14/parents-sons-andrew-tate-teachers-toxic-influencers">Improving communication</a> between schools and families is crucial so that messaging and advice about online misogyny is consistent.</p>
<h2>On the curriculum</h2>
<p>UK pupils are taught about <a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/teaching-online-safety-in-schools/teaching-online-safety-in-schools">harmful stereotypes online</a> in relationships and sex education (RSE), health education, citizenship and computing. However, a recent survey in England by <a href="https://www.sexeducationforum.org.uk/news/news/broken-promises-rse-leave-young-people-unprepared-rse-poll">The Sex Education Forum</a> reported that 54% of surveyed students said they had not been taught enough or had not been taught at all about healthy relationships online. </p>
<p>Events such as <a href="https://www.saferinternetday.org/">Safer Internet Day</a> can do good work in schools. But focusing on this issue one day a year is not enough to address a problem which negatively affects the health, wellbeing and learning opportunities of young people every day. There is not the space in the current national curriculum to examine and critique online misogyny in the detail it desperately needs. </p>
<p>Young people of all genders may find it difficult to <a href="https://www.nottingham.ac.uk/research/groups/cral/projects/thf/thfindex.aspx">talk to adults</a> about personal and embarrassing topics, including their bodies, sex and relationships, which can make reporting online misogyny difficult. <a href="https://schoolsweek.co.uk/teachers-are-victim-blaming-and-need-sexism-training-mps-told/">Victim-blaming</a> of girls in schools may lead them to avoid reporting misogyny online and offline. Victim-blaming feeds into a lack trust in authority figures into adulthood. The <a href="https://www.ons.gov.uk/peoplepopulationandcommunity/crimeandjustice/bulletins/crimeinenglandandwales/yearendingjune2022#domestic-abuse-and-sexual-offences">under-reporting of rape and sexual assault</a> is well-documented.</p>
<p>The emphasis on individual responsibility also downplays the role that peer groups and bystanders should play. <a href="https://www.bristol.ac.uk/inclusion/stand-up-speak-out/stand-up-speak-out-staff/being-an-active-bystander/">Recent initiatives</a> in higher education include bystander training and “allyship”, which make it everyone’s responsibility to intervene and question if they witness misogyny online or offline.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="Students using laptop and working on robot construction in lesson" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/517164/original/file-20230323-17-iddpxb.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/517164/original/file-20230323-17-iddpxb.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/517164/original/file-20230323-17-iddpxb.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/517164/original/file-20230323-17-iddpxb.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/517164/original/file-20230323-17-iddpxb.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/517164/original/file-20230323-17-iddpxb.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/517164/original/file-20230323-17-iddpxb.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Online tools and platforms are used across the school curriculum.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/pupils-teacher-science-lesson-studying-robotics-558311431">SpeedKingz/Shutterstock</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>It’s not just in RSE, but across the curriculum that misogyny should be addressed. All subject areas use online spaces and platforms as e-learning tools, and these are places where misogynistic content can be easily shared. </p>
<p>Misogyny can be found within <a href="https://www.insidehighered.com/news/2018/03/08/study-finds-evidence-racial-and-gender-bias-online-education">online learning resources</a>. Platform providers have a direct role to protect children and all users online. Ongoing revisions to the <a href="https://bills.parliament.uk/bills/3137">Online Safety bill</a> present the opportunity to make providers take more social and legal responsibility for the content they offer for profit.</p>
<p>The UK government is <a href="https://www.telegraph.co.uk/politics/2023/03/08/rishi-sunak-launches-review-sex-education-schools/">reviewing guidance</a> on RSE in England during 2023. This presents an opportunity to make the problem of online misogyny more prominent and change the way it is taught. New resources to tackle misogynistic social media influencers are in <a href="https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/schools-rush-to-enrol-on-courses-tackling-andrew-tate-toxic-masculinity-r5j0q30gx">significant demand by teachers</a>. </p>
<h2>Many ways to be a man</h2>
<p>There are <a href="https://www.taylorfrancis.com/books/mono/10.4324/9781003116479/masculinities-rw-connell">multiple versions of masculinity</a> which differ from the narrow stereotypes frequently portrayed online which portray men as violent, unemotional and macho. These alternative ways of performing masculinities need to be taught in schools, so that the simplistic ways social influencers act out extreme masculinities online can be critiqued and replaced with knowledge of healthier identities and relationships. </p>
<p>Organisations such as <a href="https://www.beyondequality.org/">Beyond Equality</a> run male-led workshops in schools to rethink dominant, macho masculinity. Workshops like this can create spaces for honest conversations without judgement. Students unpick stereotypes and are taught different ways of performing masculinities.</p>
<p>At a primary school level, there is a <a href="https://commonslibrary.parliament.uk/research-briefings/cdp-2022-0197/">lack of male teachers</a> who can act as positive role models. Far more should be done to actively encourage men to enter the teaching profession at this level.</p>
<p>What’s more, it should not be the responsibility of schools to do all the work. Addressing online misogyny is a community-wide responsibility. Parents, caregivers and others who play central roles in children’s lives and activities – such as sports clubs, community groups and other youth organisations – also need to take a stance. </p>
<p>This can include working together, in collaboration with schools, to call out misogynistic behaviours and model healthy behaviours online and offline. We need to actively demonstrate how women and girls can be equally respected and valued in society. </p>
<p>The next generation needs guidance from male role models as they make the difficult transition into adulthood. They need support to recognise healthy and unhealthy behaviours and the implications of these for others and for themselves.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/201505/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Louise Mullany has received funding from Innovate UK, EPSRC, ESRC, AHRC and the British Academy. She does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article,</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Loretta Trickett has received funding from the AHRC.</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Sally Bashford-Squires does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Addressing online misogyny is a community-wide responsibility.Louise Mullany, Professor in Sociolinguistics, University of NottinghamLoretta Trickett, Senior lecturer, College of Business Law and Social Sciences, Nottingham Law School, Nottingham Trent UniversitySally Bashford-Squires, PhD Candidate in Public Health, Nottingham Trent UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2014982023-03-24T12:05:54Z2023-03-24T12:05:54ZHow ‘misogyny influencers’ cater to young men’s anxieties<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/516348/original/file-20230320-30-5fj71d.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=0%2C0%2C5158%2C3364&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/bored-teenager-boy-holding-cell-phone-1081178306">Nicole's/Shutterstock</a></span></figcaption></figure><p><a href="https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2023/feb/14/parents-sons-andrew-tate-teachers-toxic-influencers">Parents, teachers</a> and <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2023/jan/31/mp-alex-davies-jones-rape-death-threats-speaking-against-andrew-tate">politicians</a> <a href="https://www.theweek.co.uk/news/society/959235/andrew-tate-and-the-radicalisation-of-teenage-boys">are worried</a> about the appeal of so-called “online misogyny influencers” to boys and young men. </p>
<p>These influencers post content to thousands of followers in videos and podcasts, offering advice about relationships, mental health and wellbeing, and achieving material success and status. They are believed to be having a negative effect on young men’s attitudes, beliefs and expectations, including about gender roles and relationships between men and women.</p>
<p>I’ve carried out <a href="https://www.surrey.ac.uk/people/emily-setty#research">extensive research</a> with young people about sex and relationships for nearly a decade. We need to ask what the appeal of misogyny influencers among some young men tells us about how they feel about themselves, and what it means to be a man right now. </p>
<p>We also need to question what it tells us about our society’s failures to take the challenges young men face seriously. There seems to be a vacuum for these influencers to fill.</p>
<p>I use the term “misogynistic” to refer to clear expressions of outright hatred or dislike of women and girls – but also, more broadly, to the sharing of sexist ideas about both <a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1002/9781119429128.iegmc092">males and females</a>.</p>
<h2>Finding an audience</h2>
<p>We can understand the appeal of misogyny influencers by thinking about <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/1057610X.2018.1505686?casa_token=ea7don0PqnQAAAAA%3ANgF7Z_AZFf35SeUPjaor7yhcNrYQzqud0VdT0IJbVg0L7DEcERlrtprbwnO7I40dgrpexnHvgYjnrQ">“push”, “pull” and “personal”</a> factors. </p>
<p>Push factors come from the situations in which young men find themselves in society that makes misogyny influencers’ content resonate. One example is the perception that women and girls are achieving more in the workplace and at school, and that as a result, men and boys are being disadvantaged and <a href="https://www.amazon.co.uk/Boys-Men-modern-struggling-matters/dp/1800750544">left behind</a> in terms of the opportunities and support available to them.</p>
<p>Pull factors are the tactics misogyny influencers use to <a href="https://apo.org.au/sites/default/files/resource-files/2017-05/apo-nid135936.pdf">enhance their appeal</a>. These include the use of appealing visual content and sophisticated social media manipulation. They are able to create intense emotional responses through extreme messaging, while providing a community of like-minded others.</p>
<p>Personal factors then explain the different levels of vulnerability to the negative effect of these influencers among young men. Those who more acutely feel the pressure of expectations about masculinity from their peers may be <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/pdf/10.1080/10304312.2021.1958160?casa_token=l_GGtz011HkAAAAA:4WLBP2Lmfg98hGBFzKfX0SF_8Yt_nHgXhCMcfvysWenqnZZ4crx052uX-9fOfQE3PlbZlGkcDqY">particularly vulnerable</a>. </p>
<p>This includes, for example, young men who are socially isolated or excluded, or those whose peers expect and celebrate forms of masculinity based on dominance and the heterosexual pursuit of, and success with, young women.</p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/online-safety-what-young-people-really-think-about-social-media-big-tech-regulation-and-adults-overreacting-196003">Online safety: what young people really think about social media, big tech regulation and adults 'overreacting'</a>
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<p><a href="https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s11199-022-01335-9">In research</a> I conducted with boys aged 12 to 17 about sexual consent, I found they want consensual sexual interactions with girls but are concerned about dealing with the complexities of consent. They felt responsible as the supposed “initiators” of sex to seek and obtain consent. Most had been warned they may get into trouble legally if sex is not consensual. </p>
<p>For many, therefore, heterosexual interactions are fraught with the risk of unwanted sex – and of possible legal implications if a girl or young woman claims that sex is non-consensual. </p>
<p>But some of the boys also expressed hostile sentiments about girls and women, such as that they might “lie” about being sexually assaulted. Adults such as teachers may feel they need to shut down beliefs like this in an effort to take a <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/13552600.2022.2057605">zero-tolerance approach</a> to the underlying causes of sexual harm – but this may lead to boys and young men feeling unheard.</p>
<p>I have found that their attitudes often reflect deeper-rooted uncertainties and anxieties that are not being meaningfully recognised or addressed.</p>
<h2>Idealised masculinity</h2>
<p>Misogyny influencers such as <a href="https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-64125045">Andrew Tate</a> seem to provide boys and young men with a solution to these challenges, and a way to make sense of their feelings and experiences. Their solution often involves criticising progressive gender politics which, they argue, is damaging for both men and women. They in turn advocate a return to traditional gender roles.</p>
<p>These influencers present a celebratory version of masculinity. They legitimise, even agitate, male grievances and resentment, including towards women. Their content may be enticing to boys and young men who feel masculinity is being unfairly stigmatised and blamed. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="Young man looking anxious as he walks past group of young people" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/516351/original/file-20230320-18-50k9xn.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/516351/original/file-20230320-18-50k9xn.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/516351/original/file-20230320-18-50k9xn.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/516351/original/file-20230320-18-50k9xn.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/516351/original/file-20230320-18-50k9xn.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/516351/original/file-20230320-18-50k9xn.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/516351/original/file-20230320-18-50k9xn.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Misogyny influencers provide answers to some young men’s fears.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/teenage-boy-feeling-intimidated-he-walks-216281494">SpeedKingz/Shutterstock</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>It is a simplistic and divisive message. This form of masculinity is unlikely to be attainable, and may not even be desirable – a boy interviewed as part of <a href="https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s11199-022-01335-9">my research</a> said that “what most people want from a relationship is a nice relationship”.</p>
<p>Boys’ responses to such influencers are also likely to be nuanced. <a href="https://boyhoodinitiative.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/11/State-of-UK-Boys-Long-Report.pdf">A report</a> by the <a href="https://boyhoodinitiative.org/">Global Boyhood Initiative</a>, which provides resources as part of gender equality non-profit <a href="https://www.equimundo.org/">Equimundo</a>, suggests that boys and young men hold different opinions about masculinity and have diverse masculine identities as individuals.</p>
<p>This suggests that some young men do not see masculinity displays such as those by Tate as something to be mindlessly copied or aspired to in full.</p>
<p>Furthermore, teenagers are attracted to <a href="https://www.routledge.com/Conflict-Contradiction-and-Contrarian-Elements-in-Moral-Development-and/Nucci/p/book/9781138003941">risk and rebellion</a>. The more that adults lecture boys and young men about the evils of misogyny influencers, the more attractive they may become, as they offer an opportunity to resist and rebel against adult norms. </p>
<p>It is therefore not enough to say the influencers are wrong or that young men should feel ashamed for liking them. We also need to offer a credible alternative.</p>
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<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/andrew-tate-how-the-manosphere-influencer-is-selling-extreme-masculinity-to-young-men-192564">Andrew Tate: how the 'manosphere' influencer is selling extreme masculinity to young men</a>
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<p>Perhaps, though, we don’t yet know that alternative. As a society, we’re arguably still trying to figure out gender roles and relations and have not yet achieved consensus. We should, therefore, avoid shutting down, correcting or, worse, shaming young men who are grappling with these complexities. </p>
<p>Misogyny influencers are telling young men that no one is listening and they are being silenced, especially by people the influencers may consider <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/14680777.2018.1450568">feminist “man-haters”</a>.</p>
<p>I’d suggest that it’s time to start listening more closely to boys and young men. We need to offer them the opportunity to play a positive role in identifying problems with misogynist beliefs, as well as developing other ways to view their place in society.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/201498/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Emily Setty receives funding from the University of Surrey through internal grants, eNurture UKRI, the Leverhulme Trust, the British Academy, and the Economic and Social Research Council. </span></em></p>There seems to be a vacuum for these influencers to fill.Emily Setty, Senior lecturer in criminology, University of SurreyLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2020712023-03-23T17:18:31Z2023-03-23T17:18:31ZWomen only gained access to the London Stock Exchange in 1973 – why did it take so long?<p>On March 26 1973, the London Stock Exchange admitted its first female members. This followed years of resistance, with London trailing behind other smaller exchanges around the UK. </p>
<p>That women had been excluded for so long was not only due to institutional misogyny. Research has shown how finance was <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/146167400407019">imagined in sexist terms</a> for centuries. And despite the extraordinary accomplishments of prominent female figures over the past 50 years, these biased beliefs persist to this day.</p>
<p>Long before stock exchanges existed, women were active investors and speculators. They navigated the bustling coffee shops of London’s Exchange Alley, where people met to trade stocks. They sometimes <a href="https://www.historian.live/home/2018/8/23/episode-111-amy-froide-on-the-female-stockbrokers-of-the-financial-revolution">acted as intermediaries</a>, managing the investments of others in return for commission. In other words, women were stockbrokers.</p>
<p>But their presence in the market often attracted attention. This was especially the case in times of crisis, such as <a href="https://theconversation.com/women-were-to-blame-for-the-south-sea-bubble-according-to-men-72439">the South Sea Bubble in 1720</a> – one of the UK’s first speculative manias. Male commentators claimed women were too emotional to be effective investors, let alone brokers. Only men, to their minds, could exercise the self-restraint necessary to master the market. </p>
<p>So women got squeezed out. The title of the bestselling 18th-century investment guide –– <a href="https://ia600301.us.archive.org/23/items/everymanhisownbr00mort/everymanhisownbr00mort.pdf">Every Man His Own Broker</a> –– was telling. The author, Thomas Mortimer, thought that women should only invest via a male relative. And he certainly didn’t think they were capable of being brokers.</p>
<h2>How financial institutionalisation excluded women</h2>
<p>When stockbrokers moved to a purpose-built stock exchange in the heart of the City of London, at the start of the 19th century, they signed up to a <a href="https://ia902704.us.archive.org/5/items/rulesregulations00stocuoft/rulesregulations00stocuoft.pdf">new set of rules</a>. Though these did not specifically bar women, the wording made it clear that the exchange was for men only: </p>
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<p>No new applicant for admission is admissible if he, or his wife, be engaged in business.</p>
</blockquote>
<figure class="align-right ">
<img alt="An etched medallion portrait of a woman in black and white." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/517173/original/file-20230323-22-dgybcz.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/517173/original/file-20230323-22-dgybcz.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=764&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/517173/original/file-20230323-22-dgybcz.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=764&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/517173/original/file-20230323-22-dgybcz.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=764&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/517173/original/file-20230323-22-dgybcz.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=960&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/517173/original/file-20230323-22-dgybcz.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=960&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/517173/original/file-20230323-22-dgybcz.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=960&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Amy Elizabeth Bell.</span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Later in the century, stock exchanges were established in towns and cities across the UK, and these followed London in excluding women.</p>
<p>Yet they never had a monopoly. From the 1880s, a few enterprising women started establishing their own brokerages. Trading a stone’s throw from the Bank of England, <a href="https://womenwhomeantbusiness.com/2021/05/01/amy-bell-1859-1920/">Amy Bell</a> specialised in dealing for women. She sought to educate them in a subject about which they had <a href="https://ia802901.us.archive.org/4/items/professionalwom00bategoog/professionalwom00bategoog.pdf">often been kept ignorant</a>: </p>
<blockquote>
<p>I want to make women understand their money matters and take a pleasure in dealing with them. After all, is money such a sordid consideration?</p>
</blockquote>
<p>Some were the daughters of stockbrokers who worked in family firms, occasionally taking them over on the death of the father. Others had no family connections and started in secretarial roles. They determinedly worked their way up to senior positions, like <a href="https://www.thetelegraphandargus.co.uk/tahistory/877287.battle-for-a-womans-right-to-work/">Edith Midgley</a> in Bradford. </p>
<figure class="align-left ">
<img alt="A black and white historical photographic portrait of a woman." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/517170/original/file-20230323-16-xkn7k9.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/517170/original/file-20230323-16-xkn7k9.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=865&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/517170/original/file-20230323-16-xkn7k9.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=865&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/517170/original/file-20230323-16-xkn7k9.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=865&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/517170/original/file-20230323-16-xkn7k9.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=1087&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/517170/original/file-20230323-16-xkn7k9.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=1087&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/517170/original/file-20230323-16-xkn7k9.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=1087&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Victoria Woodhull.</span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>In the US, meanwhile, pioneering figures including the radical feminist <a href="https://www.moaf.org/publications-collections/financial-history-magazine/122/_res/id=Attachments/index=0/Ladies%20of%20the%20Ticker.pdf">Victoria Woodhull</a> paved the way for a feminine presence on Wall Street. </p>
<p>By the interwar years, women had proven they could be successful stockbrokers. Clients, both male and female, reportedly had no objections. Indeed, many preferred dealing with a woman. But persuading institutions was altogether harder. </p>
<p>Publicly, the London Stock Exchange’s stance was that there was no rule against women joining. Privately, when women did try to apply –- the first as early as 1936 –- they were firmly told to drop the matter. </p>
<p>What changed? 1973 was not the result of an institution quietly moving in line with public opinion. A series of dramatic votes on the issue between 1967 and 1971 all went against admitting women. Brokers claimed that women were too delicate for the trading floor – they would be jostled, they would be offended by the language. One broker was clear this was no place for a woman: </p>
<blockquote>
<p>When I’m there, I’m there to do business and when I’m doing business I’m not inclined to be as gentlemanly as when I’m pouring sherry at home.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>Another explained that stockbroking, “like coal-mining”, was best done by men. </p>
<h2>How sexist beliefs about finance endure</h2>
<p>Outside London, attitudes were changing. Without much fanfare, smaller stock exchanges began accepting female applicants. Aberdeen was first in 1964, soon followed by Sheffield and Huddersfield. Larger exchanges followed. By the early 1970s, Glasgow, Nottingham and Manchester had all gained female members.</p>
<p>This mattered to London because for some years there had been plans to amalgamate the country’s stock exchanges to promote efficiency. In contrast to the polls on admitting women, London members enthusiastically voted for the creation of a United Stock Exchange in 1972. </p>
<p>Muriel Bailey, a broker, had long campaigned for equality in the City. In a filmed BBC interview in 1967, she had spoken candidly of the “deep-rooted prejudice in the Stock Exchange about women members, which is utterly ridiculous”. She explained that she did the same work as the partners and wanted the same status as them.</p>
<p><div data-react-class="Tweet" data-react-props="{"tweetId":"968829387691970560"}"></div></p>
<p>In 1972, she seized her chance. Writing to the London Stock Exchange, she pointed out that under the new rules, provincial brokers –- some of whom were women –- would be able to access the London trading floor, whereas those who happened to work in the capital would not. This was untenable, she said. The authorities were forced to concede.</p>
<p>The day women were admitted, members were on their best behaviour for the cameras. Those who ventured onto the floor reported a friendly reception. But it was not quite the victory it seemed.</p>
<p>Members had not voted for equality. Rather, it had been forced on them. And they were quick to make it clear that this was still a male domain. </p>
<p>Women were cast as intruders, and some were subjected to harassment. One new member who dared to wear a miniskirt <a href="https://www.ft.com/content/aff6433f-5231-465a-a96c-a2219c2d1dc1">faced catcalls</a>, wolf whistles and yells of “Get ’em off!”. All were given derogatory nicknames.</p>
<p>Nevertheless, over the past 50 years, women have been able to <a href="https://docs.londonstockexchange.com/sites/default/files/documents/charting-50-years-change-women-UKs-%20finance-sector-final.pdf">forge successful careers</a> in the City. Some, including the London Stock Exchange’s current CEO, Julia Hoggett, have demonstrated they can rise to the top. <a href="https://legalresearch.blogs.bris.ac.uk/2018/01/sex-and-the-city-culture/">Challenging</a> the macho culture, however, has been much harder. </p>
<p>History shows that finance is not inherently masculine. Rather, it was constructed as such by the institutions that sought to exclude women. Despite the barriers they have faced, women have, in fact, been trading successfully as stockbrokers, on and off, for over 300 years. </p>
<p>The gendered beliefs that are still widely held today –- that men are <a href="https://www.nber.org/system/files/working_papers/w28065/w28065.pdf">more financially literate</a> and that women are <a href="https://www.bu.edu/eci/files/2020/01/12-05NelsonRiskAverse.pdf">excessively risk-averse</a> -– are determined more by culture than biology. Recognising this is the next step towards fulfilling the promise of 1973.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/202071/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>James Taylor has received funding from the Economic History Society for research into the history of stockbroking.</span></em></p>Finance is not inherently masculine. Rather, it was long constructed as such by the institutions which sought to exclude women.James Taylor, Senior Lecturer in History, Lancaster UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.