Teachers describe a deterioration in behaviour and attitudes that has proved to be fertile terrain for misogynistic influencers
“As soon as I mention feminism, you can feel the shift in the room; they’re shuffling in their seats.” Mike Nicholson holds workshops with teenage boys about the challenges of impending manhood. Standing up for the sisterhood, it seems, is the last thing on their minds.
When Nicholson says he is a feminist himself, “I can see them look at me, like, ‘I used to like you.’”
Once Nicholson, whose programme is called Progressive Masculinity, unpacks the fact that feminism means equal rights and opportunities for women, many of the boys with whom he works are won over.
“A lot of it is bred from misunderstanding and how the word is smeared,” he says.
But he is battling against what he calls a “dominance-based model” of masculinity. “These old-fashioned, regressive ideas are having a renaissance, through your masculinity influencers – your grifters, like Andrew Tate.”
Might be an over simplification, LMAO 😂 But I do think you’re right to an extent. Some of the loudest ‘feminists’ can be pretty negative towards men. While I’ve found most real feminist to be good people fighting for equality, they often don’t seem to want to stand up to these women. I don’t know if they fear they will be perceived as antifeminist or what. But it ends up with conversations of gender sometimes entering the ‘take your lumps’ territory if you’re a man. Like, “Thanks for taming the rapist inside you, but us ladies have it covered.” Where as being around women with strong traditional values, it can be really sad that they don’t respect themselves, but at least they respect you. In moments of selfishness it can feel so good to bask in that respect, even if it’s not deserved.
I think pretty much any political movement has the magnetism to attract people who hate the other side. But when the other side agrees, you win. So maybe make your cause hospitable for anyone who wants to further it.