Misogyny and Extremists

Misogyny is a complicated issue. One most acutely felt by women as they are on the receiving end. There has been a rise of misogynistic ideas amongst young boys and young men, with young men becoming increasingly more conservative whilst young women become more and more liberal. This leads to a clash, and often misunderstanding between young men and women.

Misogynistic Influencers

These misunderstandings come in large part from different usage of social media. Online extremist influencers like Andrew Tate tend to recruit and radicalise boys and men, which has profoundly dangerous implications for women and girls. The UK National Police Chiefs’ Council even described this radicalisation as a ‘national emergency‘. Coupled with findings showing that violence against women is on the rise it is easy to see why many women feel less safe, and therefore want stronger legislation against misogynists. At the same time, young men and boys feel that they are not being heard, pushing them more towards misogynists like Andrew Tate, and ultimately falling further down the rabbit hole of these ideas. These more extremist views, such as boys and men increasingly believing that women are inherently inferior, that women belong in the kitchen, and that men are entitled to women’s bodies, amongst others, are dangerous. It is the idea of entitlement that is so dangerous, as when one believes they are owed something, why not just take it? And if women’s voices are ‘nagging’, ‘a nuisance’ and either way, inferior, why listen?

Extremists Views and Understanding

Extremist views, such as misogyny, are increasingly circulated on the web. This leads to easier access to extremist content, especially with algorithms catering content towards what one has visited in the past. As mentioned in “Misogyny and Men’s Health and the International Risks“, young men and boys tend to fall into these views, rather than deliberately seek them out. Moreover, a study by the University of Melbourne found that increased exposure to misogynistic content leads to increased exposure to radicalisation and extremist content, and, importantly, the support for violent extremism.

Scarily misogynistic extremism has a lot in common with far-right nationalism, and right-wing extremism. All have rigid ideas regarding what men and women should do in their day to day lives, believe in systemic oppression, and endorse violence to solve issues that arise. Moreover, all challenge principles of equality and justice. These extremists believe they are superior. Superior over women, superior over POC’s, in other words, white men’s superiority. This sense of superiority goes hand in hand with the entitlement discussed previously.

Misogynistic men feel they’re superior, this leads to them feeling that women need to be protected by men from other men. The irony is that as a result those with warped misogynistic views are then tempted to think they are owed something, namely sex, by the women they have ‘protected’ or treated ‘well’. As much as the idea of protecting women comes from a good place, the idea namely being that for example women should be able to feel safe and that young girls can play with whomever they want, misogynists and extremists also believe that they have a right to women’s bodies. They tend to want a woman that is subordinate, that does as she is told. Often, the argument is that for protection one needs something back, usually access to her body. However it seems like a false equivalence being asked to have sex with someone because they did not rape you.

And don’t get me wrong, not every person harbouring these ideas of misogyny, white superiority, and extremism will actually commit acts of violence akin to Elliot Rodgers. But, it stands to reason that the more wide spread these ideas become the more likely we are to see incidents of cat calling, making women feel unsafe in the streets, domestic violence, negative treatment of girls seeking education and other related behaviour. Fighting against misogyny and disinformation, because that is essentially what misogyny is, is extremely important. As stated in this article, the propagation of disinformation regarding misogyny is one of the main international risks in 2024.

Listen to our newest episode about misogyny with Dr. Elizabeth Pearson, discussing misogyny in relation to extremism.