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.”
But feminism is fighting for men – they recognize that patriarchy and the crap parts of masculine expectations put on boys (like no crying allowed and sharing feelings with friends = gay) are all symptoms of the same machine.
And as far as the DV shelter, I can tell you you’d only find support from the feminists I know. The people denying that DV happens to men are boomers or macho idiots who think admitting that makes those hurt men “weak”.
Stop consuming shit content from Tumblr and read up on current feminist theory, at least if you want to feel less hopeless about how feminists see and ally with men.