Note that this poll only targetted around 3000 UK adults aged 16+. Nonetheless I personally think the trend this poll highlights is worrying and worthy of discussion.
Also note I changed the original title to not use the terms “Gen Z” and “baby boomers” since I think putting in the ages is clearer.
Some choice quotes:
On feminism, 16% of [16 to 29-year-old] males felt it had done more harm than good. Among over-60s the figure was 13%.
One in four UK males aged 16 to 29 believe it is harder to be a man than a woman.
37% of men aged 16 to 29 consider “toxic masculinity” an unhelpful phrase, roughly double the number of young women who don’t like it.
The figures emerged from Ipsos polling for King’s College London’s Policy Institute and the Global Institute for Women’s Leadership.
“This is a new and unusual generational pattern,” said Prof Bobby Duffy, director of the Policy Institute. “Normally, it tends to be the case that younger generations are consistently more comfortable with emerging social norms, as they grew up with these as a natural part of their lives.”
But Duffy said: “There is a consistent minority of between one-fifth and one-third who hold the opposite view. This points to a real risk of fractious division among this coming generation.”
Prof Rosie Campbell, director of the Global Institute for Women’s Leadership at King’s, said: “The fact that this group is the first to derive most of their information from social media is likely to be at least part of the explanation.
In the meantime, social media algorithms are filling the vacuum, she said. “This could be something that changes when young men enter the workforce but we can’t take that for granted given how important social media is in the way we understand ourselves.”
Yes, this should be the case from what my understanding of feminism is.
That said, I think there’s an increasing confusion as to what feminism is. There isn’t really one “feminism”. Not all people who call themselves feminists have the same set of ideals. There are lots of different types of feminists (of which some I would say are absolutely not feminists e.g. TERFs).
So when someone says they think feminism is harmful, such as in this survey, I don’t really have a clear idea as to what exactly it is that they’re opposing.
My understanding of feminism is, to put it briefly “we need to destroy the current status quo that certain genders should fulfil certain roles or exhibit certain behaviours, which is something that negatively impacts everyone regardless of gender”. I can’t imagine any reasonable person would think this is a harmful goal.
I think we found the problem.
Sadly, a lot of young men who are living on their own for the first time are perfectly happy to have an ideology that tells them that no, they shouldn’t have to do all these chores themselves, that’s what their moms and girlfriends and wives are for.
These man-babies are just the newest in a long historical trend of privileged dorks who would gladly enslave people to maintain their privileged lifestyles… the metaphorical Bezos to the warehouse worker women of their lives.
Can’t help but agree. Down with the dorkiarchy!