It seems that feminist movements, women in the job market, have led to male identity insecurity.
The signs are evident: one in three young people in Generation Z thinks that the wife always owes her husband; the son tells his mother that all women are ; looking for .
Male communities are growing that think that the “men are in charge”.
These communities, usually online, have a name: the manosphere Here, feminism does not come into play.
The issue of masculinity has always existed but the 20th century brought the “crisis of masculinity”. Why? Movements feminists to spread, woman workingwoman with same rights than man.
“The role of provider becomes unstable, the traditional authority is already beginning to be questioned. New expectations and changes in gender roles begin to emerge”, analyzes psychologist Ricardo Barroso, in .
It appeared “male identity insecurity”. Which are more signs of individual weaknesses than of a large group. “Certain speeches find fertile ground.”
Also psychologist Maria João Faustino associates the “questioning of gender roles” with the growth of misogynistic and hateful speeches and content.
Because the man was the “provider model, the family model”. A few (few) decades ago the question was not asked: “There was a security in the formula of masculinity”.
“This security was questioned on many levels, notably by feminist movements. But the neoliberal model has also meant that today none of this security or the morality of the ombudsman model is a given”, he adds.
The manosphere gives a “sense of legitimacy in the sense of belonging to many of these young men who are searching for their sense of community and identity”, continues Maria João.
As social media are essential in the dissemination of these ideas: there is “an infrastructure, a digital ecosystem, that enhances and facilitates hate speech to be salable, attractive and generate profit”.
In videos and publications, a mix of male self-help and lifestyle appears – with promises of money and success.
All this while transmitting messages of male superiority.
The concept Red Pill is already known: a movement of men who defend a “dominant masculinity”. It is related to the film The Matrix, when the main character Neo chooses the red pill to gain consciousness and wisdom. Years later, it began to be used on the internet by groups of men who criticize gender equality and claim that women are exploitative, controlling and manipulative.
And these videos, these influencers, focus mainly on teenagers: “They bet on individuals that they know they will be able to capture because they are more vulnerable, sometimes with less critical thinking in relation to these issues.”
Ricardo Barroso adds that the immaturity, the moment of discover identity, help explain the fact that many young people fall “into the trap of these influencers’ narratives”.
Maria João Faustino draws attention to the “patriarchy algorithm”: the content displayed is increasingly sexist and dangerous.
“What the algorithm does is exactly this: it shows content that it thinks we are interested in and favors content that is polarizing and often extremist.”
And so the undervaluation of women increases and the sexism, appearing more violent behaviors.
This phenomenon does not affect the majority of teenagers in Portugal. Generalizing would be a risk. But it’s growing.
