Feminism in teenage boys: "They send the girls to do the dishes, but at home they do them."

BarcelonaBorn in the fourth wave of feminism, Me Too and egalitarian policies, teenage boys and girls who are now in high school are more separated than their parents were at the same age. Feminism has been a hardship for them, because they maintain that it is points to everyone as aggressors And in the end, they end up discriminated against because everything is done to favor women. Girls, on the other hand, assume that feminism means equality, but to maintain coexistence with their peers, they reject positions they consider radical.

Aware of this gender gap, which is confirmed in survey after survey, researchers from the Institute of Political and Social Sciences (ICPS) have posed various questions to adolescents in the fourth year of compulsory secondary education (14 and 15 years old) from nine secondary schools in the Barcelona region. This is a qualitative study based on listening to the young people, who are divided into groups of boys, girls, and mixed-sex groups.

The conclusion is that boys and girls attend the same classes and live in the same spaces, but they live in parallel worlds, and are separated by a greater "gap" than one might expect. Despite the commonality in their positions, when the debate is mixed, boys show a certain empathy for the experiences of discrimination and fears experienced by their female classmates.

From the discussion groups, the researchers (Maria Freixanet, Jana Pous and José Berna) point out that the boys are nourished by "militant speeches" from the masclosphere, social media, and pornography, which bombard them with messages about the injustices they suffer as men due to feminist policies. Thus, they believe that not only have quotas for equality been reached, but that, on top of that, women are overtaking them, driven by quota policies.

The good news, according to Freixanet, is that these adolescents repeat neo-sexist facts or phrases and, on the other hand, maintain positive attitudes toward equality. When they get angry, for example, they frequently "send the girls to do the dishes, but at home they do the dishes like their sisters," the researchers indicate.

Freixanet attributes this contradictory behavior to the fact that, for these boys, "irreverence is anti-feminism, because the government, mom, and school are feminists." It is, therefore, a way of rebelling and forming a masculine identity, driven by following virtual groups in which They feed without any contrary positioning.

Teenage girls are more aware of the usefulness of feminism than their mothers were at the same age, but at the same time they use "strategies" to lower their positions and avoid comments from their peers. They even stop calling themselves feminists, although they are, basically so as not to turn against boys. In this way, they assume that the "feminism of before," that of their mothers, was useful and that, on the other hand, now that equality has been achieved feminazis They're going too far. It's not that they don't know how to detect sexism, but they consider it a "thing of a bygone era, a thing of parents and grandparents," the researchers point out.

Where they consider that equality has not been achieved is in sexual violenceIn fact, it's the issue that worries them the most and the one that most limits them when it comes to leading a normal life. They realize that their male counterparts are freer, and, conversely, they are afraid to walk alone on the street and suffer. Harassment, with unwanted looks, comments, or touching.

As for the boys, minimize gender-based violence until their female peers counter them with stories of personal experiences. "When listening to the mixed groups, they end up toning down their discourse," Freixanet points out. Another peculiarity is that these same boys who claim that men are discriminated against ask for more punishment for the aggressors, although they place them outside their immediate circle or as mentally ill. For researchers, it is a form copied from the influencers and far-right parties to exonerate men of any responsibility.

Despite the surprise that boys and girls develop different values, the researchers are confident they can eliminate sexist behaviors and ensure that adolescents are committed to equality among young people. However, they say that adolescents themselves reject the talks and courses in which adults lecture them about what it means to be a feminist. Co-education, addressing these issues in class, or having shared leisure time spaces that encourage them to put down their screens and return to their desks like their parents could be good solutions. They also emphasize that society cannot blame them for all the evils of patriarchy and that "adults bear the ultimate responsibility," Freixanet points out, referring to young people.