Growing 'masculinist' culture in France slows down fight against sexism
France’s gender equality watchdog has warned that sexism amongst young men is on the rise – and one of the reasons is the spread of anti-feminist content online. It needs to be taken more seriously, says the author of a book on how young men are being "trained" to hate women.
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France marked anti-sexism day on 25 January, but there’s not much cause for celebration according to the High Council for Gender Equality (HCE).
“Sexism begins at home, continues at school and explodes online,” said the HCE in its annual report, published this week.
“Far from receding, sexism is taking root, even progressing.”
The report noted a return to traditional ideas among male respondents: 28 percent of men in the 25-34 age group thought men were better suited to managerial roles, while more than third – 7 percent more than last year – said it was “normal for women to stop working to take care of children”.
Misogynist backlash
As women obtain more rights and feel freer to speak out against sexual and sexist violence in the wake of the #MeToo movement, some men are entering into resistance.
"The more public debate focuses on women’s rights, the bigger the male backlash," the report said. "Sexist male behaviour and reflexes are gaining ground amongst young men, whilst more women are being associated with roles inside the home."
Some 37 percent of male respondents said "feminism was threatening their place in society".
The idea that women now dominate men is central to France's so-called "masculinist" movement. Like the online community known as incels ("involuntarily celibate"), its proponents defend traditional gender roles and blame women for their sexual failings.
"Masculinism used to be quite marginal, a bit underground, but social media platforms have given masculinist communities a place to gather, communicate and spread their ideas,” says journalist Pauline Ferrari, author of "Trained to Hate Women", an investigation into masculinists' infiltration of online discourse.
"Masculinism has become a genuine subculture – people no longer have a complex over it, it’s become more trivial," she says.
Helped by algorithms
Ferrari points to one of the earliest public expressions of masculinism – in 2013, when the founder of the father's rights group SOS Papa spent three days up a crane in Nantes to plead for shared custody of his son.
"He blamed the increasing number of women judges" for his plight, she notes.
Since then, masculinist discourse has spread online, thanks to influencers on platforms like TikTok and their private, sometimes subscription-only, channels.
While there's no stereotypical influencer, Ferrari has identified a majority of young, white, heterosexual men who often appear as "coaches on seduction and personal development, offering to help and advise young boys in particular".
As well as denigrating women, some of their content is also homophobic and racist.
One of the most successful influencers, both inside and out of France, is Andrew Tate – a British self-described misogynist who says women belong in the home and are property of men, and reckons rape victims have to "bear responsibility" for their attacks.
Ferrari says he and other influencers owe their success to clever use of algorithms. Followers are told to flood social media with the most controversial clips so they get maximum engagement.
"The bigger the buzz, the more they get picked up by the algorithm and pushed to the top. Misogyny appears as 'popular' content," she explains.
She regrets the lack of online moderation, but says it doesn't necessarily come as a surprise that it isn't a priority for the people in charge.
A 2023 report on countering masculinist discourse online revealed that an estimated 80 percent of programmers in Europe were men, and only 24 percent of employees in big tech companies are women.
The French Tate
Ferrari has identified some specificities to incels in France.
"Whereas Tate vaunts the image of a self-made man driving a Bugatti and wearing a Rolex watch, in France we have the image of a masculinist royalist, close to the far right, defending traditional roles from the 1940s and '50s," she says.
And surprisingly, one of the biggest defenders of masculinism is in fact a woman – Thais d’Escufon. She's the former spokesperson for Generation Identitaire – a far-right anti-migrant group, disbanded in France in 2021 for "inciting discrimination, hatred and violence", with links to white supremacist groups.
Her videos include musings on "the hidden face of women's lib" and the "reasons behind men's sexual misery".
"She defines herself as a political influencer and is one of the most popular among those spearheading and defending masculinist ideas," Ferrari explains. "As a woman it's easier for her to get ideas like 'feminism has destroyed everything' across.
"By saying 'if you men are suffering it’s because of feminism', she’s reinforcing the idea they’re being rejected."
Not taken seriously
Masculinist ideology has proved fatal in the US, Canada and UK.
In 2018, Alek Minassian murdered 10 people in Toronto. "The Incel Rebellion has already begun: we will overthrow all the Chads and Stacys!" he wrote on Facebook.
In 2021, the British policeman who murdered a young woman as she walked home had a history of sharing misogynistic content and of indecent exposure.
France has seen no similar incidents – although a man with links to the far right and described as having "an incel profile" was reportedly arrested last October on suspicion of planning a terror attack.
Ferrari says it's time to take masculinism more seriously.
“French authorities have not taken much of an interest in the subject, and as it’s mainly online, it's seen as somehow virtual, not real life, and a bit ridiculous.
"But it’s a very important subject since it impacts young people, especially boys, at a time when they’re building a sense of self."
More sex education
Ferrari says there’s a lot of work to be done in education, where gender stereotypes tend to be reinforced.
The HCE report found that 92 percent of videos for children contained gender stereotypes. As children, only 3 percent of men questioned had received dolls to play with and 4 percent of girls toy cars.
Ferrari also calls for more sex education in schools.
Despite a 2001 law that made classes on sexual and reproductive health compulsory in all French schools, she says, "sex education is taught in fewer than 15 percent of middle and high schools, and yet they offer a space where masculinist ideas can be expressed – and challenged".
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