ALMOST a quarter of men believed feminism negatively affected men and deliberately sought to put them down, a new survey has found.
Island Global Research’s study of 2,532 residents across Jersey, Guernsey and the Isle of Man also found that more than one in five men held at least one view associated with “toxic masculinity”.
The survey found that 31% of men believed the vast majority of heterosexual women only wanted to date the most physically attractive fifth of men. This rose to 44% among men aged 16 to 29.
Lead researcher Lilyanne Guille said: “Globally, the impact of online content promoting ‘toxic masculinity’ is still in the process of being well understood.
“The fact that as many as one in five males in our islands have critical views of feminism and what drives female attraction towards men illustrates the potential appeal of such content, and why men seeing it may identify with some of the messages.
“However, it is also reassuring that when you look across multiple measures, there are very few whose mindset can be more fully characterised as consistent with the concept of ‘toxic masculinity’.
“This would also be a topic worth monitoring, as exposure to online content related to ‘toxic masculinity’ continues.”
Overall, 45% of women considered misogyny – hatred or discrimination against women – very widespread, rising to 71% among those aged 16 to 29.
Among women in that younger group, 79% were very concerned about how attitudes towards women were represented online.
Ms Guille said: “The relatively high levels of concern amongst young females suggests just how strongly the next generation feel there is a need for continued and meaningful change.”
The online survey ran from 17 April to 21 May. Results were weighted, although the report acknowledged that self-selection bias remained.
