IT’S US VS. ‘FEM’
Young men say feminism has gone too far — and makes it harder for them to succeed, poll finds
They’re considered the “woke” generation, but new research says Generation Z men aren’t necessarily on board.
Half of young men believe feminism “has gone too far and makes it harder for men to succeed,” according to “Young People
in the Time of COVID-19,” a new study by Hope Not Hate, a UK-based advocacy group that campaigns against extremism.
“[Feminist] policies are wellintentioned, but can be abused and taken too far,” said Jack Joseph, a 26-year-old from central New Jersey who says he was wrongfully accused of sexual harassment, causing him to get fired from his job at a call center in May.
“Allegation is the new guilty,” Joseph told The Post.
According to the Hope Not Hate report, which surveyed more than 2,000 young people between the ages of 16 and 24 on a wide range of topics, “[antifeminism] is appealing to young men feeling emasculated in an age of changing social norms.”
But it wasn’t just men who agreed with the sentiment.
Overall, more young people agreed (36 percent) than disagreed (35 percent) that feminism had gone too far, including 23 percent of women surveyed.
“It used to be that women were more discriminated against,” Ajay, 30, who works in public relations and lives in New Jersey, told The Post.
“These days, it’s more the other way around,” he said, pointing to Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden’s decision to choose a woman as his running mate.
Ajay, who declined to give his last name, was also concerned about relating to the opposite sex in the post-#MeToo era.
“[Harmless] things can be construed in the wrong way,” he said. “Interest in someone can be construed as harassment. It’s gone too far in the other direction.
“It’s probably the hardest it’s ever been to be a guy right now.”
But it’s #NotAllMen.
Justin, a local 19-yearold who also declined to give his last name, disagreed that the women’s movement has gone too far. “Feminism is about equality,” he said. “I’m not losing anything if other people gain the status in the world that I’ve taken for granted throughout my whole life. In fact — I gain a lot.” He, for one, is happy about shifting societal expectations, including not having to always pick up the tab on dates.
“It’s pretty normal to assume that whoever asked the other person to go out is the one who pays,” said Justin. “Occasions where a girl asks me out, I never feel pressured to pay.”
That said, he admitted that he’s had to convince more than a few friends that political correctness hasn’t gone too far.
“A lot of people that I know have gone through phases of ‘anti-social-justice warrior’ content,” he said.
The Hope Not Hate report is just the latest research to point to a growing sense of alienation and resentment among young men, who feel they are falling economically behind their female counterparts.
According to data from last year’s General Social Survey: Researchers surveyed 2,348 adults and found that 28 percent of men under 30 had gone a year or more without sex. That’s nearly triple the amount of dudes who reported yearlong dry spells back in 2008, and was linked to growing economic instability.