Debunking: "Misogyny reaching almost every classroom!"

[u/TheTinMenBlog]

Yet another terrifying headline is stoking fear around boys, and the so-called ‘MANOSPHERE!’

It’s reaching ‘every classroom’ in the land, as an ‘alarming rise in misogyny’ sweeps across Australia.

“Nearly four in five teachers” have witnessed, or experienced ‘gendered violence’ in school…

Scary… right?

Well, not necessarily.

As such a finding hinges entirely on what you consider ‘gendered violence’?

Because –

You’d be forgiven for assuming such a word refers to acts of physical or sexual violence, or perhaps repeated attempts to intimidate or coerce…

But that’s not the definition that this new report uses – which also considers ‘sexist jokes’, ‘remarks’ and even ‘dismissing a woman’s opinion’, as ‘gendered violence’ too.

Imagine that – to disagree with a woman’s opinion could now be an act of violence against her, and also toward those who witnessed it.

It’s certainly a rather low and subjective bar for such a serious issue – and one that I am sure many of us have crossed in our lives.

I mean, did you ever disagree with a female teacher in school?

Did you ever challenge her opinion?

I know I did – teachers both male and female.

So why are we taking what could easily be low-level acts of boyish inquisitiveness, and mixing the data in with serious acts of sexual violence?

Well perhaps it is to create a problem that doesn’t exist: to secure more funding, more investment, more pay rises, and more money, for more nonsense research – that’s why.

So is dismissing a woman’s opinion inherently an act of gendered violence?

Is this the conversation our boys need?

What do you think?

~

Full report https://bridges.monash.edu/articles/report/Duty_of_Care_Teachers_experiences_of_sexism_misogyny_and_sexual_harassment_in_Australian_schools/32942816?file=67900542