Teachers, schools given handbook to combat misogynistic behaviour in classrooms
The manosphere describes online influencers who aim to reassert patriarchal gender roles, often aimed at boys and young men. (ABC News: Magie Khameneh)
In short:
Teachers say the impact of the "manosphere" on the classroom has been getting worse.
Female teachers are being subjected to anti-feminist hand gestures, coded messages and intimidating behaviours at school.
What's next?
A women's safety organisation and a university have released a guide to help teachers, schools and young people recognise the manosphere's impacts and access tools to reclaim the classroom.
From the online world into the classroom, there are concerns the manosphere is increasingly becoming a part of school life.
The manosphere describes a community of online influencers and content creators who see men and boys as "victims" of gender equality and aim to reassert patriarchal and traditional gender roles.
It is the subject of a recently released Louis Theroux documentary, Inside the Manosphere.
The series, Adolescence, also explored the impact of online influencers on young men and boys.
And the latest series of television show, Married at First Sight, has sparked debate after one contestant described wanting a "submissive" wife.
Louis Theroux faces down "red-pilled" figureheads in Inside the Manosphere. (Supplied: Netflix)
Author and Indigenous rights advocate Thomas Mayo told the No to Violence National Conference in Hobart that he was worried the attitudes of some men and boys towards women were going backwards.
"I am a progressive male, [but] the [social media] algorithms push this stuff on boys and men," Mr Mayo said.
"These algorithms are designed with a purpose in mind, and it's not simply to make boys and men more misogynistic, but there is a deeper purpose behind it; it is about division."
Thomas Mayo says social media algorithms are feeding boys and young men misogynistic content. (ABC News: Kate Nickels)
The chief executive of the Australian National Research Organisation for Women's Safety (ANROWS), Tessa Boyd-Caine, is also concerned.
"What we're starting to see is that misogynistic content is really shaping boys and young men's attitude to women," Dr Boyd-Caine said.
"And those are the attitudes that we see are really present in violence against women and children."
Dr Tessa Boyd-Caine has helped produce a report to help schools and teachers recognise the manosphere's influence. (ABC News: Kate Nickels)
'Make me a sandwich', hand gestures and 'baiting'
Monash University and ANROWS released a Guide to the Manosphere and the Impacts for Young People, Teachers and Schools.
"Teachers unequivocally tell us that things are getting worse for them and that process started …. post the COVID era," co-author Dr Stephanie Wescott said.
Female teachers have reported being taunted by students with messages like "make me a sandwich" to imply a woman's place is in the kitchen.
Dr Stephanie Wescott says teachers are reporting higher rates of anti-feminist behaviour from young boys. (ABC News: Kate Nickels)
There have also been reports of boys in classrooms using hand signals, made popular in the manosphere to symbolise male supremacy.
"Not all teachers would necessarily know what that means, but if you've got a row of boys that are all sort of doing the same sort of gesture you may get a sense that something isn't quite right," Dr Wescott said.
She said teachers were also being "baited" by students to enter into debates about equality.
The guide also talks about intimidating conduct by boys, including circling women teachers in the school yard, as well as direct physical and sexual assault.
It also found that the rise in the manosphere is impacting the education of girls, with the guide reporting that one in four girls felt unsafe at school due to boys' behaviours.
"We also hear that girls have become silent in classrooms and that in some settings they are afraid of speaking up," Dr Wescott said.
It affects other boys in the classroom.
"Not all boys are attuned to manosphere content and not all of them support it," Dr Wescott said.
"So if they're sitting in the classroom and they're seeing their teachers be severely disrespected, or the girls around them be belittled, that will have an impact on them as well."
And then there is the toll on teachers.
"We've got a teaching crisis, we've got a teaching shortage, we need to look after our teachers, we need to respect our teachers, and at the moment we need to take seriously when gender violence happens in schools," she said.
The guide explores how young people use coded messages or hand signals to express misogynistic views in the classroom. (ABC News: Kate Nickels)
Tools to tackle the manosphere
The guide developed by Monash University and ANROWS was designed to help schools and teachers recognise the influence of the manosphere and how to manage it in the classroom.
"We aren't just providing a report on the problem, we are providing a road map for school communities to recognise these tactics and reclaim the classroom as a safe space for everyone," Dr Boyd-Caine said.
Dr Wescott said a whole-of-school response teaching young people how to be more critical with what they consume and digest online was critical.
Ben Vasiliou says there needs to be space for "messy, real-life conversations" with young boys about misogyny. (ABC News: Kate Nickels)
Ben Vasiliou runs the Man Cave, a mental health charity that works with thousands of young men in schools around the country.
"The manosphere is promoting content that's about getting jacked, getting ripped, getting rich quick," Mr Vasiliou said.
"It's very anti-women, it's anti-gender equity, it's anti-gay and queer community."
He said the blame-and-shame approach to dealing with the influence of the manosphere did not always work.
"Yes, we need accountability, and we need zero tolerance, but we also need space for messy, real-life conversations," he said.
"So we can get to the root of the belief and what is the undercurrent of the language, and then hopefully shift and change behaviour.
Teenagers are being served misogynistic content on social media, whether they search for it or not. (Compass: Floss Adams)
"Actually, bring up some of these hairy kinds of topics that sometimes teachers and parents struggle with, and then show them a different way and give them resources.
"We're seeing thousands of boys actually change their view from what they've seen online to hold a more nuanced and equitable view about the real world."
Dr Wescott said she would like to see more government support for the existing respectful relationship programme in schools "to embed that as an everyday part of schooling."
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