Published: 15:22 BST, 18 August 2026 | Updated: 15:29 BST, 18 August 2026
Nearly a third of young boys believe men have more of a right to a job than women, a new study reveals.
Researchers have discovered that teenagers as young as 13 are showing alarming signs of misogyny and displaying hostile attitudes towards women and girls.
As part of a study, they surveyed 1,100 young people in Australia and compared their views on gender equality to those of 2,300 adults.
They found 31.8 per cent believed attempts to give equal opportunities to women have gone too far, and 30.1 per cent think men have more of a right to jobs when opportunities are limited.
Meanwhile nearly a quarter believed feminism is damaging to our society – and should be resisted with violence if necessary.
Experts said a rise in 'manosphere' content, such as videos made by influencer Andrew Tate, is partly to blame.
And they warned social media feeds and algorithms have become 'fertile ground' for promoting violence.
'What's perhaps most worrying is that this isn't a story about adults radicalized in the dark corners of the internet,' study author Dr Sara Meger, from the University of Melbourne, said. 'In our survey, teenage boys were the most likely to express misogynistic attitudes, mistrust of women and a belief in rigid traditional gender roles.'
It follows the widespread impact of Netflix's drama series Adolescence, which told the story of a 13–year–old boy who brutally murders his classmate (Pictured)
The study found misogynistic attitudes were strongly linked to the online content young people were consuming.
'Engagement with "manosphere" content, pornography and online dating showed the strongest links to misogynistic views,' Dr Meger said.
Teachers who were surveyed reported students quoting influencers such as Andrew Tate and repeating 'manosphere' language in class to justify refusing instructions from female staff while complying with identical instructions from male colleagues.
This behaviour was reported among children as young as six.
'This study shows that the problems with misogyny are structural, not individual,' Dr Meger explained.
