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The so-called ‘manosphere’ causes problems in classrooms. This concerns ideas about dominant men and submissive women. According to Eindhoven teacher Daan Krahmer, there is increasing tension and misunderstanding between boys and girls.
“Suddenly looking dirty, starting to sneer and giving nasty reactions,” Krahmer notices when he talks in his history lessons about the subject of the ‘second feminist wave’, which is about equality between men and women. It is a topic that has become increasingly important in his lessons since corona, especially among his male students.
Misunderstanding between boys and girls
The manosphere is increasingly entering the classrooms of secondary schools, according to recent research by the School and Safety Foundation, in which teachers were surveyed. Boys seem moderately to strongly influenced by online ideas about masculinity. And that leads, among other things, to bullying behavior, verbal aggression and misunderstanding between boys and girls, it says the research.
Teachers think boys are influenced by what they see online. For example, the American-British influencer and former kickboxer Andrew Tate shares photos and videos on social media about traditional views, status, fitness and money.
17-year-old Joost from Tilburg sees the videos every day. “In the beginning I was shocked by the intensity and how they talk and think about women,” he says. The teenager has to admit that the videos have ‘almost become normal’.
But Joost says he does not support those videos. He thinks they give a very old-fashioned image. In class he does notice that some boys react more ‘strongly’ to girls and teachers. “As if they are no longer allowed to say anything and are not allowed to have an opinion.”
‘Son must be straight’
Teacher Krahmer sees the above picture reflected in his students at the Van Maerlantlyceum in Eindhoven. Sometimes he doesn’t hear anything about it for a while and then suddenly he hears about it four times a week. “A boy recently said in class that he definitely wanted a son when he grows up and that he should be straight. The girls then responded quite vehemently. It turned out that he had those views from the manosphere.”
In addition, he notices that students write profile papers on topics such as ‘growing muscles’ or ‘tradwives‘, women who consciously choose a life as a housewife. “I also see when girls are stressed because they think about whether they should find a rich man and a tradwive should be.”
In his history and social studies lessons, Krahmer mainly wants to start a conversation and show multiple sides. He also sees that classroom discussions about the manosphere sometimes clash between boys and girls. “But I often see that people keep their mouths shut out of shame. That they swallow things. And that is a shame.”
Feniks Emancipation Expertise Center sees the manosphere as a problem
This organization from Tilburg is committed to emancipation and says that the manosphere is becoming an ‘increasingly bigger problem’. “Boys are caught in a trap and are seeing more and more of these types of videos,” says Laurens Kleijntjens of Feniks Emancipation Expertise Center.
The organization often receives requests from teachers and youth workers about how to deal with this. That is why Feniks also provides training on how to start a conversation. “That you also ask other boys for their opinion and are not pedantic. Ask ‘Where does this come from? What exactly do you mean by this?'”
In addition, the Tilburg organization is developing teaching materials about the manosphere. “It should end up in teacher training courses, so that students learn something about it there.”
