Across Western democracies, nearly 60% of Gen Z men now say men face more discrimination than women. Some call it backlash. But the data points to a generation of young men increasingly shaped by algorithm-driven content that distorts feminism, women’s rights, and the meaning of equality itself.
So what’s really driving this shift? This week on The Tea, we’re joined by bestselling author and feminist activist Laura Bates to unpack the growing backlash against feminism, the rise of the so-called manosphere — and the emerging “womanosphere” — and how algorithm-driven radicalisation is reshaping ideas about gender, power and truth.
From the attention economy to masculinity politics, we ask: is this a culture war between men and women — or something deeper being engineered beneath the surface? And who is profiting from it?
Also in the show:
⚡ Institutional misogyny across policing, politics, media, and justice
⚡ Violence against women and girls — a public health crisis
⚡ Algorithms, social media, and misogynistic radicalisation
⚡ Andrew Tate and the mainstreaming of the manosphere
⚡ UK Online Safety Act — protection or mass surveillance?
⚡ Men’s mental health crisis
⚡ The Gisèle Pelicot case and global “rape academy”
⚡ Manosphere meets the far right
⚡ From Narah Smith to Savannah Stone: the rise of the “womanosphere”
⚡ Freya India and feminism’s blind spots
Our guest argues that we’re not passive users of big tech — we’re active citizens with real choices to make about the technologies we use, the AI tools we adopt, and how we embed them in our lives.
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You can find Laura Bates’ book, The New Age of Sexism, here https://www.simonandschuster.co.uk/books/The-New-Age-of-Sexism/Laura-Bates/9781471190513
00:00:00 Introduction – The online backlash against feminism
00:02:25 What Feminism Really Means
00:04:09 Laura Bates on Everyday Sexism and Feminist Awakening
00:06:46 Are Women Equal Yet? Debunking the Myths
00:09:23 Why Awareness Hasn't Ended Violence Against Women
00:13:09 Gen Z Men, Social Media and the Rise of Misogyny
00:16:08 How Algorithms and Big Tech Amplify the Manosphere
00:22:20 Online Safety, Censorship and Regulating Social Media
00:29:05 Why Young Men Are Drawn to the Manosphere
00:38:22 Is Feminism Alienating Young Men?
00:45:03 Tradwives, Conservatism and the Far-Right Connection
00:55:26 Girlboss Feminism, AI and the Future of Women's Rights
AUDIO CREDITS
Presenter–Producer: Dr. Myriam François
Guest: Laura Bates
Senior Producer: Sara Farolfi
Producer: Nadège Bizimungu
Assistant Producer: Poppy Jacobs
Research: Constance Creswell, Martha Missingham
Video Editor: Max Bubnov
An MPWR Productions show.
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