Violence against women: What is masculinism?

FRANCE 24 English

What exactly is masculinism? In this edition of Entre Nous we break down the term, explain how the phenomenon is preying on young men, and how being aware of the manosphere's sexist rhetoric is a step in combatting violence against women. We also look at the number of cases of sexual violence in France and worldwide, or how one woman is killed every 10 minutes by someone close to her.     Visit our website: http://www.france24.com  Like us on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/FRANCE24.English  Follow us on Twitter: https://twitter.com/France24_en

Transcript

00:00It's time now for our Entre Nous segment with Solange Moujean.

00:06Solange, you're focusing on a societal issue that touches every nation in the world,

00:12the violence against women, and you're starting off with the increasingly disturbing ideologies

00:17that's promoting such violence.

00:19Yeah, before I get into sort of the mind-boggling and actually quite horrifying numbers in France

00:24and also worldwide of violence against women, I thought I would start with a positive or at

00:29least try to, and that is education and the need for better education in this regard,

00:34or the need to better understand the forces that play here so that you, me, and everyone

00:38can spot such violence and thus fight against it.

00:42And one of those forces that is promoting violence against women, and men too as well,

00:48and this is on a global scale because it is largely digital, is masculinism.

00:53Now, what is masculinism?

00:55It is a group of different movements that believe that men are the victims of a society

01:00dominated by women.

01:01There are many different branches of this, but essentially their idea is that there is

01:06a crisis of masculinity and that men should no longer be the victims of feminism, that

01:11men should take back their virility and strength.

01:14Masculinism promotes misogynist rhetoric, and it is not the opposite of feminism, where the

01:20basic idea is equality between the sexes.

01:24Masculinism is an ideology that tries to argue that men and women should have different roles

01:29because of their differences, and it places heterosexual families as a model of that society,

01:36one that must be defended, they say.

01:38It often politicizes women's bodies as well.

01:41It is a binary sexist view of the world and of gender roles, and it is not just fringe

01:48groups anymore.

01:49We see it in politics, largely among conservative and far-right groups.

01:53We also see it in tech, online, with the likes of influencers that have hundreds of thousands

01:59of followers, and also some tech leaders as well, promoting what they call the manosphere,

02:05which is actually the umbrella term for online communities that promote masculinism and misogyny.

02:12This is all over social media.

02:14Young men are increasingly getting sucked into it.

02:17And a French sociologist explained to France24 how it comes down to shifting gender norms.

02:22Young men are attracted to it because they're filled with contradictions and the paradoxes

02:31between an idea of virility, which pushes them to be violent, superior and dominant,

02:36and to use force, and to treat others as inferiors if they aren't strong.

02:41That versus the culture of equality, so they're stuck with these contradictions.

02:47Some are taking a step away from that, while others are leaning into it, because it gives them

02:51strength and reinforces their identity.

02:56And Solange, masculinism is largely based on the idea of victimhood of men, when in fact

03:01this is largely an illusion.

03:02Yeah, the numbers abound in regard to the fact that women are largely the victims of male

03:09violence.

03:10But before I get into those figures, it's essential to note that men too are victims of these masculinist

03:17ideas as well, that it seeps in from an early age, and can be particularly attractive to young men,

03:23for example, who are in search of themselves or in search of being liked and loved.

03:30Sexist education and stereotypes continue to exist.

03:34You're raised with this history, or this sort of contract in regard to virility,

03:39masculinity, or the idea that if you step on everyone else, if you're the perfect man

03:44that shows no emotion, then you will have everything.

03:47You'll be rich and powerful, have lots of women, it will be marvellous.

03:53Now, the extent of such fallacy shows the extent to which education is essential to curb

03:59these sexist views that promote violence towards women and anyone who essentially doesn't fit

04:04this virilist mode of masculinity. And one of the first steps of doing this is recognizing

04:10the degree to which gender violence and violence against women, sexual violence, is a real and

04:15global problem. In the UN-sponsored report for 2025, it found that 25% of women, or nearly one in three

04:24women, are the victims of sexual violence. And this figure of some 840 million women who have been

04:30beaten, raped, sexually assaulted, harassed. It's largely thought to be far less than the reality

04:36because of the stigmas and the fear that surround sexual violence. The UN's report also shows where

04:42in the world sexual violence is most prevalent. Again, this hits every nation, every socioeconomic

04:49group. But the report found that the Oceana and Africa regions have doubled the number of women who

04:55are victims of sexual violence compared to other regions. Worldwide, this is a societal and economic,

05:02this has societal and economic costs that actually far surpassed what it would cost to fight this.

05:09Studies have proven that things like education, strengthening judicial systems, and creating support

05:14groups for victims, they work.

05:17And finally, Solange, where does France stand when it comes to violence against women?

05:21Well, here too, the numbers are absolutely chilling. According to a 2025 report by France's

05:27Observatory for Violence Against Women, it found in 2024 that 270,000 women were the victim of rape,

05:35attempted rape, or sexual violence. That's one woman every two minutes in France. It also tallied

05:40at least 107 murders or femicides of women by their partners or exes, and 200 attempted femicides.

05:48The report actually now takes into account as well indirect femicides or women who were pushed to

05:54suicide or attempted suicide after being harassed, bringing the total to 1,283 femicides or attempted

06:04femicides. Then there's the effect on children. 94 children were left, essentially orphans,

06:09with more or less mom being killed and dad being sent to jail. And beyond these cases, there's also

06:14everyday violence and a systemic presence of it. The report showed that in France, one woman every

06:2023 seconds is a victim of sexual harassment, exhibitionism, or receiving sexual images online.

06:29All right, Solange, thank you very much for taking us through that very important point there on

06:34International Day for Elimination of Violence Against Women. That's it for this edition of Entre Nous.

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