Abstract
Feminist activism has always promoted informal learning opportunities for men and women. Internet, along with ICTs have expanded these opportunities by affording large-scale feminist mobilising and connection. Yet the digital environment is not only enhancing feminist campaigning but also facilitating the contexts to abusive behaviours flourish. Departing from the concept of social movement learning, in this article, we examine the significance to adult education of the large-scale reinvigoration of feminist activism in tandem with the surge of anti-feminist and misogynist ideas in the digital environment. We argue that just as online social media brought unprecedented opportunities to provide social movement learning, it offered the same tools to misogynists groups, mostly led by a toxic understanding of masculinity. By co-opting the same online opportunities, the feminist movement enjoys, individualised and collective toxic masculinity agency is a potential foe to match, reinventing the same struggle, demanding an ongoing battle towards deconstructing patriarchy.
Highlights
By shedding light on unequal gender norms and the relational nature of gender while putting forward gender-equal agendas, women’s movements on feminist issues have always promoted informal learning opportunities for adult people
As the formal system appears to fail in preventing gender-based violence, protecting victims and overcome structural patriarchy, social media-based campaigns on violence, sexism and inequality emerge as an arena for groups and individuals to protest, mobilise for collective action, as well as for victims to share their personal experiences at different levels, find alternative forms of justice and different forms of educating for gender equality (Mendes, 2019; Núñez Puente, D’Antonio Maceiras & Fernández Romero, 2019)
This collective online misogynist agency became increasingly present and visible in online blogs and social media constituting what the literature labels as the “manosphere” (Ribeiro et al, 2020). Newer communities, such as the Incels or Men Going Their Own ‘are more toxic and misogynistic than the older ones’, namely Pick Up Artists and Men’s Rights Activists (Ribeiro et al, 2020, p. 10). Their motivation is based upon a need to account for their stories, to connect to other alleged victims of feminist beliefs and frameworks, and, be given restorative justice and mobilise through social movement learning towards political action (Ribeiro et al, 2020; Ging, 2019) – formally and in everyday practices
Summary
By shedding light on unequal gender norms and the relational nature of gender while putting forward gender-equal agendas, women’s movements on feminist issues have always promoted informal learning opportunities for adult people. The same strengths that make online feminism successful in social movement learning, i.e., connecting, giving account, making individual stories to become collective political action and providing alternative forms of justice is, we argue, the same ones that allow online misogyny to be effective concerning mobilisation and non-formal education.
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