In a recent report for HOPE not hate, when it came to gender equality, there was a huge gulf between young men and women (Picture: WIktor Szymanowicz/NurPhoto via Getty Images)

The far-right has often been a breeding ground for toxic masculinity, but there is a new active and dangerous anti-women ideology slowly seeping into the movement.

Todays far-right supporters aim to establish the logic of supremacy by posing as the protectors of male identity, wielding free speech rhetoric, pseudo-science and a reassuring set of certainties in a rapidly changing world.

And in a climate where men feel more uncertain of their place in society, there is considerable worry that this way of thinking could occupy a place in the mainstream.

In a recent report for HOPE not hate, I polled over 2,000 16-24-year-olds across the UK, and found that while the vast majority of young people are open-minded on issues of immigration, race and LGBTQ+ rights, when it came to gender equality, there was a huge gulf between young men and women.

Half of young men thought feminism has gone too far and makes it harder for men to succeed, more than twice the proportion of young women who felt the same.

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Almost aquarter dismissed the idea that it was more dangerous to be a woman than a man in todays society, 18 per cent held a negative view of feminists,16 per cent believed that feminism had no role to play todayand14 per cent see anti-abortion activists positively.

These sentiments were most profound among young men who felt a loss of control over their own lives, who didnt feel represented or listened to.

These narratives fed into broader resentments about a perceived lack of opportunity, including issues like the availability and quality of work, good education and affordable housing.But young women are equally, if not more, subjected to these social challenges.

In fact, our polling revealed that over lockdown, young women were more likely to have lost their job, to have been furloughed, or to have struggled financially. Young women were also more likely to feel ignored by the political system and more pessimistic about the future.

Boys will be boys though, right?What we are seeing is young men pushing back against a drop in the status of the one asset they feel entitled to be secure in their male identity.

Hateful narratives take root where people feel voiceless, a sense of loss or dwindling hope.

The move of far-right ideas from the recesses into the fore is a process that has been taking place for a long time, threading new stands into the narrative to rebrand the same zero-sum game of power and privilege

In our poll, younger people overwhelmingly rejected anti-immigrant or racist views that have successfully drawn insomepeople from older generations looking for a scapegoaton which to pinresentmentand hurt caused by a loss of statusin a changing world.

White identityis no longer a socially acceptable refuge forthoseyoung people who feel that things are working against them,and who seek an escape from feelings ofvictimhoodand inadequacy.

This is what makes the manosphere male online subcultures linked to the alt-right, focused on grievances around sex, popularity and personal suppression and mens rights movement so dangerous.

It has the potential to penetrate into the mainstream with greater force than the far-rights traditional message.

As Western societies have gradually become more diverse, and anti-racist campaigners have pushed back against biological and cultural racism, outright white supremacist narratives have became too unpalatable to gain new recruits, particularly the young.

Instead,this movementhas crept beyondtheanonymous, dark and strange corners of the internet,with a mixture of free speech, race and gender science,misogyny and anti-feminismserving asan effective platform for recruitmentand its young male following is growing.

A third of young men reported consuming content from Tommy Robinson, while one in five had watched or read something on Brietbart or Infowars. Those who held anti-feminist views were even more likely to be viewing this content, and were more than twice as likely to buy into Antisemitic conspiracy theories.

Of those in our study who felt feminism was suppressing men,a majority offered qualified support for violence as a mechanism for change, believing thatpolitical violence can be necessary to defend something you believe in extreme circumstances.

The move of far-right ideas from the recesses into the fore is a process that has been taking place for a long time, threading new stands into the narrative to rebrand the same zero-sum game of power and privilege.

They reassert a hierarchy, where white men remain at the top, and women are targets to either be subordinated to male priorities and harassed into silence with hate and abuse, especially women of colour.

The overlay between male supremacy and hidden white supremacy, and its pervasiveness among young people should come as a great concern.

As society heads into a looming economic crisis, we must ensure young men understand that accepting their place in an equal society is not just a benefit for everyone else a just and fair society will benefit them, too.

The full report Young People in a Time of Covid-19: A Fear and Hope Study of 16-24 Year Olds can be downloadedon HOPE not hates website.

Do you have a story youd like to share? Get in touch by emailing jess.austin@metro.co.uk.

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Young men are turning on feminism it's what the far-right wants - Metro.co.uk