In the recent words of Nikki Minaj, “Boys will be boys and there’s nothing wrong with that.” Misogyny is not a new phenomenon, rather an ancient code of conduct held up by the men who treat the patriarchy as their God. The pin up skirts, hair perfectly tucked away and dinner on the table have been long-standing subtle control mechanisms men have masterfully created throughout time. This rhetoric of a woman knowing her place, her body just a vessel and her rights conditional should be something Gen Z strays away from. At least, one would hope.
Disappointingly, studies have shown that younger men, who are our friends and our brothers, believe a wife should obey her husband. She is to be seen and not heard to live up to their obtuse expectations. This regression towards traditional gender roles paints the men of generations before us as liberal saints, who only demanded we look pretty at every waking hour. Of course this is an exaggeration, but the men we surround ourselves with are potentially more dangerous than we think. In the age of the performative male, perhaps they hide their true feelings surrounding obedience behind the feminist literature sticking out their back pocket.
Control exists in the minds of men, a deep-rooted entitlement to women’s minds and bodies. Yet were she to reject him, his masculinity shrinks, so he must berate her. With the likes of toxic King Andrew Tate’s manosphere, his reclaiming of masculinity exists under the guise of allowing space for men to exist without scrutiny. In actuality, he is the figurehead of young men reverting to an even more perverse kind of traditionalism. In other words, a woman wearing her collar and obeying her man.
A student I spoke with deems this to be an outsourcing of insecurity that occurs in a world devoid of healthy masculinity. I couldn’t agree more, but is this true within our university spheres? It would not only be too mechanical for students to analyse, observe and critique every move of a romantic interest. This seems unnatural. But perhaps the ideals of traditionalism don’t seep into our bubble as such right-wing views are less predominant in liberal university settings. The overt toxicity of traditionalism remains in environments where it is accepted and not reprimanded, left-wing ideologies adopted by most students acting in support of curtailing traditionalist gender ideals. This is not to say this rise in orthodoxy is combated in totality; conservatism exists in every atmosphere. However, it seems a rare occurrence students in university environments find themselves in relationships with Tate-like men.
The men of our generation think they want a submissive woman who bakes sourdough in the day and puts his children to bed at night. Yet they deem an unambitious woman lazy and unworthy of his attention. Once again, men are having their cake and eating it too. The Boomers were upfront in their misogyny, yet our men love to find creative methods to conceal their thoughts. Whilst this is an enraging reality, the university bubble serves as a kind of utopia. Such issues are understood as critical outside of limited experience making them not as prevalent within university life. Rather complaints about the price of an oat latte are made. You win some, you lose some.
Photo by Brooke Cagle on Unsplash.