Not men vs women but expanding freedom: Three ways to address anti-feminist agendas

It’s a difficult period for the feminist movement. Space has opened up in public life for people who argue, very loudly, that efforts to level the playing field for women have come at the expense of men.

Many political parties don’t merely neglect women’s interests – they put anti-feminism at the forefront of their agenda. There are strong powers at play, pitting women against men.

The question, then, is what can be done? Here are three starting points.

1. End the ‘backlash’ narrative

Anyone interested in equality needs to fight back against those pushing a narrative that claims misogyny and backlash against feminism is inevitable or the norm. It is in fact only a small fraction of the population who feel this way. Most young men support women’s rights.

For example, a survey my colleagues and I ran in 2024 found that 16% of young men in the UK aged 16-29 believe that feminism has done more harm than good, but more than double that number (36%) think it has done more good to the world. Similarly, 36% of young men say feminism has not gone far enough, while only 18% think it has gone too far.

Humans are social animals. We are influenced by what we perceive as the accepted norm. This is why it is vital...

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