Beyond social media, the burden of dismantling systems of oppression shouldn't fall to those most affected by them — but all too often, it does. Tackling male violence means fighting misogyny on a societal level. That means educating boys and men about masculinity, gender roles, male entitlement, and their behaviour towards women and girls in all contexts, public or private.
Women are criticised every day for the way they speak. And since terms like upspeak and vocal fry first entered the popular lexicon a few years ago, it's only gotten worse. The buzzwords — which once described non-gender-specific speech patterns — have become yet another weapon used to silence women who dare to voice opinions.
The crux of our differences seems to lie in what we consider constitutes sexual harassment. Recent research conducted by YouGov found that older British women viewed certain behaviours as acceptable, while younger women deemed them inappropriate. Wolf-whistling proved to be the most divisive behaviour, with 74 percent of 18-24 year olds, and 59 percent of 25-39 year olds considering it inappropriate. But, four in 10 women over 55 say wolf-whistling is acceptable, and 27 percent even said it was flattering. Among the other behaviours—including winking, comments on attractiveness, and lower-back touching—older women were more likely to say they didn't have any strong feelings about those behaviours, while younger women were likelier to find them inappropriate.