Fears the ‘algorithm of disrespect’ is changing the way boys look at girls

There are fears the growing use of misogynistic content on social media could lead to an increase of violence and abuse against women. Here’s what parents need to look out for.

It may sound like an alien language to most parents, but experts fear misogynistic slang like ‘beta boi’, ‘simp’, ‘gyatt’, ‘alpha’ and ‘negging’ being used by teens is creating a culture of gender disrespect that could even lead to sexual violence and abuse.

Experts say children are hearing these insults on social media and gaming sites and that these terms and other words depicting sexual violence are becoming normalised.

In May, three students from Yarra Valley Grammar in Melbourne were suspended after creating a spreadsheet rating the attractiveness of female students in a list under the headings “wifeys”, “cuties” and “unrapeable”.

Melinda Tankard-Reist from Collective Shout, a movement against the objectification of women and the sexualisation of girls, said boys were learning a sense of entitlement from online influences and acting them out on girls and female teachers.

She said it wasn’t just new words that are being bandied about, but also old ones.

Melinda Tankard Reist from campaign group Collective Shout. Picture: NCA Newswire/Gary Ramage

“Words, whether they are new or old, are still being weaponised against females,” Ms Tankard Reist.

“Girls are still being called ugly and hearing sexist comments made about their bodies.

“Female teachers are telling us they are being called the ‘c word’, one in a NSW state school told me she was called that word every day. Another said that a boy told her she had a mouth that belonged on Porn Hub’.”

Stop it at the Start, a Government campaign targeting kids aged 10 to 17 and their parents, is hoping to show how quickly a child can find themselves falling into an algorithm of disrespect online, which can lead to gendered violence.

Associate Dean, Interaction, Technology & Information at RMIT Dr Dana Mckay said the algorithm of social media platforms promotes misogynistic and violent content to young males, even if they don’t really engage with it.

“People are experiencing an entrenching of views due to what the algorithm shows them,” Dr Mckay said.

She said research found four in 10 Australian young men feel very constrained by rigid gender roles, promoted by the likes of social media influencer Andrew Tate.

His reputation is based on him being an ‘alpha’ male, someone who is dominant in their relationships, but the term also promotes aggression and reinforces harmful stereotypes about masculinity. Many young males believe this is the idealised version of a man.

In contrast a ‘beta’ male is someone who is less dominant and is used as an insult, likewise a ‘simp’ is someone who is subservient to women in order to win her affection.

“Boys are under a lot of pressure to engage in these hyper masculine identities,” Dr Mckay said.

It is hoped that the Government’s push to ban social media to kids under 16, following News Corp’s campaign Let Them Be Kids, will help reduce some of these negative influences.

Shaynna Blaze, who has spoken out about family violence which comes in many forms, is backing the Government's Stop it at the Start campaign, aimed at shining a light on the harmful influences being pushed to young people on social media about gendered disrespect. Picture: Supplied

TV personality Shaynna Blaze, who has spoken out about her experiences of domestic violence, is backing the campaign, warning kids are learning “how a man should be, how a boy should act” from social media.

She has previously spoken about her own experience of domestic violence and how it comes in many forms, verbal, coercive, physical and financial control, and when it happened to her she didn’t know how to handle it.

“It’s up to us as a community to speak up and be present and not let things pass us by,” Ms Blaze said.

Originally published as Fears the ‘algorithm of disrespect’ is changing the way boys look at girls