The Rise of the Femosphere: Who Are the Women Giving Up on Men? (Dr Jilly Kay)
5/14/202651 min
Are young men and women being pushed further apart? Recent polling by Merlin Strategies for the New Statesman suggests a growing divide: Gen Z women are less likely than their male peers to describe themselves as “happy”, “ambitious”, “excited” or “fulfilled, and only 35% of women under 25 say they have a positive view of men. Professor of Media and Communications at Loughborough University, Dr Jilly Kay argues that digital platforms are accelerating a new era of gender polarisation. In this special edition of Radical, guest hosted by historian and academic Dr Eliza Filby, Jilly explains why she coined the term “femosphere” to describe online communities in which women are encouraged to see men as inherently problematic, avoid casual dating, and exploit male attention for financial gain. Jilly and Eliza explore why a generation raised online feels increasingly powerless amid economic insecurity and social fragmentation, and ask what solutions might exist for a culture shaped by pessimism, alienation and division.
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First 90 secondsEliza Filby· Host0:00
[upbeat music] Hello, it's Eliza Filby here, and welcome to Radical, conversations about the global trends changing our world and radical ideas for the future. Amal's away for a few weeks, yes, doing Traitors, so there will be a few of us sitting in for him in the meantime. I'm an author and historian who specializes in generational change, and as some of you may remember, I've also been a previous guest on Radical. And speaking of generational change, that brings us onto our topic this week because something I'm fascinated by is the radical change that's happening amongst young women. Recent surveys indicate that young women's perspectives on politics, economics, work, and especially sex, dating, and relationships differ sharply from those of men. Let me give you some examples from recent polling done by Merlin Strategy for the New Statesman. So Gen Z women are far less likely to say that they feel happy, ambitious, excited, and fulfilled than their male peers. 48% of young men believe the economy works well for people like them, but that's compared to just 34% of young women. And 60% of the young women polled said they would find it difficult to date someone who had a different view on Gaza. For those with a different view on Donald Trump, it was 74%. And only 35%