Gender equality can never truly be achieved. Humans are not born equal, physically. On average, men are bigger and stronger than the average woman. Not to mention socially, we live in a society where from the moment life is conceived, specific stereotypes and attitudes are placed on them before they have the chance to form a personality or even gain consciousness. The blame does not lie in the general population, these unconscious biases have formed over thousands of generations of history. Gender roles are so ingrained in society that they cannot be resolved over a few decades. Since it took thousands of years to form these mindsets, it will take thousands of years to replace them. However, this does not mean it is not important to fight for gender equality. It will never be achieved within my lifetime but it is possible to make large progress towards it. 

Within the past few decades, attitudes towards women have changed massively. There is a long way to go but the world has already moved a long way forward. Women’s rights and how they are viewed has changed positively in a significant way; it is also important to note that some forms of sexism are not gone, only evolved. For example, women have gained the right to have abortions, the right to vote and have more freedom to choose what they wear and what they do with their lives. On the other hand, sexism in the media has evolved from newspapers and caricatures to formats that reach even wider audiences than before such as infamous podcasts and memes. Feminism and Sexism evolve alongside each other, with new technology like the internet, they are able to influence wider audiences and spread information (or misinformation in many cases). The evolution and new, more prominent global connection of communities has birthed an even louder, more visible wave of feminism and has simultaneously created a wider platform for misogyny to spread stereotypes and attack women. 

The older generation often claims that the youth of our time is 'brainwashed' by social media, while this is certainly true, I find that many fail to realise that they suffer a similar fate. In my personal experience, I have observed that both age groups fall prey to the blatant disinformation that circulates around the internet, particularly on political issues. One such example is podcasts. Podcasts are a new form of spreading misogyny and creating an attractive narrative for both older men and young boys. Figures such as Andrew Tate, appeal to teenage boys as they have created the idea of 'alpha males'. These are historically traditional gender roles wearing a different hat. The ideals that podcasters are preaching such as women belonging in the home and that women that sleep with many men are 'impure' or prostitutes are, in fact, unoriginal ideas that go back as far as the ancient Greek times. These influential figures are appealing to male egos, they claim that men are superior and women are made to be subservient. They encourage physical and verbal violence against women. Unfortunately, this behaviour has real world effects, school teachers are reporting boys as young as 12 making misogynistic comments to female classmates. They are repeating words and ideas that they themselves do not fully comprehend the meaning or ramifications of. Small scale comments have the potential to become a much bigger threat to women in the future when these young boys grow into men who have the ability to vote or even create this kind of media themselves.

On the other hand, it reinforces ideas that adult men already had, they use the disinformation spread by 'alpha male' podcasts to justify their own sexist beliefs about gender roles. Much like boys, men choose to believe anything that boosts or 'proves' any opinions they currently hold. While they are not the future generation, this still has a long term effect, these men are fathers, uncles, older brothers, mentors etc to the younger generations, they can further spread these dangerous, misogynistic opinions outside of the internet. In addition, this will affect how they treat women around them, or even young girls. It can worsen an already bad attitude. Being more experienced does not exclude one from the effects of indoctrination formed by the media. 

Alongside the 'alpha male' archetype, a new form of misogynist has been created in recent decades, incels and 'nice guys'. Incels or involuntary celibates are men who have blamed their sexual inexperience and lack of lovelife on women instead of themselves. They claim to be 'nice guys' and complain that women only want men who treat them badly. This, of course, is a delusion they have created to avoid facing the fact that their failures with women are due to their own nasty personalities. In a way, it is more dangerous than 'alpha males' as they have formed a 'justification' for their hatred towards women and truly believe that their resentment and spite is fully justified. In the past, women were not at liberty to be selective with the men they married, due to restrictions in education and the workplace and societal pressures they had no choice but to rely on a husband to survive. Even further back in the past (only in the past 200 years), their fathers chose their husbands often when women were young girls who had not yet formed proper opinions or had any experience of the world. Nowadays, in most countries women can find jobs without needing to marry a man which has resulted in being able to have higher standards. This means most women no longer have to settle for unpleasant men which is a huge step forward for feminism. Incels took this personally. The concept of incels is built on a victim complex that dictates that incels are victims to the bad choices made by women. The creation of 'incels' gives men, who already felt angered by their romantic inexperience, the opportunity to find a community of like-minded men who will only encourage and increase a resentment that already existed. The existence of incels places the blame on women for the unpleasantness and misfortunes of men. Again, this is not new, the ancient Greeks believed the first woman was created as a punishment for men, Pandora, the first woman, marked the end of peace and happiness, she released all the badness into the world like death and disease. The ancient Greek poet, Hesiod, claimed women were inherently evil and made worse by their ability to bear children as it meant men needed to keep them around to continue humanity. Recycled and renewed reasons to oppress women is a recurring theme. Sexists have been using the same arguments for thousands of years, they are not founded in logic only hatred and the need for control. They may have been dressed up in modern language and displayed on modern platforms but they are built on the same foundations. 

Amongst the constant harassment and outrageously sexist comments that are in a frightening abundance, we must also recognise all the good that has come out of the internet. As well as sexist male role models, feminist role models have emerged. Women can now speak to a wider audience about their stories and opinions. These women include people like Malala, who has been vocal about girls' education especially in countries with fewer opportunities for girls, and the powerful me too movement which revealed the abuse of power within artistic industries such as movies and music. Not to mention the body positivity movement, that encourages all genders to love their bodies and exposes the falseness of social media. Women have more freedom of speech than they have ever had before, they can freely express their experiences. Previously, the only forms of media were newspapers or books, in these times women, amongst other minorities, struggled to make themselves heard. Girls' education has only been taken seriously more recently so they can express their opinions more articulately, in a way that they will get taken seriously. 

To avoid falling for misinformation, check every source, even from feminists. Both sides spread misinformation to benefit and elevate their opinions. Navigating a world of deepfakes, AI and photo and video editing is confusing and everything has to be double checked. Society has entered a new era where the world is deeply connected, some may say too connected, and terrifying figures that threaten minorities are emerging. On the other hand, there is a new level of freedom of speech and expression available to everyone that means minorities, such as women, can be just as loud as men or even louder. Women are no longer limited by newspapers not publishing their ideas, they can express them on as many platforms as men. In an ever changing world, feminism is changing just as quickly. As younger generations tend to lean left, will sexism still be able to keep up decades from now?