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The online conversation about feminism and gender equality has taken a sharp rightward turn, according to NO FILTER, an analysis recently released by LLYC that looked at 8.5 million posts on X across 12 countries. The report’s launch coincides with International Women's Day (March 8).
Half of the posts about feminism that the study examined took a negative stance toward it, and searches for “equality” and “feminism” were down by 40 percent and 50 percent respectively over the past three years.
Perhaps even more striking is the monolithic quality of the anti-feminist commenters. In countries such as Chile, Spain and the US, the study found that three-quarters (75 percent) of those opposed to feminism came from “highly homogenized communities.” In Brazil and the US, an even greater number (85 percent) of anti-feminist commenters exhibited ties to right-wing or far-right ideologies.
The tone of that opposition is becoming increasingly harsh. “On X,” the study authors note, “detractors resort to ridicule and exaggeration to portray feminism as extremist, employing a satirical and sectarian tone that hinders dialogue.”
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Pro-feminist commenters, in 60 percent of the countries surveyed, were found to exhibit both greater diversity and a wider range of opinions. That variety, the study says, correlates with a lessened sense of hostility and an increased openness to dialogue.
The anti-feminist crowd had several prominent complaints. The major gripe: Feminism is a radical cause. Close to a quarter (22 percent) of them link feminism to public figures, ideologies and left-wing political interests that they find incompatible with their identities.
Another is the idea that feminism results in unjust advantages, giving women “preferential treatment.” The study counters that narrative by saying that women hold only 25 percent of executive positions, meaning that the glass ceiling is still firmly in place.
In addition, 17 percent of antifeminist commenters view feminism as a threat to family and traditional values, while 15 percent believe it undermines what they see as the natural hierarchy of women’s roles.
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| Luisa Garcia |
One possible way to battle the trend toward increasing anti-feminism online, could be to prioritize raising feminism’s profile in the world at large. The study notes that “in countries where feminism is more prominent in the public agenda, the conversation is more diverse and moderate.”
"The report makes it clear: feminist and anti-feminist groups are becoming more polarized, driven by the radicalization of the debate itself, political shifts, and identity crises in certain communities," says Luisa García, LLYC global CEO of corporate affairs and lead coordinator of the study. "But the data also shows that feminism has been unfairly stigmatized, and the idea that we 'talk about equality too much' simply doesn't hold up. In reality, the conversation has stalled, and we risk losing the hard-fought progress we've made. The digital noise and a system that thrives on conflict shouldn't distract us from what really matters."
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