2026/06/08 by Richard Nennstiel, Christina Siegert · 1 voice
Social Sciences · #Gender, Feminism, and Media #Gender Roles and Identity Studies #Gender Politics and Representation
paper · doi:10.31235/osf.io/vm5gb_v1
Recent research highlights growing gender divides among younger individuals in attitudes toward gender equality and feminism, often suggesting that young men exhibit particularly high levels of modern antifeminism. This study investigates the prevalence of modern antifeminist sentiment across Europe, focusing on how gender differences vary across age groups, and contrasts these patterns with traditional antifeminism. Using Eurobarometer data from 2024, we operationalize modern antifeminism as agreement that "feminism has gone too far" and traditional antifeminism as endorsement of traditional gender roles. Results show these dimensions operate distinctly. While traditional antifeminism is consistently higher among older respondents, modern antifeminism features a wide gender gap specifically within younger age groups. Crucially, this gap is driven by young women’s exceptionally low agreement, rather than unusually high levels among young men. Furthermore, young men represent the most antifeminist demographic in only a minority of the 27 investigated countries.