Sexism
Sexism is the belief that women and girls aren’t as good as men and boys. It can be seen in unkind comments, mean jokes, or rules that say girls shouldn’t be allowed to do certain things just because they are girls.
It is sometimes called misogyny.
Sexism can lead to girls and women being treated unfairly, and not given the same opportunities as boys and men. This is wrong. Everyone deserves to be treated equally and with respect.
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- Social media algorithms affect the content that you see by monitoring what you engage with. Platforms interpret engagements such as likes, shares and comments as signals of interest – and any engagement, even negative responses, tell the algorithm this content is generating attention and should be shown to more people. This can dramatically increase its reach.
- You might be watching and liking videos about fitness or gaming. The algorithm then suggests related content, which can include creators who mix those topics with negative views on women and relationships. You haven’t searched for this material, but if you start engaging with it, the algorithm will continue shaping your feed with similar views – and potentially more extreme content.
- Over time, this creates a one-sided information environment with increasingly narrow views and opinions filling your online feed. Including disinformation (false and harmful information deliberately created to mislead you) where narrow perspectives are repeated and begin to feel normal or true.
- Your engagement history doesn’t just shape what you see – it can influence what your network sees too. Engaging with sexist or misogynistic content can pull more of it into your feed and potentially into the feeds of your connections.
When you like, share, or comment on sexist content:
- Your feed shows you more of the same, often increasingly extreme in content/views.
- High engagement makes harmful views appear mainstream or socially acceptable, when they are not.
- It encourages creators to produce more.
- Over time it can shape your own views of what is acceptable simply because you are seeing it more often, impacting your real-life attitudes and relationships now and in the future.
- This content can also affect how you feel about yourself. You might find yourself constantly comparing yourself to influencers – how you look, how much money you have, how popular you are – and feeling like you’re falling short, which can have an impact on your mental health.
- It can also make you feel like you need to hide emotions like sadness, fear, or vulnerability, when actually these are normal feelings that everyone experiences. You don’t have to fit into someone else’s idea of what masculinity should look like.
Sexist content is never harmless the real world impact on women and girls is significant:
- 92% of girls aged 11–21 have taken action to enhance their online safety.¹
- 3 in 4 girls aged 11–16 have seen or experienced sexism in real life.²
- 68% of girls aged 11–21 have changed everyday behaviour to avoid harassment.¹
- 86% of girls aged 11-21 have avoided going out at night or when its dark to stay safe.¹
Sexist or misogynistic content online is often part of wider harmful online spaces, meaning you may also be exposed to extreme views targeting people because of their faith, race, disability, or because they are LGBT.
- By choosing not to like, share or comment on sexist or misogynistic content, you can help stop its spread. Small actions can make a real difference.
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If you feel that your online feed has become one-sided and serving you content you are not comfortable with, there are steps you can take to change what you are seeing and bring in different content and perspectives.
- Engage differently: Stop liking, commenting on, or sharing content you want to see less of. Use the “not interested” or “show less like this” options when they appear on posts.
- Seek different perspectives: Follow accounts with varied viewpoints and engage positively with this content to train the algorithm.
- Protect yourself: If content makes you feel angry, anxious, or upset – pause. Block accounts or report posts.
- Reset your algorithm: Clear your watch and search history in the app settings. Some platforms allow full recommendation resets, or to block certain words from appearing on your feed. Consider using a fresh account.
- Look at the accounts you are following: Unfollow, mute, or block accounts that flood your feed with repetitive content. Tick the “following” tab rather than “for you” or algorithmically sorted feed.
- Take breaks: Less scrolling reduces the algorithm’s ability to learn your habits and push you further into a content bubble. Feeds respond to changed behaviour, but it can take time and consistency.
- Being online is a big part of life, but it’s important to balance online time with real-world connections. If what you are seeing or experiencing online feels overwhelming or unhealthy, please reach out. You’re not alone. Talk to a trusted adult – it’s the first step, and you can work out what to do next together.
- There are also many organisations out there who can help you and support you.
- If you are concerned about online content that directly involves you such as intimate image abuse, reach out to someone you trust, whether that be a friend, a parent, a teacher or neighbour or call the police directly on 111 or 999.
Sharing or threatening to share intimate images without consent is a crime.
- If you are a parent reading this and you would like to find out more information about talking to your children about sexism and misogyny and get advice on how to start the conversation visit ParentClub.scot/misogyny.