“Stop Being so Fkn Soft”: Masculinity, Politics, and the Acceptance of Gender-Based Online Violence Myths Among Young Canadian Men
Defining manhood is a critical concern in contemporary politics, especially due to its increasing role in shaping cultural narratives toward gender-based violence—and in particular, toward gender-based technology-facilitated violence and abuse (GBTFVA). In this context, this study investigates how p...
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| Main Authors: | , , , , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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SAGE Publishing
2025-07-01
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| Series: | Social Media + Society |
| Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.1177/20563051251358754 |
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| author | Esteban Morales Jaigris Hodson Yimin Chen Kaitlynn Mendes George Veletsianos Chandell Gosse |
| author_facet | Esteban Morales Jaigris Hodson Yimin Chen Kaitlynn Mendes George Veletsianos Chandell Gosse |
| author_sort | Esteban Morales |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Defining manhood is a critical concern in contemporary politics, especially due to its increasing role in shaping cultural narratives toward gender-based violence—and in particular, toward gender-based technology-facilitated violence and abuse (GBTFVA). In this context, this study investigates how political affiliation influences perceptions of GBTFVA among young Canadian men. To explore this, we draw on a survey of 1297 young Canadian men who align themselves with ideological affiliations across the political spectrum. Overall, our results show that political ideologies matter when understanding who enacts and sustains GBTFVA, as they significantly shape attitudes toward gender-based violence in digital spaces. Moreover, while we note that conservative participants displayed higher acceptance of GBTFVA myths than their liberal counterparts (such as She wanted it and She asked for it ), findings show that these harmful narratives are endorsed in different yet meaningful ways throughout all ideological affiliations. Furthermore, we found that one myth— It wasn’t really gender-based online abuse —is similarly endorsed across all political affiliations, thus highlighting the scope of these narratives that diminish the experience of targets across political discourses. By illuminating these intersections, this study provides valuable insights into the cultural and ideological underpinnings of GBTFVA, offering leverage points for societal change and prevention efforts. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-c5f2abdc5b4c4addbacd4af15ec3d2db |
| institution | Kabale University |
| issn | 2056-3051 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2025-07-01 |
| publisher | SAGE Publishing |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Social Media + Society |
| spelling | doaj-art-c5f2abdc5b4c4addbacd4af15ec3d2db2025-08-20T03:51:13ZengSAGE PublishingSocial Media + Society2056-30512025-07-011110.1177/20563051251358754“Stop Being so Fkn Soft”: Masculinity, Politics, and the Acceptance of Gender-Based Online Violence Myths Among Young Canadian MenEsteban Morales0Jaigris Hodson1Yimin Chen2Kaitlynn Mendes3George Veletsianos4Chandell Gosse5University of Groningen, The NetherlandsRoyal Roads University, CanadaRoyal Melbourne Institute of Technology, AustraliaWestern University, CanadaUniversity of Minnesota Twin Cities, USACape Breton University, CanadaDefining manhood is a critical concern in contemporary politics, especially due to its increasing role in shaping cultural narratives toward gender-based violence—and in particular, toward gender-based technology-facilitated violence and abuse (GBTFVA). In this context, this study investigates how political affiliation influences perceptions of GBTFVA among young Canadian men. To explore this, we draw on a survey of 1297 young Canadian men who align themselves with ideological affiliations across the political spectrum. Overall, our results show that political ideologies matter when understanding who enacts and sustains GBTFVA, as they significantly shape attitudes toward gender-based violence in digital spaces. Moreover, while we note that conservative participants displayed higher acceptance of GBTFVA myths than their liberal counterparts (such as She wanted it and She asked for it ), findings show that these harmful narratives are endorsed in different yet meaningful ways throughout all ideological affiliations. Furthermore, we found that one myth— It wasn’t really gender-based online abuse —is similarly endorsed across all political affiliations, thus highlighting the scope of these narratives that diminish the experience of targets across political discourses. By illuminating these intersections, this study provides valuable insights into the cultural and ideological underpinnings of GBTFVA, offering leverage points for societal change and prevention efforts.https://doi.org/10.1177/20563051251358754 |
| spellingShingle | Esteban Morales Jaigris Hodson Yimin Chen Kaitlynn Mendes George Veletsianos Chandell Gosse “Stop Being so Fkn Soft”: Masculinity, Politics, and the Acceptance of Gender-Based Online Violence Myths Among Young Canadian Men Social Media + Society |
| title | “Stop Being so Fkn Soft”: Masculinity, Politics, and the Acceptance of Gender-Based Online Violence Myths Among Young Canadian Men |
| title_full | “Stop Being so Fkn Soft”: Masculinity, Politics, and the Acceptance of Gender-Based Online Violence Myths Among Young Canadian Men |
| title_fullStr | “Stop Being so Fkn Soft”: Masculinity, Politics, and the Acceptance of Gender-Based Online Violence Myths Among Young Canadian Men |
| title_full_unstemmed | “Stop Being so Fkn Soft”: Masculinity, Politics, and the Acceptance of Gender-Based Online Violence Myths Among Young Canadian Men |
| title_short | “Stop Being so Fkn Soft”: Masculinity, Politics, and the Acceptance of Gender-Based Online Violence Myths Among Young Canadian Men |
| title_sort | stop being so fkn soft masculinity politics and the acceptance of gender based online violence myths among young canadian men |
| url | https://doi.org/10.1177/20563051251358754 |
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