Go to main content
Formats
Format
BibTeX
MARCXML
TextMARC
MARC
DataCite
DublinCore
EndNote
NLM
RefWorks
RIS

Files

Abstract

Concerns about the influence of misogynistic social media content on adolescent boys have become increasingly urgent in U.S. education, yet little research has examined how American high school teachers are responding to this growing epidemic. While studies from Australia, the United Kingdom, and Canada have explored school-based responses to online misogyny and sexist behavior, this thesis addresses a significant gap in the U.S. context. Based on 17 in-depth interviews with high school teachers in the Chicagoland area, this study investigates how educators perceive the influence of popular male social media influencers (“Manfluencers”) amongst boys, what they observe in the classroom, and how they respond. While most teachers acknowledged that online misogyny was shaping boys' behavior and beliefs, their responses varied dramatically, shaped less by any shared framework or school policy than by their own identities, pedagogical orientations, and institutional constraints. Teachers differed on whether they saw misogyny as widespread or isolated, on their ability to respond, or whether it was part of their teaching responsibility to act at all. This variation reveals a deeper absence of institutional coordination as well as a lack of consensus about the nature of the problem itself. While some teachers proposed mandatory gender curricula or other types of interventions, others avoided engagement altogether. Beyond a simple binary of punitive versus restorative responses, this thesis argues teachers are navigating a broader landscape of uncertainty—one marked by unclear expectations and uneven support. Addressing this gap demands not just better resources, but a whole-school reorientation grounded in care, community, and social justice.

Details

from
to
Export