Teenagers’ relationship to gender and gender relations in the post #MeToo era

At a time when the government has unveiled a “plan against infertility” to boost the birth rate, is the desire to have children still as unanimous among young people as it was in the past? In the post #MeToo context, have relations between the sexes become so rigid as to increase the “gender gap” in teenagers’ relationship with feminism? Does the weight of religion among some young people encourage the maintenance of misogynistic or homophobic stereotypes? To gain a better understanding of these young people at the age of high school, Ifop conducted a major survey for Elle among girls and boys aged 15, 16 and 17 today. Based on a representative sample of 1,028 teenagers aged 15 to 17 living in mainland France, the survey reveals a generation that combines societal progressivism with personal values, often shaped by their social environment and religious convictions.nn10 KEY FIGURESnnAppetence for parenthood clearly down on the 1980sn1 – Only 57% of 15- to 17-year-olds say they want to have children, a significantly lower figure than 40 years ago, when 77% of young people of the same age expressed this desire. The gender gap remains limited – 55% of boys versus 61% of girls – but varies greatly according to the degree of feminism: 31% of “very feminist” girls don’t want to have children, three times as many as non-feminists (12%).nnA relationship with feminism that varies according to gendernn2 – While the majority of teenagers declare themselves to be feminists (61%), this overall figure masks a yawning divide between the sexes. Indeed, while feminism is a conviction shared by three-quarters of 15-17 year-old girls (77%), fewer than one in two boys (45%) claim a feminist sensibility. And among boys of this age, the rejection of feminism is particularly prevalent among young people from the most working-class backgrounds (62% of those with a working-class parent, 65% of residents of working-class suburbs) and the most religious (63% of practicing Catholics, 74% of Muslims).nn3 – More than one in two young people say they are concerned about defending women’s rights (57%), but the gender gap is pronounced: 69% of girls say they are worried about their rights, compared with 45% of boys. Logically, the most feminist teenagers are also the most concerned.nn4 – Religious youth are more likely to adhere to misogynistic stereotypes. Thus, 44% of religious believers believe that feminists “hate men” (versus 36% of atheists), and more than one in two young religious believers (53%) consider that a married woman should take her husband’s name (versus 26% of atheists). Similarly, 31% of young Muslims feel that, for a couple to work, the man often has to make the decisions (17% of Catholics and 8% of young people with no religion).nn5 – LGBTphobic stereotypes also persist among the most religious young people. 62% of young Muslims believe that homosexuals should avoid showing their orientation in public. Furthermore, 40% of religious believers consider that homosexual couples should not be allowed to raise children (26% of non-religious believers and 13% of atheists). Finally, more than one in ten young people consider that violence against homosexuals is sometimes understandable (13%), a figure that rises to 23% among young Muslims.nnYoung people at the age of a new discovery of the other sexnn6 – The vast majority of teenagers have friendships with people of the opposite sex: 90% of young people say they have at least one friend of the opposite sex.nn7 – Today, boys are perceived by girls as less “cool” (-9 points), less kind (-7 points) and above all less romantic (-17 points) than 25 years ago, while pejorative adjectives remain fairly stable: macho (+3 points), aggressive (+2 points) and violent (+2 points).nn8 – #Metoo has left a noticeable mark on seduction between teenagers. One young person in two feels that it has become more difficult to seduce since #MeToo. There is a slight disparity between the sexes: 44% of girls and 56% of boys share this sentiment.nn9 – For 46% of young people, it’s better to be a boy than a girl in society, compared to 65% of adults. Only 7% think it’s better to be a girl (versus 9% among adults), while 47% think there’s no difference (26% among adults). Slightly more girls than boys think it’s better to be a boy (50% vs. 42%).nn10 – The notion of respecting consent is unanimously shared: 96% of teenagers aged 15 to 17 consider it essential, with no notable difference between girls and boysnnnFRANCOIS KRAUS’ VIEW OF THE STUDYnnThe results of this survey highlight the effect of progressive discourse on a “Metoo generation” that rejects injunctions to motherhood, heterosexuality and traditional, even patriarchal marital models much more than their parents did at the same age. However, behind this facade of unanimity lurks a wide gender divide between young girls who are overwhelmingly progressive and boys who are clearly more conservative, a divide fuelled by masculinist attitudes that are particularly prevalent in the most working-class and/or religious environments. In this survey, as in others, the return of religion observed among young people appears to be undeniably linked to a rejection of progressive discourse in favor of women or LGBT people.