Digital Youth Work on Anti-Feminist Narratives

The project "Digital Youth Work on Anti-Feminist Narratives" started from the observation that anti-feminist, sexist, and misogynistic narratives circulate on social media, specifically targeting young men. Misogynistic influencers suggest to vulnerable youth the opportunity for quick success – both financially and sexually – and in doing so spread dangerous stereotypical images of aggressive masculinity and female subordination. Against this backdrop, the project was testing whether and with which strategies alternative narratives can be used to intervene in online spaces. It was developed and implemented in close collaboration between social science and social work. In contrast to argumentative counter-arguments against hateful discourse, alternative narratives employ positive messages, e.g. demonstrating new possibilities for action and developing positive images of masculinity that do not derive strength from the devaluation of others. As part of the project, alternative narratives were published on social media in the form of short video clips, and the comment sections were closely monitored. The aim was to initiate a dialogue, including with vulnerable young men who already sympathize with anti-feminist, misogynistic, and anti-queer content.

As part of the project, alternative narratives were published on social media in the form of short video clips, and the comment sections were closely monitored. The aim was to initiate a dialogue, including with vulnerable young men who already sympathize with anti-feminist, misogynistic, and anti-queer content.

Specifically, the project developed alternative narratives to anti-feminist narratives in the framework of three case studies (Pride 2024, 16 Days of Activism against Violence Against Women 2024, and International Women's Day 2025) and disseminated them on social media (TikTok and Instagram). As this was a pilot project, the focus was on testing different content-related, conceptual, and aesthetic approaches, on the close cooperation between social work and academia, and the timely evaluation of the various contributions with lessons learned being implemented in subsequent project phases. After the case studies were completed, the results were compiled into recommendations and presented to stakeholders in youth work during a workshop.

An overview of the alternative narratives developed in the project can be found here.