by Patrick West, spiked
The ‘angry young women’ phenomenon is an inevitable outgrowth of woke identity politics.
Most people who have been paying attention will have realised by now that identity politics, which over the past 10 years reached unprecedented heights of fanaticism and compulsory observance, has had a devastating effect on race relations in the UK and throughout the West. Coercing people to label and perceive themselves on the basis of skin colour, to regard themselves as either oppressors or oppressed, has fostered division and resentment. The cumulative effect has been increased levels of racism and belligerent rancour all round, with everyone now seeing themselves as victims of prejudice.
The same thing has been taking place along the lines of sex. A narrative pushed in all arenas of society, that all men are oppressors and that masculinity is intrinsically problematic, that women are the eternal victims of ‘the patriarchy’ and that traditional feminine virtues of compassion and co-operation represent the norm and the remedy, has likewise sown discord. The emergence of ‘incels’ at the nastier end of the manosphere is the consequence of an unrelenting message sent out that men are a problem and no longer wanted.
Belatedly, it’s now becoming apparent to those of even a left-wing persuasion that identity politics has poisoned the minds of many and made society unhappier. As a much-discussed article in last week’s New Statesman has brought to grim light, a widespread hatred for the opposite sex is now being reciprocated by young women.