Impacts of the #MenAreTrash Movement on DLSU Grade 12 Students’ Perspective on Feminism

• Main Authors: David, Alyssa Lorine P., Delos Reyes, Maureene Gem Q., Kabashima, Ken Rainier O., Pangilinan, Caezer Kyle G.
• Format: text
• Published: Animo Repository 2022
• Subjects: #MenAreTrash; feminism; youth; exposure; perception; Arts and Humanities
• Online Access: https://animorepository.dlsu.edu.ph/conf_shsrescon/2022/poster_ghi/1; https://animorepository.dlsu.edu.ph/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1150&context=conf_shsrescon
• Institution: De La Salle University

Protected attributes such as race, gender, and sexual orientation cause widespread controversy due to discrimination. As a result, people worldwide gather and form social movements to target inequalities that have caused the marginalized and vulnerable groups harm, as seen in the feminist movement. However, it has been observed that certain areas of the feminist movement are more radical than others, wherein their strategies mainly focus on more divisive feminist goals. This paper aims to tackle the radical movement of the #MenAreTrash, and whether Grade 12 students of De La Salle University from the Philippines are exposed to this phenomenon. Moreover, the students' feminist attitudes and feminist identities were collected and analyzed to determine whether that exposure affects either trait. Through the One-Way ANOVA, at least 300 students had their exposure and perception of feminism measured to find a link between exposure to the #MenAreTrash and a shift in feminist attitudes and feminist identities. The study found that the quantity of one's exposure to the #MenAreTrash significantly impacts their feminist attitudes and feminist identity; however, the quality of that exposure does not. In conclusion, the rise of radical strategies within the feminist movements such as #MenAreTrash can severely affect their critical mass in so far as feminists and outside parties change their perception towards feminism given frequent exposure to such progressive ideas.