High school boys don’t know anything about feminism. Lots of boys say the genders are equal in society and that feminists are advocating for women to have power over men.

However, they are wrong. Feminism means equal rights for all genders.

In December 2024, people in Taiwan started boycotting McDonald’s when the company remained silent after a female worker committed suicide due to her manager’s persistent sexual assault. However, a group of students at Chien Kuo Senior High School – an all-boys school – posted a picture of them buying McDonald’s with the caption, “The world is so nice without feminism.”

After the post went viral, many people criticized the boys in the comments. However, some commenters say they were just being immature because “boys will be boys.” Other anti-feminists also supported the boys and agreed with them.

I have friends from the same high school; none thought the students had done anything wrong.

Students don’t engage with what they learn about gender equality

To many Taiwanese students, “gender equality” is a term that appears only in textbooks and on tests. Examples of gender inequality are usually things like unequal pay or forced marriage, which are issues most students don’t relate to or have to deal with. Therefore, to students, gender equality is just an abstraction. They don’t actually engage with this issue.

Gender equality issues should resonate with students to help them understand and engage. While important, examples of women from different cultures being mistreated are just sad stories to them and are not relevant to the everyday lives of Taiwanese kids.

Our education leads us to think that gender inequality is something that doesn’t affect us, so students don’t pay enough attention to sexist behavior that does happen in their everyday lives.

To engage students with gender equality, teachers should talk about issues related to students. These discussions could include information about sexual assault victims on public transportation or the unequal standards for girls’ and boys’ uniforms.

Sexism clearly exists in Taiwan, but many boys and men act like it doesn’t. We need to change that.

Stereotypes are difficult to break

Apart from online communities, boys are ignorant about feminism because of traditional gender beliefs. For example, society encourages boys not to be empathetic, which results in a lack of engagement with feminism.

Furthermore, boys who grow up in a society where the genders are not equal don’t understand how society is biased towards men. They think feminists are asking for too much and are trying to overpower men.

For example, when boys see their moms doing chores all the time, they think that women are responsible for keeping the house clean. Therefore, they will grow up thinking the same way and judge women for not “doing their job” when other women point out that this standard is unfair.

Also, to fit in with their friends, boys try to act “manly” and “tough.” They are afraid that their peers will judge them for speaking about gender issues and think they are too sensitive.

Lastly, since “boys will be boys,” people use this as a common and convenient excuse for sexist behavior.

Boys are heavily influenced by stereotypes that keep them from being empathetic, which makes them avoid feminist topics. They judge other women who refuse to fit traditional standards and think of them as too sensitive. Then boys become sexist people, and adults write it off by saying that it’s just how boys behave.

The internet misleads people

In the media, many boys and adults confuse feminism with misandry, which is inaccurate. Instead, feminism means equal rights for women and men, not one over the other.

Influencers such as Andrew Tate make “motivational” content that claims to help boys “man up.” The idea that feminism is on the rise and is a threat to masculinity makes it easy for influencers like Tate to manipulate young boys into believing sexist ideas.

Other sexist memes and slang also blur the definition of feminism, making boys think that feminists want unlimited power over men and that they need to include themselves in everything.

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High school boys should learn the actual meaning of feminism. However, most are ignorant about feminism and gender inequality due to the education they receive and the online communities they are exposed to.

Furthermore, instead of trying to “act like a man,” boys should learn that being open to different views makes you stronger. It increases your knowledge and ability to think, and shows that you aren’t easily triggered.

So, boys, try to understand an issue before turning it into a meme, and adults, please remember that it isn’t okay to let boys behave badly just because “boys will be boys.”