Bioessentialism is defined as “the belief that people’s most important characteristics are controlled by biology and cannot change.” A core belief of bioessentialism is that individuals are designed a certain way based on their assigned sex at birth, reinforcing stereotypes such as men being inherently violent and women being inherently nurturing.
Although bioessentialism is not widely accepted as an accurate understanding of human behavior, gender wars on social media often use bioessentialist rhetoric to perpetuate harmful stereotypes. Recent trends on social media have created distinct social media spaces where negativity is spewed. Pink pill claims to support feminism but instead infantilizes women, and incels promote the belief that females have an unfair advantage in society. Bioessentialism pits men and women against each other and allows individuals to blame supposed inherent biological traits to avoid taking accountability for harmful acts.
Gender wars are social and political conflicts between men and women that cause division. Online, influencers use anecdotal experiences about individuals to make harmful generalizations about all men or women, alienating viewers from each other in the process. Misogynistic and misandrist rhetoric is amplified through social media channels, including short-form videos and podcasts, which allows overgeneralized beliefs to cause division.
“It’s very easy to spread misinformation and disinformation, and it’s very easy to spew hate and to get people to jump on that bigotry train with you,” said Madee Puente-Bonilla, a dual master’s student in women’s and gender studies and information studies.
Engaging with content featuring this language pushes social media users into echo chambers, which can reinforce their negative beliefs about the opposite sex. Instead of encouraging nuanced perspectives, echo chambers allow individuals to be close-minded and only view content that agrees with what they constantly interact with.
Individuals often resonate with social media posts about negative experiences with the opposite sex, making it easy to support talking points that aim to portray all men or women in a certain light. Rhetoric that intends to characterize individuals based on their gender can lead to a repeating cycle of negativity that prevents unity.
“I think people aren’t aware of how much they impact other people with hateful language,” sociology PhD candidate Carly Young said. “I think sometimes we’re taught to just let things roll off our backs and get over it really quickly, but you don’t know when someone has gone through severe trauma.”
However, it is important to evaluate people as individuals. Although social media makes it easier for people with strong opinions about men or women to resort to preconceived notions based on sex, remember that not every person is the same. To avoid getting sucked into online gender-based negativity, it’s important to understand intersectional perspectives. Gender exists in the context of various factors such as race and class, reinforcing that individuals should not be reduced to one aspect of their identity.
Socialized gender norms may make it seem as though all men or women reinforce certain stereotypes. However, these debates often only exist online. When coming across content that perpetuates hate, make sure you aren’t giving in to stereotypes. Who someone is as a person says more than their gender.
Sayed is a health and society major from Frisco, Texas.
