Maiden Mother Matriarch with Louise Perry The radicalisation of young women | Maiden Mother Matriarch 195
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May 10, 2026 
Emily Lawford, New Statesman online editor who reported on the 'femosphere', and Scarlett Maguire, pollster and founder of Merlin Strategy, discuss radicalisation among young British women. They cover survey findings showing leftward shifts and economic pessimism. They examine online communities, pandemic isolation, changing social lives, hostility toward men, Gaza's emotional impact, and class and education divides.
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Fieldwork Found Protests And Societies Dominated By Young Women
- Emily Lawford found activist spaces overwhelmingly dominated by young women when she observed protests, Palestine marches, union events and a Leeds Feminist Society book swap.
- She reported near-absence of young white men and frequent scenes where women outnumbered men at rallies and craft events.
Misandry Normalised As Casual Conversation In Activist Spaces
- Negative casual remarks about men are normalized in these female-dominated activist spaces and treated as rational responses.
- Emily observed women describing boyfriends as 'a Labrador' and criticizing men in protests as attention-seeking.
Pandemic Isolation And Social Media Created Echo Chambers
- The internet and COVID isolation amplified siloed echo chambers that radicalised under-25 women online.
- Emily linked pandemic-era online time to more calcified feeds where progressive content and moral outrage circulate intensively.