The British television drama “Adolescence,” which immediately topped Netflix’s charts with its recent debut, follows the events surrounding the murder of a teenage girl and the investigation of the protagonist and perpetrator. It is a show that, at its core, tackles the increasing prevalence of toxic masculinity in culture, especially how it affects the upcoming generation of teenage boys. The show’s complex, unique storytelling of an otherwise sensitive topic has sparked conversation across the Internet about the actual weight of this problem. Are we truly aware of the extent to which toxic masculinity influences society?

The so-called “manosphere,” an unofficial term for the subculture and collection of toxic online media promoting masculinity and opposition to feminism, that “Adolescence” alludes to is a part of the Internet that often flies under the radar of those concerned with content exposure. Manosphere influencers—Andrew Tate is one of the most prominent examples of these—who characterize themselves through misogynistic views and blatant sexism are reaching and radicalizing a disproportionate amount of young men.

The violence carried out by the show’s protagonist is a real problem, according to UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer after he watched the show with his 16-year-old son. Indeed, especially in the United Kingdom, knife crime targeted towards women increased by about 4.4% in the last year. Starmer, alongside the show’s co-directors, in order to address the pressing matter, advocated to screen the show in schools across the United Kingdom, stating the importance of tackling the widespread issue. In fact, the UK recently made the show free usage across secondary schools.

Obviously, people responded to this show with conflicting opinions. Specifically, the show itself faces backlash for normalizing the villainization of young men. After all, the show is a work of fiction.

Yes, while “Adolescence” does depict what seems to be an extreme case of sexist idealism—a sort of  “worst case scenario”—these cases are entirely real as it stands. The existence of shows discussing the influence of toxic masculinity is already a step forward to ensuring that extreme cases never have the chance to happen and that fiction stays fiction. 

Toxic masculinity should absolutely be a topic that younger generations, both men and women, should be aware of. And while it may not be necessary to require its showing in schools, parents definitely need to be prepared to have conversations about it with their children. Though this topic might be labeled as sensitive or considered as less extreme, it doesn’t make it any less relevant.

The views in this column do not necessarily reflect the views of the HiLite staff. Reach Catherine Guo at [email protected].