WALKING into the classroom, supply teacher Jody Findley stopped dead at the sight of a 12-year-old male student staring menacingly at her while brandishing a pair of scissors.
“The day before, this boy had threatened me after I asked him to put his phone away,” says Jody, 40. “He’d called me a ‘bitch’ and a ‘slag’, and said he wanted to smash my face in.”

A 12-year-old male student menacingly stared at supply teacher Jody Findley while brandishing a pair of scissors Credit: Simon Mayhew

Nearly two-thirds of adolescent boys regularly encounter ‘red pill’ – AKA anti-feminist – content on social media apps Credit: Getty Images
“I’d felt so frightened. Thankfully, a male teaching assistant stepped in and moved him away. I reported it to the school office, but the student was not suspended and, 24 hours later, I was back in a classroom with him again – and this time, he had a weapon.”
Terrified, Jody kept her distance during the lesson, staying on the opposite side of the classroom near the door in case he attacked her with the scissors. Thankfully, nothing happened – but it proved the final straw.
“Not long after, I decided to quit teaching forever,” she says. “I’ve asked myself many times how we got to this crisis point. Like many of my fellow female teachers, I don’t feel safe in the classroom any more. We’re at risk – threatened by our students.”
Jody’s experiences are not unusual. And she believes it’s linked to the growing influence of the ”manosphere” over young boys.

This toxic corner of the internet – inhabited by influencers like Andrew Tate and HSTikkyTokky – promotes masculinity, misogyny and anti-feminist views, and featured in both Netflix hit Adolescence, and the documentary Louis Theroux: Inside The Manosphere.
Violence and the objectification of women is glorified, with some of these men even arguing women should be kept as sex slaves.
Troublingly, the manosphere’s reach is extending. Originally, its core following was young adult males, but increasingly, its content is being viewed by younger boys.
Research by Common Sense Media shows that nearly two-thirds of adolescent boys regularly encounter “red pill” – AKA anti-feminist – content on social media apps such as TikTok and Instagram.

Nowhere is the impact of this drip feed of toxic content becoming more apparent than in the classroom, with teachers – of whom 76% are female – bearing the brunt.
In April, a poll by the teachers’ union NASUWT, found misogyny among pupils has risen for the fourth year running, and Matt Wrack, general secretary of the union, said there is a ”masculinity crisis” brewing in schools.
Almost a quarter of female teachers said they’d been victim to it in the past year, up from 22.2% in 2025 and 19.5% in 2024. More than a fifth said they had been subjected to sexist, racist or homophobic language.
Jody, who had always wanted to be a dance and drama teacher and qualified in 2022, is not surprised.

“Misogyny towards female staff in schools is rife,” she says. “Right now, the classroom feels dangerous. We don’t know how far these boys will take it.”
Having worked as a supply teacher in Manchester for three years, Jody says the situation got progressively worse.
“When I first started teaching, it wasn’t like it is now,” she says. “I feel like it went from zero to 100 overnight.
“Female teachers suffer a lot of microaggressions from male students. They don’t listen, refuse to follow instructions, talk over you and shout at you. I was constantly told to ‘go away’. There has been a big shift, with more violence and threats of violence. And when I told my male colleagues, they were surprised. It doesn’t happen to them. Female teachers suffer this on a daily basis.”

Toxic influencer Andrew Tate and his brother Tristan promote masculinity, misogyny and anti-feminist views Credit: AFP

In April, a poll by the teachers’ union NASUWT found misogyny among pupils has risen for the fourth year running Credit: Getty

But Jody says it’s not only teachers on the receiving end of this type of behaviour.
“A 13-year-old child I taught was suspended for telling another boy: ‘I want to rape your mum,’ but two days later he was allowed back into school. And it’s common for the boys to make sexual gestures to the girls, who then look visibly upset.”
Jody says male pupils openly talk about porn and have asked her if she knows about Bonnie Blue – the controversial adult content creator.
“These are boys aged just 11, 12 or 13. It’s shocking. I know they don’t ask male colleagues these questions. It’s very deliberately aimed at women to belittle, undermine and scare us.
“One boy had a laptop in class and was watching Andrew Tate. It’s horrifying to see this awful man influencing boys in plain sight. Schools are full of ‘mini Tates’ and it is making life hell for women.”
In June, Jody handed in her notice, and in July she quit teaching for good. Like the 3,000 female teachers who quit their job every year, she won’t return to the classroom when schools go back next month.**
”It wasn’t a hard decision,” she says. “I didn’t feel safe and my wellbeing was suffering. I stopped sleeping and I was always stressed. My mental health was so low that I needed therapy, and my therapist advised me to leave for my own sake.”
Matt Pinkett is a teacher and an expert in masculinity who is determined to fight back against the manosphere. He’s seen similar issues in classrooms himself and has written three books on the topic, the most recent called Unmasking The Manosphere.

Psychologist Dr Louise Goddard-Crawley says it’s important to remember that the vast majority of schoolboys aren’t misogynistic Credit: Supplied

Matt Pinkett addresses misogyny in schools Credit: Supplied by Matt Pinkett

“Most of what I see in school is low-level stuff,” he says. “Boys not listening to female teachers, using condescending language. . . Some will go further and start commenting on girls’ appearance, calling them ‘sluts’ or touching girls inappropriately.
“Parents often write off that stuff as just part of growing up or ‘boys being boys’, but that is the stuff we have the power to stop. And we must stop it, as otherwise it leads to more abusive behaviours being tolerated. If we let that slide, where is the line?”
Mum-of-one Jane* says her 15-year-old daughter Amelie* has been left terrified by a group of boys from a neighbouring school who have threatened to attack her. Her mental health has been impacted so severely, she’s now refusing to go to school.
“It started with name-calling, and they were calling her a ‘slut’ and a ‘slag’,” Jane, 49, recalls. “They’d tell her she was too stupid to get a job and she’d just be some poor bloke’s ‘housewife’ cleaning the dishes. None of it was very nice, but it progressed very quickly.
“One boy in particular would say she was teasing them with her short skirt. She tried to ignore them, but they started following her when she walked home, laughing and whispering behind her.
“They’d ask why she wouldn’t have sex with them and tell her if she doesn’t say yes, they’d rape her anyway, so she may as well go along with it. They’d often be loitering near the school gates when she left.”
Jane began to notice a change in her daughter’s behaviour in December.
She appeared very anxious and often pretended to be sick so she didn’t have to go to school. But it was months before she confessed all to her parents.
Jane reported the boys to their headteacher and, later, the police. Officers spoke to the parents, but no formal action was taken.
“The police officers said they didn’t see any point in taking action as the boys were so young, and the behaviour then stopped,” Jane says. “But the whole situation has left Amelie too terrified to leave the house or go to school. They seem to have got away with it scot-free.”

Jane has been trying to get Amelie a place at a new school so she can make a fresh start and hopefully finish her GCSEs.
“I am a full-time mum, so I have been trying to educate Amelie at home,” she says. “She is a clever girl, but she isn’t where she should be, and it’s all down to these boys. We tried to get counselling through her GP, but unfortunately there is a long waiting list, so we are still waiting.

Jody says male pupils openly talk about porn and have asked her if she knows about Bonnie Blue Credit: Getty

HSTikkyTokky featured in Louis Theroux’s documentary Inside The Manosphere Credit: PA
“The whole situation has had a huge impact on my mental health, as well as Amelie’s. To see your daughter going through this is devastating. I felt like I’d failed her as a mother.”
Chartered psychologist Dr Louise Goddard-Crawley says it’s important to remember that the vast majority of schoolboys aren’t misogynistic.
“Adolescence is a time when young people are trying to work out who they are and where they belong. Most boys aren’t looking for misogyny – they’re looking for identity, confidence, status and somewhere to fit in.
“Communities that offer simple answers and a strong sense of belonging can be incredibly appealing. Social media platforms, influencers and online communities can reinforce those messages, creating an environment where extreme views begin to feel normal.”
Louise says prevention begins long before secondary school.
“We should be helping children to develop empathy, respectful relationships and critical thinking from an early age,” she says. “Boys also need positive examples of masculinity that show strength isn’t just about dominance or never showing emotion. It can also mean kindness, responsibility, resilience and respect.

“We need to resist creating a moral panic around boys. It’s about making sure they grow up knowing that empathy, respect and emotional openness aren’t signs of weakness – they’re part of being a confident, well-rounded adult.”
Matt, who still teaches two days a week, now tours secondary schools talking on the topic. So far, he’s met with 10,000 pupils. The first thing he does is explain to them what sexual harassment is. He says a lot of social media writes this off as banter or flirting, and no one tells them otherwise.
“What parents and teachers need to get better at is having these conversations with boys,” he says. “Too often we take a very punitive stance or condemn them for what they are engaging with. We need to take a curious, not furious, approach.
“Of course, some behaviour must be sanctioned, but if they say something like: ‘All women are gold-diggers’, or: ‘Rape victims bring it upon themselves’ – yes, it’s shocking, but we need to ask: ‘Where did you hear that? Can you see any problems with this view point?’”
Matt encourages parents to spend 20 minutes a week looking through their child’s social media accounts with them. “Get them to open up Instagram or TikTok and go to the suggested viewing or ‘For You’ pages.
See what’s being recommended to them and this will give you a good idea of where their algorithm is at.
“If all the videos are linked to Andrew Tate, it’s a sign your son has been engaging with that kind of material. Watch the videos, ask questions. Also, in a pragmatic sense, if a kid knows you are going to spend 20 minutes a week watching with them, they might get better at curating their own algorithm. The last thing they want their mum or dad to see is lots of OnlyFans models.”
Meanwhile, Jody is developing a mindset app that she hopes to roll out to schools to help change attitudes and behaviour.
“I’ll never go back to teaching. I’m done,” she says. “I’ll get a minimum-wage job if I have to – anything is better than teaching. I do worry about the future for so many of these kids, but ultimately, my own safety, emotional and mental health has to come first.”