United In Misogyny
With male violence being an inescapable and world-shaping force, one that undermines democracy, equality and peace - how do we unpack and tease apart the ingredients that go into the making of men and male culture of dominance? How do we shake up and push for a cultural shift away from violent domination?
In this episode Elle talks with world-leading researcher and educator Michael Flood, who has spent his life doing exactly that - researching, writing and discussing men, masculinities, gender, violence against women, and maybe most importantly - violence prevention for men and boys and creating alternative, more positive masculine narratives.
Starting with the question of what makes a subset of men join violent extremists movements, Michael takes us through what the research reveals in his book Masculinity and Violent Extremism (co-authored with Joshua Roose in 2022). We then move into a broader conversation about the overlap between violent extremism and the mainstream conditioning that makes up modern masculinity, and crucially - the unifying role of misogyny. Also, with masculinity on the move and being redefined, how do we seize this moment to move away from entrenched, pro-patriarchal visions of manhood?
EPISODE LINKS
Masculinity and Violent Extremism
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Professor of Masculinities, Researcher & Author
Professor Michael Flood is an internationally recognised researcher on men, masculinities, and gender, violence against women, and violence prevention. Flood has driven community and policy attention to the goal of fostering more gender-equitable lives for boys and men. His scholarship and public education are widely used reference points for violence prevention work with men and boys. Flood’s work has shaped the international development of the ‘engaging men’ field, frameworks on men, gender and violence, the strategies and programs used, and standards for practice. Flood is the author of Engaging Men and Boys in Violence Prevention (2019), the co-author of Masculinity and Violent Extremism (2022) and Young Men’s Online Lives: cultivating critical digital dispositions towards gender justice (2025), and the author of numerous other books, journal articles, and resources, including creating the information clearinghouse for all things masculinities, XY Online.