Adolescence, Misogyny, and the Classroom: What the Netflix Show Reveals About the Realities Girls Face in UK Schools
In Netflix’s new documentary-style show Adolescence, we’re given an unfiltered look into the lives of British teens navigating school, friendship, social media, and identity. The series doesn’t shy away from the uncomfortable — and perhaps the most striking thread running through several episodes is the casual, everyday misogyny that girls are forced to endure.
For those of us working in clinical psychology, particularly with adolescents, Adolescence is more than a TV show. It’s a mirror — and sometimes, a warning.
The Influence of Misogynistic Figures
In recent years, controversial internet figures like Andrew Tate have become alarmingly influential among teenage boys in the UK. What begins as an ironic TikTok soundbite or a "funny" YouTube clip can quickly evolve into deeply embedded attitudes about gender, relationships, and power. Adolescence captures this phenomenon in real-time: boys parroting hyper-masculine, often demeaning language toward their female peers, while schools struggle — or sometimes refuse — to challenge it meaningfully.
We see girls attempting to speak up and assert their boundaries, only to be met with laughter, dismissal, or worse, social ostracisation. The emotional toll is palpable, and the psychological consequences are significant.
The Psychological Impact on Girls
From a clinical perspective, environments saturated with misogynistic undertones can have lasting effects on young girls’ mental health. Common experiences include:
Internalised shame and self-doubt: Girls begin to question their worth or feel responsible for how they’re treated.
Anxiety and hypervigilance: Constant objectification or fear of harassment can lead to chronic stress responses.
Depressive symptoms: Feeling unsafe, unheard, or invalidated can quickly spiral into hopelessness or social withdrawal.
Relational trauma: Early experiences of disrespect or coercion in relationships can lay the groundwork for future difficulties with trust, self-esteem, and boundaries.
And yet, as Adolescence shows, many girls still strive to support one another, resist harmful narratives, and carve out spaces of empowerment — a resilience that deserves more recognition and reinforcement.
What Can Schools Do?
If schools are meant to be safe environments for learning and development, they must do more than just react to obvious incidents. They must be proactive in fostering respectful, emotionally intelligent communities.
This includes:
Clear, values-driven education on gender and consent from an early age.
Training for staff on recognising and challenging subtle forms of misogyny.
Spaces for girls to speak and be heard without fear of retaliation.
Robust mental health support that acknowledges gender-specific pressures.
A Call to Action
As psychologists, educators, parents, and peers, we cannot afford to downplay the psychological harm that casual misogyny causes. The voices of the girls in Adolescence are telling us what they need — to be believed, to be protected, and to be empowered.
Let’s listen. And let’s act.