The global conversation around sexual violence is entering what many observers believe could become a defining cultural turning point. Triggered by renewed scrutiny surrounding the Epstein files, high-profile abuse scandals in Europe, and growing public outrage over online misogyny, debates that once centered primarily on women are now increasingly focusing on children, digital exploitation, and systemic failures of accountability. According to Australian philosopher and feminist author Kate Manne, these developments reveal not isolated horrors but deeply rooted social structures that continue to normalize abuse while protecting perpetrators.
In an interview published by Die Zeit, Manne described the current moment as both emotionally devastating and cautiously hopeful. While she acknowledged the disturbing nature of the stories dominating headlines, she argued that societies are finally being forced to confront realities they have long preferred to ignore. The names Jeffrey Epstein and Dominique Pelicot have become symbols of a wider reckoning over power, gender, and violence, exposing networks of abuse that stretch across social classes, professions, and private relationships.
Manne, a professor of philosophy at Cornell University and author of the influential feminist work Down Girl: The Logic of Misogyny, believes the significance of these scandals lies not merely in their scale but in their familiarity. She argues that extreme abuse cases often function as magnified reflections of cultural patterns that exist everywhere beneath the surface. The Epstein scandal revealed a system intertwined with elite institutions and influential figures, while the Pelicot case highlighted forms of abuse rooted inside intimate domestic life.
According to Manne, recent years have also exposed an alarming expansion of online communities where misogyny and humiliation are normalized. She pointed to digital groups discovered across various platforms in which men secretly share photos of their partners and invite degrading commentary from strangers. In Italy, a group known as “My Wife” sparked public outrage, while another online network called “Rape Academy” allegedly featured men filming themselves drugging and assaulting their partners. Although such cases generate intense media attention, Manne warns they should not be dismissed as fringe abnormalities.
Instead, she sees them as symptoms of a broader social order in which women’s bodies are treated as objects for consumption, domination, and exchange. The rise of digital platforms has accelerated these dynamics, transforming private abuse into communal spectacle. Manne argues that the internet has enabled a dangerous shift in male behavior toward intimate partners. Historically, she says, misogynistic thinking often separated women into categories of purity and degradation — the traditional “Madonna-whore” complex associated with Sigmund Freud. But online culture is eroding even that distinction.
Today, according to Manne, some men increasingly treat their wives and girlfriends not as private companions but as digital commodities to be shared, traded, and publicly humiliated without consent. She describes this as a new form of domination made possible by online connectivity, where the violation itself becomes a source of excitement and power.
At the center of Manne’s analysis is the concept she famously coined as “himpathy” — the tendency for societies to sympathize disproportionately with male perpetrators while scrutinizing or disbelieving victims. She argues that despite years of feminist progress and public awareness campaigns, this instinct remains deeply embedded in public discourse.
Even in moments of outrage, Manne observes that many people remain fascinated by understanding, explaining, or forgiving abusive men rather than focusing on those harmed. This pattern becomes especially visible in cases involving teenage girls, who are frequently blamed for attracting or provoking abuse. According to Manne, victims who are young, vulnerable, or socially marginalized are often viewed as less credible, making them easier targets for exploitation.
One major difference between the current debate and the original #MeToo movement of 2017 is the growing recognition that children are also central victims of sexual violence. While MeToo largely focused on workplace harassment and abuse by powerful men against women, the latest revelations have widened the conversation toward systemic abuse involving minors. Epstein’s crimes, as well as allegations linked to the family of Dominique Pelicot, have intensified scrutiny over how societies fail to protect children from predators operating within trusted institutions and families.
Manne believes this expansion of public awareness could fundamentally reshape how abuse is discussed in the years ahead. Yet she also warns that social progress rarely moves in a straight line. Following the original MeToo movement, many high-profile men who appeared publicly disgraced eventually regained influence without full accountability or meaningful acknowledgment of harm. According to Manne, backlash is an inevitable part of any emancipatory movement, particularly when traditional power structures are challenged.
The current climate has also fueled debates about masculinity itself. Some critics argue that widespread suspicion toward men risks alienating younger generations, while others say such caution is a rational response to persistent patterns of violence. Manne acknowledges the tension but insists that addressing misogyny does not require portraying all men as inherently dangerous. Instead, she argues that boys and men must be encouraged to recognize how social norms can reward harmful behavior while also being shown that ethical masculinity is both possible and necessary.
The philosopher believes the challenge for parents, teachers, and communities lies in balancing responsibility with hope. Young men, she says, should not be treated as inevitable villains, but neither should societies ignore the privileges and cultural scripts that can encourage domination and entitlement.
Beyond public scandals, Manne says the deeper struggle concerns everyday life itself. She argues that relationships, family structures, and domestic labor remain central battlegrounds for gender equality. While some feminist voices have embraced “heteropessimism” — the belief that heterosexual relationships are too unequal or dangerous to sustain — Manne proposes an alternative she calls “hetero-insistence.” Rather than retreating from relationships with men altogether, she advocates demanding fairness, emotional responsibility, and equal participation in parenting and household work.
For Manne, the current moment may ultimately be remembered as the point when millions of people fully recognized the scale of sexual abuse and misogyny embedded within modern societies. But she warns that awareness alone will not be enough. Real change, she argues, will require continuous confrontation with the structures, behaviors, and assumptions that sustain inequality even inside the most ordinary aspects of daily life.
