Counter-Discourses towards Digital Feminist Activism in South Africa: A Case of #MenAreTrash

The #MenAreTrash digital feminist activism (DFA) emerged on South African social media platforms as a powerful protest discourse against the high rates of violence against women (VAW), rape and femicide. However, #MenAreTrash was met with resistance in the form of counter-discourses. While existing research provides valuable insights into the challenges encountered by DFA, it has not sufficiently critically analysed a spectrum of resistance against online feminist discourse. Current research often reductively frames such resistance as fundamentally anti-feminist and misogynist. Therefore, this paper draws on counter-discourse theory to understand and analyse the complex nature of resistance towards the #MenAreTrash DFA. Methodologically, the paper employs qualitative, in-depth interviews and secondary data sources. The findings reveal that counter-discourses acknowledge the pervasiveness of VAW, yet challenge the discourse of #MenAreTrash, which was viewed as overly generalising and separatist, thereby resulting in alienation, psychological effects on men and reduced impact. Furthermore, counter-discourses emphasised the need for DFA to move away from generalising language like “men are trash” towards strategies centred on digital pedagogy and communicative action. Therefore, the findings of this paper suggest that future feminist initiatives could garner broader support and enhance their effectiveness by prioritising constructive approaches for engaging men rather than positioning them solely as adversaries.