05-04-2025
Warning that Adolescence may 'do more harm than good' if Stephen Graham Netflix show is shown to children
Showing the hit television Netflix series Adolescence in schools may backfire, an expert on masculinity and misogyny has warned. Using the drama as a classroom tool could lead boys to think that they are all perceived as potential threats and push them into toxic spaces rather than discouraging it, said Birmingham University associate professor Sophie King-Hill.
The Netflix drama about a 13 year-old boy, accused of the murdering a female classmate, examines online misogyny, toxic influencers and incel hate. After watching Adolescence with his son and daughter Prime Minister Keir Starmer called for it to be screened in schools.
Now Netflix has made the series available to be shown for free in classrooms through the charity Into Film+, which has also produced a guide for teachers. Resources for teachers and parents will also be available from relationships charity Tender. For the latest TV and showbiz gossip sign up to our newsletter.
READ MORE: A Welsh church is finally getting a toilet after more than 700 years
READ MORE: Green light given for 91-homes estate - more than 40 per cent are affordable
As a father, watching Adolescence with my teenage son and daughter hit home all need to be having these conversations more.I've backed Netflix's plan to show the series for free in schools across the country, so as many young people as possible can see it.
— Keir Starmer (@Keir_Starmer) March 31, 2025
But the plan may have unintended consequences, warns Sophie King-Hill from the health services management centre at Birmingham University. She said: "Showing the series as a teaching tool risks framing boyhood as monolithic, with one particular – and problematic – way of being a boy."
And she points out that good though the drama is, it was not created as an educational resource or with the robust research, evaluation and consultation to be used as such in schools. The series gives an extreme and fictional portrait of one teenager drawn into the world of the manosphere, but Ms King-Hill stresses that not all boys will see themselves reflected in the Netflix portrayal.
"As a researcher working on masculinity and misogyny, my concern is that showing the series in schools may lead boys to think that they are all perceived as potential threats," she said.
"Showing the series as a teaching tool risks framing boyhood as monolithic, with one particular – and problematic – way of being a boy. Already, a broad-brush, blame-heavy approach is often taken to boys in response to issues relating to sexual harassment and violence."
Keir Starmer himself seemed to take a broadbrush view commenting: 'We may have a problem with boys and young men that we need to address."
But Ms King-Hill, who talked to adolescent boys aged 13 to 19 as part of research for a forthcoming book on boys and masculinity, said that blaming all for the misogyny of some could stop dialogue. If adolescent boys are sent the message that they are all to blame this could shute down conversations and unintentionally push them into toxic spaces.
Writing in The Conversation Ms King-Hill said: "I worked with young men and boys aged 13 to 19. One 15 year-old boy said that 'I am always told that I am part of the problem but never allowed to be part of the solution'.
"I also found that this broad blame culture leads to feelings of worthlessness in young men and boys, which shuts down vital dialogue and also may lead them to resort to looking for direction from negative spaces such as the manosphere. It is evident from reports and evidence that young men and boys do carry out a large amount of reported sexual harassment and harms against young women and girls.
"This can be seen in the 2021 Ofsted report into sexual harassment in schools in England, for example. The 2025 2000 Women report states that, in the UK, a woman is killed by a man every three days. There is evidently a serious, endemic and complex problem. The misogyny that can be popularised by toxic influencers online also needs urgently addressing.
"But a 'one-size-fits-all' approach to tackle 'boys' issues' may result in making things worse, not better, due to the lack of recognition of the intersectionality of boyhood. Other aspects of identity, such as race, age, class, gender identity, sexual orientation, religion, sexuality and physical and mental health will have implications for the approaches that need to be taken."
And she adds: Adolescence is a drama and deserves the praise it has attracted. But it wasn't developed as an educational resource, the kind that is produced in consultation with young people and schools and should be underpinned by robust research and well planned evaluations."
