AntiSocial

Music artists are cancelling gigs to protect their mental health but what do they owe their fans? American singer Chappell Roan pulled out of two appearances at short notice - not for the first time - saying she needed a few days to prioritise her health. Earlier in the summer, she called out fans’ “creepy behaviour” and said abuse and harassment of famous people shouldn’t be normalised. Her criti...

Sharon Roberts, an associate professor at the University of Waterloo in Canada, who co-founded the International Anthropomorphic Research Project - aka FurScience - explains furry fandom, “fursonas”, and the people who identify with animal characters.

Are the claims true? What are “furries”? And is it all really about gender identity? Reports that a school child in Scotland identifies as a wolf have gone viral on social media. Some say stories like it are whipped up to attack trans gender identity; others that they are a sign of gender ideology running rampant in the education system. What do we know about the latest example? The child is said...

Jonathan Rosa, an associate professor at Stanford University who researches language and race, talks through the evolution of words and phrases used to claim people are being ethnically inauthentic.

Is it racist for a person of colour to call someone a coconut? Should it be a crime? A teacher was put on trial after she was pictured at a pro-Palestinian march holding a placard that showed then prime minister Rishi Sunak and then home secretary Suella Braverman as coconuts. The term “coconut” can be used to suggest that someone who is brown on the outside is white on the inside - that they are...

Disney’s upcoming Snow White remake has sparked a debate about representations of people with dwarfism. But what does that term actually mean? Dr Melita Irving gives a medical perspective.

Are the seven dwarfs perpetuating dangerous stereotypes or harmless fantasy figures? Disney is remaking its 1937 classic Snow White as a live action film - but this time there’s no mention of dwarfs in the title. Game of Thrones actor Peter Dinklage, who has a form of dwarfism, has questioned whether the story should be retold at all, calling it “backward”. But others argue that it’s just a fairyt...

What happened when the Nazis banned smoking and what were the effects? On this week's AntiSocial, we looked at proposals to ban smoking in some outdoor spaces. It led to some people on social media bringing up the Nazis, who launched the first and most broadly reaching anti-smoking campaign in history. In this mini-guide, Adam Fleming speaks to Professor George Davey Smith, a clinical epidemiologi...

Is banning smoking outdoors good for our health or state overreach? The Prime Minister has confirmed he's thinking about extending the indoor smoking ban to include outdoor areas restaurant terraces and pub gardens. This, in addition, to plans to progressively increase the age at which you can buy cigarettes so a whole generation never even starts smoking. It's sparked a social media discussion on...

There is one accent that is often rated as the most prestigious - Received Pronunciation. But what is RP and how did it come about? Lynda Mugglestone is a Professor of the History of English at the University of Oxford and author of '‘Talking Proper: The Rise of Accent as Social Symbol'. She says the idea of one national accent for all first started to emerge in the late 1700s with the creation of...

Is it classist to stop Geordies using the term of endearment 'pet'? After the University of Newcastle sent out guidance to researchers advising they avoid using the word 'pet' as it might feel patronising or sexist to women, people took to social media to claim this was a classist move. It sparked a wider discussion about accents and class. Others claimed accents shouldn't be used as a marker of i...

What kind of online content could be considered 'extreme misogyny' and who's promoting it? Dr Joe Whittaker, lecturer in Criminology, Sociology and Social Policy at Swansea University has been researching the ‘manopshere’, where content that might be considered ‘extreme misogyny’ is published and shared. Much of this activity takes place in forums that promote the ‘incel’ ideology, made up of men...

Should some forms of misogyny be classed as extremism? After the Government announced it would look at ‘extreme misogyny’ in a review of its counter-extremism strategy, a fierce row kicked off on social media. Would creating a category of ‘extreme misogyny’ be a long-overdue move, or dangerous overreach that risks labelling young men and boys as radical? We look at the kind of misogynist content t...

The so-called ‘Battle of Cable Street’ in 1936 is often held up by counter-protesters as a model of how to defeat fascism - but it failed to stop antisemitic violence and actually led to a recruitment boost for the British Union of Fascists. Professor Nigel Copsey separates the history and the myth for us.

Are counter-protests important for sending a message or can they make confrontation or violence more likely? Is marching in the street a vital expression or is it the wrong place to tackle serious issues? After riots took place outside hotels housing refugees and migrants, counter-protests were swiftly assembled in cities around the UK. They were largely peaceful, but some counter-protesters were...

The greenhouse gas emissions caused by meat, dairy, and plant-based alternatives. Sarah Bridle, professor of food, climate, and society at the University of York, digests the data.

Should meat and dairy be taken off menus to help save the planet from climate change? A university is accused of “going woke” after reports it is transitioning to 100% plant-based catering by 2027. Climate activists are calling on universities and other public bodies like councils to ditch animal food products to help tackle the climate crisis. But what did the university in question actually deci...

The term “Anglo-Saxon” has become controversial, but where does it come from? As people argue online about whether the term is tainted by racism, history professor Joanna Story tells its origin story.

Should the term “Anglo-Saxon” be dropped because it’s been adopted by racists? People online are angry because a history journal has dropped “Anglo-Saxon” from its title. Critics say it is pandering to American academics who are unduly worried about the term being used by white supremacists. The journal says that’s got nothing to do with it. It’s part of an ongoing debate about whether “Anglo Saxo...

Pro-Palestinian student protesters have called for their universities to divest from firms with links to Israel, and specifically the conflict in Gaza, but how would that actually work? Adam Fleming discusses the practicalities and protest history of divestment with Chris Marsicano, assistant professor of higher education and public policy at Davidson College, in North Carolina.

The debate about protestors calling for their universities to cut ties with Israel. Encampments of students protesting about Israel’s military action in Gaza have been popping up on campuses across the UK. They’re calling for their institutions to divest from - sell their stakes in - companies linked to the conflict or Israel, but others say they’re demonising the country and stoking antisemitism....

Where did the trend for tough discipline in schools come from? It’s led to a big argument online about how strict is too strict. Education journalist Laura McInerney explains the origins of the trend.

A photo of a school corridor, showing three posters describing a particular teaching ethos, has started a debate about the right level of discipline in classrooms. Some suggest the instructions, which include ‘sit up’, ‘eye contact’ and ‘smile’, are indicative of a super-strict approach some schools have taken, which might be distressing for children, especially those with special needs. We find o...

A hypothetical question, asking women whether they would rather be stuck in the woods with a man or a bear, has gone viral on TikTok. It’s got people talking about gender-based violence, sexual assaults, and men’s mental health. But where did this thought experiment come from? The BBC’s Ellie House talks Adam Fleming through the thought experiment’s origins and evolution.

Women online are being asked: would you rather be stuck in a forest with a man or a bear? Most are saying they’d choose the bear, saying that men are potentially more dangerous to them than the wild animal. Cue arguments on social media about just how dangerous to women men are. Where did the meme come from? What can crime stats tell us about gender and violence, including sexual violence? And how...