Hannah Pearl Davis, a twenty-eight-year-old woman, has built a brand around herself for broadcasting the evils of modern women. Commonly known as the female Andrew Tate, Pearl is a political commentator who acquired fame because of the misogynistic comments she has made on her YouTube channel. She rose to eminence through an online manosphere subculture, and later took part in the movement and ideologies of anti-feminism.
Her online persona, JustPearlyThings, is commonly searched for Pearl’s crass statements. “We should judge more books by their covers,” Pearl has said, and she lives by it. She believes that women are inferior to men, and that is how it should be.
Pearl speaks unequivocally disapproving of feminism, blaming the movement for taking away all sorts of good family values and putting women off track from their “natural” roles. She claims that in her opinion, women’s empowerment has caused negative results on relationships, family structures, and society in general.
The critique that often arises from her is against the modern nature of dating. She says women today place career success and independence over and above relationships and family, something she sees as destructive. In those videos, Pearl sometimes calls for a return to times past when women were homemakers, obedient, and reliant upon men for guidance and protection.
But whereas the brand of anti-feminism of Pearl attracted a considerable following, much criticism has been raised against her. According to critics, Pearl’s opinions not only degrade women but also uphold outright stereotypes that are damaging in a world where equality between sexes and diversity within relationships are increasingly supported.
“Reducing someone’s worth to an appearance factor or their ability to fit in with traditional mold conformity denies equality in improvements made so far,” an anonymous source said. “Empowerment means to allow any person the right to decide upon his path and potential independently of gender.”
Many feminists and progressives lament that Pearl’s rhetoric serves as an appeal to insecure men, feelings of disenfranchisement in light of modern societal changes, and looking for an outlet to justify misogynistic beliefs. They are of the view that Pearl’s platform is a regression in developments toward gender equality that span decades.
Despite perhaps because of the controversy she generates, Pearl has retained for herself a large and largely devoted following, which has kept her quite prominent in the circles of anti-feminism. She’s been invited onto every variety of talk show, podcast, and debate, wherein she is invariably opposed with vitriolic opposition, though never once budging an inch from her beliefs.
Pro-Pearl arguments often insist that she counterbalances an individualistic, feminist-driven society. They argue that modern feminism has moved too far in promoting independence at the expense of family values and traditional gender roles, things they consider stability and purpose.
“Modern feminism has brought in too much independence at the cost of family values,” an anonymous source told the Retriever. “I think Pearl is right when she says that traditional roles bring stability.”
Additionally, some of the viewers like Pearl because she has an attack on modern dating culture that rings true to them. They might consider that she lays blame on women for behaviors such as prioritizing careers over families or independence over-commitment, the reason for broken relationships and social solitude.
For them, Pearl’s appeal to “traditional values” is the pushback against what they perceive as felt pressures of feminism, which they believe brush aside the valid contributions of Traditional Complementarians.
Content like that from influencers such as Pearl shapes the views of many young women and men about their relationships and gender roles. Her remarks are often simple and sensational, which can draw in those users who prefer straightforward, black-and-white answers to complex questions, as opposed to nuanced discussions about gender dynamics.
However, the danger in Pearl’s message lies in that it more often than not tends to create an adversarial view of gender relations by constructing women as fundamentally different from and, in certain ways, inferior to men. This kind of message creates divisiveness and reinforcement of negative stereotypes-particularly with respect to women’s independence, ambitions, and roles outside the family.
Further, Pearl’s stance on the lowly regard of women compared to men can only further empower people who may already have prejudiced ideas against women and give them, worse, reason enough to act out in a manner detrimental to gender equality. Equally, critics suggest that her brand risks normalizing the idea that women derive value from their usefulness to men, rather than independent achievements or aspirations of their own.
Into this fray has come Hannah Pearl Davis, aka “JustPearlyThings,” who has risen as one of those divisive figures in anti-feminist content that controverts mainstream beliefs on gender roles and relationships. To her devotees, she is a voice of reason, rather, against what many believe is the excess of modern feminism; to her critics, she embodies rhetoric that fortifies injurious stereotypes and undermines decades of hard work toward gender equality.
While Pearl argues for a return to traditional roles argument that appeals to a limited audience disillusioned with changing social norms in delineating the relationships between genders in adversarial terms, she further risks perpetuating divisiveness and perpetuating detrimental perceptions about the role of women in society.
With her power and influence continuing to grow, her brand has become a beacon of resistance to some and a regressive force to others, reflecting ongoing cultural tensions around gender, power, and identity in a changing world.
Hasitha Bhandaru is a sophomore Information Systems major and an Opinions Staff Writer for The Retriever.
Contact Hasitha Bhandaru at: h177@umbc.edu