The Manosphere and its Harms

The main draw of the manosphere, the term used to describe the collective space where these men gather online, is the promise of a sense of community. This community, while often toxic, offers an illusory solution to disaffection and presents a worldview where men are perceived as victims of a society that favours women through feminist policies. With its varied factions like MGTOW and MRMs, the manosphere capitalises on the vulnerability and disenchantment of these men, channelling their frustration away from the systemic critique of capitalism, power and class and instead directing it toward women and progressive gender politics.

The ‘manosphere’ is a term used to describe the overarching umbrella of interconnected misogynistic online communities that has given rise to an increase in rage, resentment, hate and violence directed towards women. Each community has unique grievances and beliefs, yet all share a foundational dissatisfaction with modern gender dynamics, in turn, fostering a deep resentment towards women generally and feminism specifically. This opposition to feminism ranges from critique to explicit support, including calls for and engagement in violence towards women. These communities are often generally racist, homophobic and transphobic, but the primary focus is on heterosexual dynamics, women and masculinity.  The following are the main subcultures of the manosphere.

The ‘incel’ community, short for ‘involuntary celibates,’ represents a subculture that has metastasised through internet forums, where men express frustration over their lack of romantic or sexual relationships, blaming women for rejecting them in favour of men they feel are more attractive than themselves. While some within this community may simply be seeking solace and understanding, such as young men who are learning and figuring out romantic and sexual relationships, there exists a hard radical fringe that espouses misogynistic ideologies and, at times, advocates for extreme violence against women.

The incel community’s harm extends beyond instances of extreme violence. It fosters a toxic worldview that perpetuates self-loathing in young men, alongside misogyny and social isolation. Members often engage in echo chambers that amplify their resentments and normalise their views toward women and those who are sexually active. Clearly, this hinders personal development and healthy relationships, but it also contributes to online harassment and cyberbullying, with the majority of victims of these attacks being women. The incel mindset thus creates a broader societal harm, erodes empathy and undermines gender equality.

The Pick-Up Artist (PUA) community, while sometimes masquerading as a support network for romantically challenged men, is another that encourages and perpetuates harmful behaviours. Separate from the incel community, PUAs dispense advice and guidance to boys and men. Prominent within this community is the idea that women can be manipulated into sexual or romantic encounters through specific tactics and ‘psychological tricks.’ This community’s philosophy can escalate beyond verbal manipulation and often openly encourages the emotional and sexual harassment of women.

Through YouTube or ‘self-help’ websites, online courses or ‘academies’, PUAs describe ways in which boys and men can effectively control and abuse women, often encouraging and teaching methods of psychological and sexual assault and negging, or backhanded compliments intended to undermine self-esteem in the receiver with the belief they will be more likely to respond so as to be desired.

Andrew Tate is perhaps the most famous PUA. Tate is a self-proclaimed misogynist and maintains millions of followers online, despite his recent incarceration and legal battles. Extremely wealthy, not least from tens of thousands of subscribers to his online ‘Hustler’s University’, Tate pushes the idea to followers that it is natural and right that rich powerful men economically and physically dominate women (and other men).

The inherent misogyny in PUA culture is particularly damaging to young men as it not only erodes trust between people but also contributes to a societal normalisation of toxic masculinity, making it a breeding ground for behaviours that undermine the very fabric of respectful interpersonal relationships.

The Men’s Rights Movement, or MRM, purports to advocate for men’s issues, such as custody rights, divorce, and what it calls ‘false rape allegations.’ However, upon a closer look, it is obvious that this movement harbours factions that engage in misogyny and act as a reactionary counter to feminism. This is the sphere where Jordan Peterson operates as a prominent voice in the subculture.

Rather than constructively addressing men’s issues, the MRM has instead contributed to an adversarial stance that polarises gender discussions, often undermining efforts to address the very real problems some men face. Peterson and others in the MRM refer back to the 1950’s as a fanciful golden era of relationships between men and women and have a strong hankering for those times of more robust, explicit patriarchy. By focusing on antagonism towards feminism and perpetuating gender-based hostility, parts of the MRM contribute to a cultural milieu that can validate confrontational and discriminatory attitudes.

Men Going Their Own Way (MGTOW) is a movement that encourages men to live independently of women and to ditch society’s expectations of traditional male roles. While self-sufficiency is a positive goal, MGTOW often faces criticism for the extreme views held by some of its members, who propagate misogynistic ideologies and reinforce gender stereotypes as a rationale for refusing to have any social relationships or friendships with women.

The MGTOW movement’s harm lies not in the pursuit of autonomy, but in the hostile and alienating rhetoric espoused by vocal segments of its community. This rhetoric can lead to increased isolation, perpetuating a cycle of bitterness and antagonism against women and towards societal structures that advocate for gender equality. By promoting disengagement from relationships and other aspects of society, MGTOW ultimately exacerbates feelings of disenfranchisement among its members. The negative impact of MGTOW is most keenly felt in its contribution to the erosion of social cohesion. Like other parts of the manosphere, it fosters a divisive and often vitriolic narrative that stands in opposition to constructive dialogue on gender relations.

The relationship between the manosphere and the far right, including white supremacist ideologies, is complex yet obvious. Both spheres intersect in their use of the internet as a breeding ground for the dissemination of their ideologies and the recruitment of disenfranchised individuals. While not all members of the manosphere espouse far-right or white supremacist views, the material infrastructure of the manosphere – algorithms that amplify engagement and rage – acts as a conduit, funnelling men towards these more extreme ideologies.

Moreover, the online echo chambers that characterise both the manosphere and far-right spaces amplify the processes of how to change a person’s worldview. Exposure to extremist content can escalate, with algorithms designed to increase engagement, often leading people down a rabbit hole of increasingly radical content. In this digital landscape, men who feel emasculated by societal changes can be gradually ‘red-pilled,’ adopting more extreme political views as they seek a sense of identity and community, eventually finding solidarity with far-right and white supremacist groups that echo their discontent and offer a perceived pathway to reclaim lost status.

One of the more alarming effects of the manosphere might be the impact that it appears to be having on some of the youngest members of its following: pre-teen and young teenage boys. wW are hearing from educators about the rise in anti-women rhetoric being espoused from the mouths of literal babes, and that they are struggling to manage and combat the messaging that seems to be coming directly from teen engagement with manosphere accounts on social media. From verbal comments to woman-hating phrases popping up on e-learning platforms like Google Classroom, teachers are now faced with the challenge of mitigating the impact of a new, more nuanced, form of bullying that is coming from young boys who are seeking validation from their peers, which they have in common with their adult counterparts. However, these boys are at the very beginning of the formation of their sexual identities and are exceptionally vulnerable in terms of their stage of brain development, hormone fluctuations and overall understanding of social relationships, making them even more susceptible to the messaging of the manosphere. Peer pressure and the usual teenage woes seem to be amplified for young boys who are seeking guidance on sexual relationships online, which might be contributing to the troubling situations that are arising in our schools.

Poor regulation of online spaces has allowed misogyny, hate speech, misinformation, and radical propaganda to flourish. This environment enables the manosphere to cross-pollinate with far-right and white supremacist groups, mutually reinforcing and amplifying each other’s ideologies. In some cases, this is quite deliberate, as shown in the case of Peterson and Tate, who have both been previously banned from Twitter/X for hateful and abusive conduct. Both were reinstated after the company was bought by Elon Musk, himself a vocal anti-feminist.

Building better awareness and understanding of the often-hidden world of the manosphere and its hateful and violent ideologies will leave us better equipped to challenge it. By bringing these issues into the light, work can be done to dismantle echo chambers, particularly with younger people. Below we have included some additional resources we would encourage you to explore.

The Pyramid of Violence
12 Rules for what? Episode on radicalisation of young men
The PewDiePipeline: How Edgy Humour leads to violence
 ‘Influencers and Attitudes’ How will the next generation will understand domestic abuse?
 Andrew Tate and the ‘manosphere’
 Why you should care about Andrew Tate