Today’s blog post comes from Jenaya James, our intern, who recently completed her Master’s in Global Health at King’s College London in the UK. This is Jenaya’s third article in a series exploring topical public health issues.
In today’s blog, Jenaya uses the lessons learned from her dissertation to reflect on the concept of the manosphere and its link to gender-based violence.
The manosphere is no longer confined to the margins.
When we hear about online misogyny, we might picture anonymous forums or angry posts filled with threats. But these harmful ideas about women and gender are showing up in places we might not expect, like dating podcasts, fitness videos, financial advice, or content aimed at helping young men become more successful.
This was the focus of my dissertation, where I looked at how online communities and influencers spread ideas that can make gender-based violence against women seem more acceptable in the United States.
The ‘manosphere’ refers to a group of online communities that focus on certain ideas about masculinity, women, feminism, and gender. These include groups like incels, Men’s Rights Activists, Pick-Up Artists, and Red Pill communities. While they are not all the same, many of them share the belief that feminism and women’s progress come at the expense of men, and they often encourage a sense of competition or conflict between men and women.
However, one significant change is that these ideas are no longer limited to obvious manosphere spaces. Influencers who talk about masculinity can mix these messages into everyday content about dating, relationships, fitness, money, and self-improvement. This means many more people see them, sometimes without even realising it.
Why are some young men drawn to these spaces?
To understand why some young men are drawn to the manosphere, we need to look past the idea that everyone who watches or follows this content hates women. My dissertation identified loneliness, social isolation, romantic rejection and insecurity around changing expectations of masculinity as factors that may contribute to its appeal. For some men, these online communities can offer identity, belonging and seemingly straightforward explanations for difficult personal experiences.
The trouble starts when real feelings of loneliness or insecurity get twisted into stories that blame women or feminism. For example, a young man who is having a hard time with relationships might find content that tells him his struggles are not just personal, but proof that women are manipulative or demanding, or that men are losing their place in society because of women. Supporting the emotional wellbeing of boys and men and preventing violence against women should not be viewed as competing objectives. Addressing isolation and developing healthier ways of navigating rejection, relationships and emotional vulnerability may form part of challenging the conditions that make harmful online communities attractive.
When harmful attitudes become normal
A central finding of my research is that there is no simple cause-and-effect link between manosphere content and gender-based violence. Just watching a masculinity influencer does not make someone violent. Gender-based violence happens for many reasons, including social, structural, and personal factors, and normalisation. In my literature review, I found frequent harmful themes and stereotypes. These include the belief that men and women are naturally very different, that men are entitled to sex, treating women as objects, blaming victims, and making excuses for men’s behaviour. For example, some stories suggest that male sexual aggression is just a natural part of being a man, which can make people less likely to hold men responsible for their actions. In the same way, blaming victims shifts the focus away from what the perpetrator did and instead questions the choices women made, like who they dated or whether they missed warning signs.
Repeated exposure to these messages can make it seem more normal to accept gender inequality, pressure, or even hostility towards women. The issue is not just about direct calls for violence, but also about the attitudes and beliefs that make violence seem understandable or acceptable.
The digital environment
The online world matters a lot here because harmful ideas do not always come with a warning label. Young people might not realise that what they are seeing is misogynistic content. Podcasts can act as intermediaries between niche online ideologies and mainstream audiences, incorporating discussions of masculinity and gender into podcasts, short-form videos, livestreams, and lifestyle content.
This means a young person does not have to go looking for an incel forum or an antifeminist group to come across these ideas. They might find similar messages while watching videos about getting fit, making money, building confidence, or having better relationships, a challenge for traditional approaches to online safety. Digital literacy should involve more than
recognising obviously dangerous content. Young people also need the skills to question the assumptions behind seemingly ordinary online advice: Who is being blamed? How are women and men being represented? What evidence supports the claims being made? And how might algorithms, influencers and commercial incentives shape what repeatedly appears on their feeds?
What could prevention look like?
Ultimately, my dissertation asked what prevention could look like if we tackled these attitudes early, before they turn into more harmful beliefs. A framework called the Digital Respect Initiative (DRI), informed by existing prevention approaches including Australia’s Respectful Relationships Education and the U.S.-based Manhood 2.0 programme.
This framework combines three things usually kept separate: challenging strict gender roles, supporting boys’ and men’s emotional wellbeing and addressing loneliness, and teaching critical digital skills.
Rather than simply telling young people that certain influencers or online groups are ‘bad’, this approach would give them the tools to think critically about the messages they see. It would also help them find healthier ways to understand masculinity, emotions, and relationships. It is a proposed framework rather than a proven intervention. My research concluded that it would require piloting, adaptation and evaluation before its effectiveness could be established.
A global conversation needs local responses
Although my dissertation focused specifically on the United States, digital cultures do not remain neatly within national borders. This raises important questions for health and wellbeing organisations in other settings, including St Kitts and Nevis and the wider Caribbean.
However, we cannot just copy solutions from one country to another. People’s experiences with gender, masculinity, race, family, education, and digital life are different in every community. My research highlighted the need for prevention efforts that fit the local culture and context, instead of assuming one approach will work everywhere.
Where do we go from here?
Preventing gender-based violence is not just about reacting after something bad happens. It also means looking at the everyday spaces where people learn and repeat ideas about gender, relationships, and respect.
The rise of the manosphere shows why we need to include our digital lives in these conversations. If harmful attitudes can become normal through content that looks fun, inspiring, or helpful, we need to help young people spot those messages and think critically about them.
Combining education about respectful relationships, support for boys’ and men’s emotional wellbeing, and digital skills is one way forward. Tackling online misogyny does not mean ignoring the struggles that boys and young men face. Good prevention means taking those struggles seriously, while also challenging ideas that turn them into anger towards women.
In the end, making our digital spaces healthier is not just about taking down harmful content. It is also about giving young people the knowledge, emotional support, and skills they need to imagine better ways of being men, building relationships, and showing respect.
References
Ging, D. (2019) ‘Alphas, betas, and incels: Theorizing the masculinities of the manosphere’, Men and Masculinities
10
