Spend 90 minutes watching Louis Theroux’s latest documentary, Inside the Manosphere, on Netflix, and you’re bound to leave with some questions—and probably a deep feeling of dread. Even before you watch, you might be wondering: What is the manosphere? Is it an actual place? And how does one leave it?
Theroux’s documentary explores the extreme end of the spectrum, interviewing the likes of Harrison Sullivan (HSTikkyTokky), Myron Gaines, and Justin Waller—all of whom have forged careers in the so-called manosphere. It turns out you don’t have to be a self-styled millionaire influencer to access the manosphere; it’s under our noses, all the time.
Here, Glamour explores the origins of the manosphere, unpacks why it appeals so much to men and boys, and most important, how it impacts women and girls.
What is the manosphere?
The manosphere refers to a loose web of digital spaces that claim to address men’s issues, from fatherhood to body image and mental health. In reality, these online communities often promote harmful attitudes and ideologies, which position feminism—that is, the pursuit of gender equality—as a direct threat to men’s sociopolitical status and well-being.
The manosphere can be understood as a collection of “anti-feminist online communities which have grown online over the last few years,” says Cécile Simmons, author of Ctrl Hate Delete: The New Anti-Feminist Backlash and How We Fight It. “A few years ago you could easily keep track of manosphere forums. Today it’s difficult to really know what we’re talking about when we talk about the manosphere online because these ideas are circulating everywhere in more or less diluted forms.”
But it’s not just individual influencers who are responsible for the manosphere’s harms; it’s the tech companies helping them go viral. “The rise of the manosphere is often framed as a cultural crisis driven by a handful of toxic influencers,” says Seyi Akiwowo, author of How to Stay Safe Online. “But the deeper truth is that it grew inside digital platforms whose business models reward outrage, humiliation, and conflict because those emotions drive engagement.”
Think about it: Why does content depicting women getting “owned” or “humbled” go viral so easily? Andrew “Bernie” Bernard, an educator who facilitates workshops with men and boys about masculinity, previously told Glamour, “It’s the perfect tool, isn’t it? There’s this idea that feminism has gone too far, so let’s see the manosphere drag them down. Let’s invent something that says men are being targeted by feminism, and then let’s see the men fight back.”
As Akiwowo says, “When humiliating and scapegoating women drives cheap engagement, humiliation becomes part of the platform economy that platforms have built.”
She continues, “The manosphere is therefore not just a fringe subculture but a predictable outcome of the incentives created by tech platforms themselves. These systems harm everyone: women who are targeted with abuse, and boys and men who are drawn into increasingly extreme content ecosystems. Yet the platforms benefiting from this dynamic face far less scrutiny than the individuals caught inside it.”
UN Women identifies the following (nonexhaustive) categories of manosphere communities:
Involuntary celibates (incels): “Believe that men are entitled to sex, and women purposefully deprive them of it.”
Men’s rights activists (MRAs): “Often take an academic tone to claim that feminism and women’s rights—to vote, to education, to leadership positions—have disadvantaged men.”
Men going their own way (MGTOW): “Suggest society is rigged against men—and that it is best to avoid women, and even mainstream society, altogether.”
Pick-up artists: “Teach members how to coerce women into sex and mock the idea of sexual consent.”
Why does the manosphere appeal to men and boys?
For his book Lost Boys: A Personal Journey Through the Manosphere, journalist James Bloodworth interviewed men who felt the pull of the manosphere—and were often consumed by it. He identifies several reasons the manosphere can seem appealing to men and boys, including the paradoxical societal expectations that shape their lives.
He writes, “Progressive institutions were constantly telling them to embrace tolerance and equality. Meanwhile, in their day-to-day lives, they had to compete in an economic system that rewarded ruthless accumulation and ‘coming out on top.’… One way to resolve these competing narratives was to retreat back to the certainties of traditional gender roles.”
Bloodworth also notes, “A person can be more prone to radicalization into extremist communities when they are going through personal and psychological challenges.”
This is backed up by the veri: Equimundo’s State of Men 2025 report paints a troubling picture of the various sociopolitical issues impacting men:
- Nearly two-thirds of men say they have to look out for themselves because no one else has their back.
- One in four men believe that no one will ever fall in love with them.
- More than half of men are constantly worrying about keeping a roof over their and their family’s heads
While algorithms and societal expectations certainly play a role in pushing young men and boys towards toxic online spaces, Bloodworth warns not to overlook politics. In Lost, he writes, “Victimhood has long been a talking point of those who resent having to cede any of their privileges.… The growth of the manosphere is part of a wider rejection of women’s rights that is taking place across the world.”
How does the manosphere impact women and girls?
“The manosphere—and the entire male supremacist ecosystem—has a huge impact on women and girls’ integrity,” Simmons tells Glamour. “At the same time as these influencers and communities gain more power, we’ve seen a growing range of online abuse against women and girls, we’ve seen the rise of nonconsensual deepfakes, harassment, and many other attempts at silencing women.”
She continues, “The manosphere normalizes a range of harmful behaviors. When influencers tell young men that it’s olağan to make mühlet their girlfriend doesn’t go to the gym or doesn’t have an Instagram account, it normalizes coercive behaviors and domestic abuse.”
As well as normalizing abusive behavior, the manosphere has introduced an extra level of threat to women’s day-to-day lives. “It silences women in public life,” says Simmons. “It has a personal impact on women’s integrity, on women’s freedom, on women’s safety.”
What needs to change?
Akiwowo argues that the onus should be on tech companies and lawmakers to address the harms of the manosphere. She tells Glamour, “One practical step toward addressing this systematically would be to make measures designed to tackle violence against women and girls online compulsory. The VAWG Code of Practice being developed by Ofcom under the Online Safety Act [in the UK, for example] should be enforceable rather than optional guidance.”
More resources on the manosphere
“Lost Boys” by James Bloodworth
Amazon
“Ctrl Hate Delete” by Cécile Simmons
Amazon
“How to Stay Safe Online” by Seyi Akiwowo
Amazon
A version of this story was previously published in Glamour UK.
