"Manosphere" Social Networks and the Role of Men

Reading Time: 4 minutes

It is paradoxical that today, in the framework of the International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women (November 25), we are reading a text written by a man; as some would say in social media memes: “interesting.” This text reflects on two relatively underexplored aspects. First, it exposes that the recent speeches of influencers who “teach how to be a man” espouse the same gender roles that we have replicated for generations, with a touch of marketing and driven by algorithms fueled by hate input on social networks. Second, it invites reflection (especially from male readers) on the urgency we men have to consider new relational models focused on equity, justice, and non-violence.

To consider both aspects, we must start from a conceptual explanation of the difference between the masculine and being a man. Many of the misinterpretations of gender studies stem from the lack of this distinction. As obvious as it may seem, there is no intrinsic problem with being a man, but rather with the structures and mandates that shape how to be a man: masculinity. We are not born with a natural predisposition to violence or to be, presumably, less sentimental, as we are taught[1]. We learn masculinity through harmful stereotypes, and the consequences are real. “The Man Box,” for example, shows strong statistical links to harmful male stereotypes and has measurable social and economic costs. These include traffic accidents, suicide, depression, sexual violence, bullying and violence, and excessive alcohol consumption. In Mexico, these things represent an estimated minimum cost of 1.4 billion dollars to the economy, which would be saved if there were no harmful mandates of masculinity[2].

Speaking of masculinity, the “manósfera” is a term adapted from English (manosphere) that refers to the set of networks of organized men with a common language who openly promote hate speech against women. They are men with distorted and manipulated ideas about feminism and the social and political structures that have allowed the inclusion of women in spaces where they had traditionally been excluded. Some sub-communities of this group are incels (involuntary celibates), pick-up artists (who proclaim themselves seduction gurus), and “new activists” for men’s rights, whose actions tend to be more targeted at discrediting, violence, and harassment against women’s or feminist movements or public figures.

The content creators of these communities have found fertile ground in social networks to profit from young people’s insecurities and anxieties. Children and adolescents with genuine interests in well-being, such as dating and love advice, exercise routines, or financial education, end up being bombarded by misogynistic discourses and quickly radicalized by harmful and distorted visions of their original topics of interest. Some influencers exploit the vulnerability of young people in crisis to create communities based on victimization, while algorithms amplify radicalization to monetize through subscriptions and interactive experiences.

The available data allow us to quantify this phenomenon and explain why we are observing an enormous level of effectiveness in the radicalization of young people. A 30-minute exploration of social networks is enough to find misogynistic content. In short, after five days of exposure to content from the “manosphere,” related content multiplies four times in the “For you” tab[3] and become part of young people’s digital daily life and consumption. Studies show that 69% of young people between the ages of 11 and 14 on TikTok have already been exposed to misogynistic speech, 79% to violent materials not suitable for their age group, and that 59% of this content came from the “manosphere” when they searched for topics unrelated to these communities[4].

It would be very easy to pathologize the members of these networks and classify them as a minority of sick people, or promote spaces of censorship for these groups. However, these easy solutions have already been tried without concrete results, and the efforts have even increased the support of these networks[5]. Also, we could talk about corporate co-responsibility and the unethical practice of not only omitting but also boosting and promoting these discourses, because the content generates highly profitable traffic and interactions.

If we want profound, systemic cultural change, we must invest in initiatives that promote dialogue, empathy, and reflection. In education, our responsibility is to dismantle the context of vulnerability that allows young people to hear the siren’s song and end up trapped in a web of misogyny when they only started with a totally reasonable query about how to talk to their crush. We have overlooked that the best way to address fallacious discourses is through dialogue.[6] With curiosity, genuine interest, and care, we can guide young people to build healthy relationships based on mutual respect and equity.

As men, we urgently need to organize ourselves into communities and spaces that allow us to engage in dialogue with one another. We have not been able to talk about our fears, passions, insecurities, and ignorance from a perspective of empathy and non-violence. We are doing it from the same stereotypes and gender roles that we have been replicating for generations.

About the Author

Axel Medina

Director of Development of Human Dignity, Center for the Recognition of Human Dignity, Tecnologico de Monterrey. He studied Public Policy at the Center for Economic Research and Teaching (CIDE, the Spanish acronym) and has more than 8 years of experience in the design and implementation of interventions related to human rights and peacebuilding, drug policy, and territorial development. He served five years with the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime. As an independent consultant, he has participated in the design of tools for monitoring, evaluation, and prospective analysis in various Development and Territorial Planning Programs in Mexico.

[1] To review the arguments about how violence is not natural, see The Seville Manifesto on Violence from UNESCO (1992)

[2] EQUIMUNDO (2019). The Cost of the Man Box: A study on the economic impacts of harmful masculine stereotypes in the US, UK, and Mexico: Executive Summary. United Kingdom, United States, and Mexico. Promundo-US and Unilever

[3] The “For you” tab is a section on social networks where you can find new accounts and content of interest based on your tastes and interests.

[4] VODAFONE (2025). AI “Aggro-rithms:” Young boys are served harmful content within 60 seconds of being online. Consulted on: https://www.vodafone.co.uk/newscentre/press-release/ai-aggro-rithms/

[5] It is suggested to review the material available at: https://www.equimundo.org/what-is-the-manosphere/

[6] Review the material “Boyhood Initiative.” Consulted on: https://www.boyhoodinitiative.org/resource/10-tips-how-talk-kids-about-radical-influencers/

Translation by Daniel Wetta