What is the manosphere? Is this an ideal social activism movement? What does this term mean? Does the movement encourage toxic masculinity and anti-feminism? Tired of the extremist women-hating? This article has everything you need to know about the manosphere movement.
Hi, my name is Sean Galla, a men’s group facilitator for more than ten years. I created a platform where men can meet other men in a safe environment that allows them to address issues they don’t feel comfortable talking about day-to-day. Topics in our online spaces include toxic masculinity and toxic men’s rights movements like the manosphere, men going their own way (MGTOW), and incels. Men are taking time to understand toxic masculinity, and how it affects their worldview and mental health. They are also noticing how different organizations support it is as an important step in righting the gender wrongs that hurt society.
In this article, you will learn everything you need to know about the manosphere and how it affects modern society.
Table of Contents:
What Is the Manosphere?
The movement is a collection of websites, social media blogs, manosphere influencers (like Andrew Tate, the definition of a misogynist), and online forums promoting masculinity, online misogyny, and strong opposition to feminism.” This movement comprises white men closely linked to alt-right and far-right movements often associated with online harassment, implications in men’s radicalizations into misogynistic beliefs, and glorifying violence against women. Sexism, misogyny, and male supremacy run rampant! Some reports associate the radicalization with mass shootings often motivated by misogyny and even the election of Donald Trump into office.
The movement formed out of social movements like the 1970s and 80s men’s liberation movement. Men’s Rights Activists started the movement. Today, several groups are considered to operate under the social movement, such as the men’s rights movement, MGTOW, and others.
The term “manosphere” is coined from the word “blogosphere”, and is believed to have first been used in a blog post in 2009 and later made popular by pornography marketer and author Ian Ironwood. News media later used the term to refer to groups of men who commit misogynist violence, sexual assault, human trafficking, anti-gender equality, and online harassment, which most manosphere groups are known for.
Online communities encourage resentment, hatred, and bias towards women and girls.
Generally, there are four main groups (subreddits):
- Men’s rights activists (MRAs) – advocate political change to benefit men.
- Men going their own way (MGTOW) – a group of men who believe that women are so toxic that men should avoid them altogether.
- Pick-up artists (PUAs) – men teaching other men seduction strategies to be more successful in attracting women. Notable PUA figures include Roosh V of the Return of Kings site.
- Involuntary celibates (incels) – men who feel entitled to a relationship with a woman, but are incapable of finding a partner.
There are lots of reddits like thisL Red Pill Reddit,
The Manosphere Ideology
While different hate groups in the manosphere have different beliefs and practices, they are mostly based on a shared ideology that promotes misogyny, toxic masculinity, and strong opposition to feminism.
The ideology (a worldview) is centered on male separatism and strongly believes that feminism has corrupted society. All groups share something in common; they are all misogynist and anti-feminist movements that believe feminism makes women dangerous to men. Therefore, male self-preservation calls for complete disengagement from women.
Men going their own way members believe in an imaginary systemic gynocentric bias against men in the real world. According to them, there are double standards in gender roles and bias against men in family courts.
It is a strong belief in men’s rights, that women follow a predefined pattern regarding dating and marriage. They believe that all young and attractive women are promiscuous. They also believe these women purposely practice “hypergamy,” where they have sex with different men and abandon them when a “higher-value” man shows interest.
If you’re looking for information about Red Pill, we have an article on that too.
Followers believe women naturally gravitate towards ‘alpha men.’ These are attractive men who mistreat them, further solidifying the women’s beliefs in feminism. As a woman ages, they choose to settle down with ‘beta males’ who can provide financially, even though they are not sexually attracted to them. With financial security in check, married women choose to have sex with attractive men outside of their marriage.
The dogma is that these women eventually divorce their husbands and receive favor from the courts in the divorce proceedings due to what they describe as a female privilege.
The manosphere community uses jargon, including the red pill and blue pill metaphor borrowed from The Matrix film. Members of this community who are awakened from the feminist “delusion” have “taken the red pill while men who do not support the MGTOW ideology are said to have taken the blue pill.
Other jargon includes the use of pejorative terms to describe other men such as “cuck”, “beta”, “soy boy”, and “white knight”.
The views expressed are unorthodox. It comprises of women haters who mobilize against an imaginary conspiracy against men. While other communities like incel (involuntary celibates) plot revenge on women or the PUAs (pickup artists) use predatory tactics to sleep with women, MGTOW members swear off women altogether. They literally plan to go their own way, preferably very far from women.
They believe that men are the true victims of feminist organizations and feminist movements like MeToo. The movement argues that men are left with no choice but to protect themselves from a powerful lot of ‘rampaging, vindictive women making false accusations.
Check out this article on Incel.
Men’s Rights Movements Under The Manosphere
We list these different branches of the Manosphere, not to encourage you to be a part of one, but to help people understand, how toxic this movement has become:
-
- Fathers Manifesto – An early men’s rights movement (MRM) website mostly focused on spreading conspiracy theories.
- A Voice for Men – A group that hopes to “expose misandry on all levels,” mostly comprised of members who are turned off by the fringe politics of other men’s rights forums.
- Register-Her.com – A sub of A Voice for Men that keeps an “offender registry” that tracks female murderers, female rapists false rape accusers.
- National Coalition for Men – A nonprofit group that “raises awareness about the effects of sex discrimination on men and boys.”
- Fathers 4 Justice – A British paternal rights group that gained notoriety in the mid-2000s
- Red pill – A group based on the classic sci-fi film The Matrix, where the hero chooses to take a red pill, which will open his eyes to the reality in which he is enslaved. Red-pillers believe that men are oppressed, not women.
- Anti-Slut Defense (ASD) – A Pick-up Artists group that discusses tactics used by women to dodge their sex responsibility, such as offering “token resistance” or claiming they were too drunk to say no.
- Puahate – A site for those who feel dissatisfied with the PUA movement.
- Gamergate – An organization of mostly white males that turns “traditional” video game enthusiasts against feminists and gamers who advocate for a more inclusive game culture.
- 4chan – An online platform used by Gamergaters to plot revenge against women
How The Manosphere Influences Young People
According to a 2020 report, the manosphere has affected how young people view feminism and women’s rights. This report showed that 50% of young men between the ages of 16 and 24 believe that feminism makes it harder for men to succeed.
Most teachers claim that gender equality is difficult to teach, and most students don’t believe sexism is a problem. When not addressed early enough, this mindset is carried into adulthood, breeding adults who are more than willing to further their agenda.
Instead of learning the lessons from their failed relationships, young men are turning against women and blaming them for their problems. These lessons could help them find a healthier partner. Instead, they hate women and women’s movements. They live through a victim narrative, buy into the entitlement of RedPill, and get stuck in the bitter and resentful part of the grieving process post-breakup.
So while some of the male influencers leading the manosphere do have decent intentions such as standing up for men’s rights in court, the movement in general has taken a very dark, aggressive, extremist, supremacist, blaming turn for the worst.
How Do We Change The Manosphere?
A lot of beliefs stem from mainstream thoughts from influencers like Andrew Tate or social media platforms like TikTok. There you will find thousands of misogynistic influencers talking about sexuality and gender. This influence from social media algorithms has trickled down into the streets of cities like London, New York, and Toronto. This is hurting the mental health and well-being of both men and women.
Most young men get frustrated when they cannot form meaningful adult relationships. This frustration turns into hate for women and alpha males who always seem to get what they want. This leads them to organizations, where they find fellow men who share the same beliefs.
The best way to reverse the effects of these communities on society is to start having conversations early in life about gender relations and healthy relationships. This will ensure young people are not sucked into black-and-white defeatist thinking.
Online resources such as the Southern Poverty Law Center, The Online Together Project, and men’s support forums are designed to help start these conversations and offer constructive support related to feelings around women, sexuality, and masculinity.”
Social media needs to take more accountability for these misogyny promoters and enforce more strict policies on their platforms. Pitting men against women only leads to further conflict.
About MensGroup
Men’s Group is an online support group for men that advocates for men’s rights in its own way without following the conventional misogynistic approaches and ideas about gender roles. We are NOT a part of the Manosphere! We aim to build, teach, and equip men with knowledge and guidance to help them through the various issues they face.
MensGroup meetings can act like empowerment sessions to equip you with all the information you need to overcome men’s issues and lead a better life as a man. It is more than just a men’s advocacy support group. It offers emotional support to those who need it.
As an online support group for men, the group meets virtually over video or chat, making it perfect for busy men who prefer not to attend physical meetings, whether they are in New York, Santa Barbara, London, or Toronto, especially in this pandemic.
Conclusions On The Manosphere Movement
With all the negative issues associated with manosphere groups and movements, it can become hard for men to find a safe space to champion their rights in a non-toxic environment. MensGroup is one of the very few modern-day men’s rights groups that help men to advocate for their rights without being dependent on bashing feminism or extreme misogyny. By joining MensGroup, you will be able to learn about your rights as a man while also learning how to live a more fulfilling life.
*Sources: 1. Manosphere 2. Manosphere, World Of Incels Exposed In Laura Bates Book 'Men Who Hate Women' 3. Hunting the Manosphere 4. The Incel Rebellion: The Rise of the Manosphere and the Virtual War Against Women 5. Exploring Misogyny across the Manosphere in Reddit
