Domestic violence is often correlated with violence against women and thought of as a “women’s issue”, when, in fact, people of any gender can be victims or abusers. Check out DVSN’s September 2024 blog post, “Male Victim of Domestic Violence: Distinct Challenge & Barriers to Disclosure & Support”, and June 2025 post, “Escalating Violence Against Transgender & Non-Binary People”, for more details about abuse of those groups. While domestic violence is universal, the majority of victims are female and abusers male. A primary reason for this is the long history of women being regarded as inferior to men with very few legal rights and the enduring cultural traditions of gender roles and male authority. Despite significant progress in the last 60+ years, gender inequality remains a root cause of and strong risk factor for domestic violence (WHO). The recent rise in traditional values and beliefs regarding male superiority, especially online and among young people, is concerning for many reasons, including their links to abuse. A significant factor in this shift, and an increasingly common buzzword circulating in the last few years, is the “manosphere”. This post will delve into what exactly the “manosphere” is and its implications for domestic and gender-based abuse, as well as ways to counter dangerous influences and minimize negative impacts.
What is the Manosphere?
The “manosphere” is an overarching term describing a collection of individuals and groups promoting hypermasculinity, misogyny, and anti-feminist sentiment online. The manosphere isn’t just one community or one online space. It has a number of subcultures promoted by many users (mostly men and boys) on a variety of social media platforms, forums, blogs, and podcasts, including extremely popular sites such as YouTube, Reddit, and X. While different groups focus on different aspects, they all share a hostility toward women. Manosphere content typically offers self-help advice and support surrounding issues that interest many men, such as dating, sex, fatherhood, financial security/wealth, and fitness. However, the discussions of and “solutions” to issues in these areas often present ideas promoting male dominance and entitlement to the detriment and outright harm of women. The term “manosphere” is used primarily by outside researchers; people/groups they categorize as within the manosphere may not identify with this term or see themselves as connected to other manosphere communities. Of course, not all online communities aimed at men and boys are automatically part of the manosphere, only those that share a hypermasculine, anti-female worldview. (Refuge, SameSide, Forbes, Gerrand, HumanRights, Vallerga)
Some researchers see the manosphere as a reaction to feminism, tying its origins to men who felt overlooked or disadvantaged by the “second wave of feminism” in the 1960s and ‘70s, which sparked fundamental changes in the rights, gender roles, and general equality of women. Others see it as a broader reaction to “rapid social change” of “gender dynamics, economic pressures, and cultural shifts” and the “deeper cultural malaise” of “multiple social and economic crises of late-stage capitalism and a collective nihilistic misery”. Manosphere sentiment gained traction in the early 2000s when the rise of the internet allowed for much easier, faster, and wider dissemination of ideas. The term “manosphere” was coined in 2009. Many more people have become aware of the manosphere in the past few years, primarily due to the 2025 mini-series “Adolescence” (in which a 13-year-old boy influenced by manosphere content is accused of killing a female classmate) and 2026 documentary “Inside the Manosphere” (in which presenter Louis Theroux interviews several popular manosphere influencers), as well as some prominent celebrities, businessmen, and politicians being linked to the manosphere in the news media.
Manosphere Themes
While there are multiple groups centered around different topics, in general, members of the manosphere share the following fundamental stances:
Red Pill
The term “red pill” is taken from the 1999 movie “The Matrix”, in which the protagonist is offered the choice to take a blue pill to return to the artificial, AI-controlled, virtual world he’s always known or to take a red pill to “wake up” and “break free” to learn the truth about the real world. In the manosphere, the “real world” is one in which feminism has given women too much power and left men as an “underprivileged class”, where women have a higher “sexual market value” (SMV) than men, giving them power in relationships and society, which they use to control and exploit men. Manosphere members who know about and believe in this “truth” of a female-dominated reality have been “red-pilled”, as opposed to everyone else, who are “blue pilled” into believing the “fake” concept of gender equality. (Refuge, Vallerga, PettyJohn)
Alpha & Beta Men
While generalizing women into one homogenous group (“all women”), manosphere members often believe in a heterogeneous hierarchy among men. “Alphas” (sometimes referred to as “Chads”) are dominant, successful men, whereas “betas” are weak, submissive men. Alpha men are the ideal, “real men”, and betas should look up to them and strive to become alphas through physical supremacy, emotional detachment, and sexual conquest. A related concept is the “80/20 rule”, the idea that 80% of women are only attracted to 20% of men (i.e. alpha men), meaning most men are at a disadvantage when it comes to romantic and sexual relationships. (Refuge, Vallerga)
Zero-Sum Rights
In a “zero-sum” mindset, a gain for one person/group necessarily results in a loss for another. Manosphere members believe that advancements in women’s rights and equalities come at the expense of men’s rights and societal dominance. They see female progress as harmful to males. Women being successful and sometimes surpassing men in areas where men were traditionally extremely dominant, such as socioeconomic status and political power, creates anger and resentment that men no longer have what they are “entitled to”, that they are victims of women’s rise. They blame women for real and perceived issues such as “men falling behind women” and the “male loneliness epidemic” being the result of more women choosing to be single. (Refuge, PettyJohn)
Evolutionary Biology & Psychology
These core manosphere themes can seem so credible to members because promoters often adopt logic, reason, and science to explain and legitimize them. One of the most commonly invoked scientific bases for manosphere “truths” is evolutionary biology and psychology. They say gendered behaviors and male dominance are just human nature, how people have behaved since “caveman times”, and that modern society suppresses these normal biological instincts. They use evolution to explain their views that women are only attracted to alpha men, who can protect them and pass “superior” genes to their offspring, and that despite any protests, women actually enjoy being dominated and controlled by men. (Vallerga, PettyJohn)
Manosphere Groups
Though the entire manosphere shares general themes like those above, there are distinct groups within it that have ideological differences or concentrate on certain aspects. While there are various other groups and subgroups, most researchers identify four main manosphere communities.
Pick-Up Artists
The “seduction community” of the manosphere, Pick-up Artists (PUAs) are men who use manipulation and coercion to get women to have sex with them. They often frame the pursuit of sex as a game or competition and teach tactics to “win” it by having sex with as many women as possible, by any means necessary. PUAs seek control and conquest, “reclaiming their power” by objectifying and dehumanizing women as mere “prizes”, “targets”, or bodies and reinforcing manosphere ideas of male dominance and entitlement. They frequently disregard or even mock consent and tacitly or overtly encourage date rape and sexual assault. Styling themselves as “dating coaches” or “gurus”, many PUAs commodify these practices by selling their “tactics” and “secrets” to other men through online courses, books, in-person seminars, and even reality television shows. A modern version of PUAs are influencer “hustle bros” who “combine misogynistic relationship advice with get-rich-quick schemes”. Hustle bros tend to promote “macho myths” of silence and aggression, discouraging men from meaningful social connections and healthy emotional lives by viewing other men as opponents and women as objects. (Refuge, SameSide, UNWomen, HumanRights, Vallerga, PettyJohn)
Incels
Perhaps the most well-known manosphere group is “incels” (short for “involuntary celibates”). These are almost exclusively straight men and boys who would like to be sexually active but have been unable to find sexual partners. They often place utmost importance on physical attractiveness, believing they lack this quality and that is why they are unsuccessful with women. Some also blame hypergamy, an evolutionary psychology theory that women seek to “marry up” by finding partners of higher economic or social status as well as physical attractiveness. While a few try to improve their sexual prospects by “looksmaxxing” their appearance (through plastic surgery, exercise, and grooming), many incels feel that the difficulty or impossibility in increasing their physical attractiveness (and to a lesser extent their financial/social status) means that they will never find sexual partners and are “doomed to be rejected by women” their entire lives. This is known as the “black pill”, an extra “truth” incels must learn about themselves in addition to the red pill “reality”.
These beliefs often lead to feelings of hopelessness, despair, loneliness, victimization, desperation, anger, and resentment of women and of sexually successful men. Many incels express misogynistic sentiments and feel deeply entitled toward women’s bodies. They blame women for being “too sexually selective”, superficial, cruel, and of wielding power over certain men by purposefully withholding the sex those men are “entitled to”, thus simultaneously denigrating and yearning for women as solely sex objects. Some incel communities support each other, but many actually attack and insult each other, encouraging both self-harm and violent revenge against women and society. Largely regarded as fringe groups a decade ago, incel ideology has increasingly infiltrated mainstream spaces in recent years.
(Refuge, SameSide, Safe+Sound, DomesticShelters, HumanRights, Vallerga, UniSQ, PettyJohn)
Men’s Rights Activists
Men’s Rights Activists (MRAs) are the most politically active manosphere group. They often “take an academic tone” to advocate for policy and systemic change that benefits men, particularly in relation to family court disputes. They often focus on father’s rights and divorce-related issues, arguing that feminism has “gone too far” and that the legal system is now biased towards women and actively repressing men. Some MRAs highlight legitimate concerns, such as high male suicide rates and availability of work, while also promoting dangerous myths, such as the high number of “false allegations” made by women. They use these arguments to lobby against legislation protecting gender equality, reproductive rights, and even women’s suffrage. MRAs often blame women for exploiting the system and promote highly misogynistic and sexist reforms. Since the advent of the #MeToo movement, MRA groups have been less focused on father’s rights and more on issues of sexual assault and gender-based violence, often “stirring up anxiety” on “changing understandings” of concepts like consent. (Refuge, SameSide, BigIssue, Safe+Sound, Vallerga, UNWomen, Hope Not Hate, PettyJohn)
Men Going Their Own Way
Like other manosphere groups, Men Going Their Own Way (MGTOW) believe society has become biased toward “parasitic and intellectually inferior” women, whom they see as “manipulators and liars”, leaving men vulnerable to exploitation and harm. Unlike other groups, however, their response is to avoid relationships with women altogether and even avoid mainstream, “blue-pilled” society as much as possible. Rather than fighting this “rigged” system, they choose to separate themselves from it to protect their perceptions of masculinity and freedom against the “threat” of women. Some may do this by “going monk” (remaining celibate) and/or “going ghost” (attempting to become “imperceptible” to society). While perhaps the least outwardly combative group with ostensibly positive goals of self-improvement and empowerment, their rhetoric defines themselves specifically in contrast to women, promoting degrading and “aggressively” misogynistic views that harass women as a way of detaching themselves from them. (Refuge, SameSide, Safe+Sound, UNWomen, Vallerga, PettyJohn)
Several recent studies have found that the older manosphere groups of Pick-Up Artists and Men’s Rights Activists have lessened in size and reach in the past decade, whereas the newer groups of Men Going Their Own Way and, in particular, Incels have grown. They also found that these growing newer communities are more extreme and more misogynistic than the diminishing older ones.
Attractions of the Manosphere
What is it about the manosphere or its various beliefs and groups that appeals to some men and boys? Rapid 21st century technological advancement bolstered by the long-term physical distancing necessitated by the COVID-19 pandemic significantly shifted many aspects of socializing and learning online. Online spaces offer access to both a broad national/global pool to find increased numbers of likeminded people or exposure to different/less common ideas and also the relative anonymity of usernames and text-based communications (as opposed to the more vulnerable video or in-person options), offering a “consequence-free” zone to speak their minds. In many ways, these can be positive things. The manosphere provides a sense of community and belonging to men and boys who may feel lonely and isolated and/or struggle with self-esteem and relationships. They are drawn in by these “safe spaces” where they can vent frustrations, learn skills, seek support, find emotional validation, connect with others, explore their developing identities, feel free to be themselves, and find meaning in a changing world. However, while it may feel like they are gaining solidarity and community, the physical separation and anonymity of the internet and the polarization and marginalization from the majority of society can ultimately increase feelings of isolation and alienation.
Beyond providing a sense of community, a lot of manosphere messaging is aspirational. Influencers positioning themselves as confident, wealthy, and popular, with fancy cars and houses, “ideal” physiques, beautiful women wanting to be with them, and fun, carefree lifestyles. They provide a very desirable model of what a man should or could be and a pathway to achieve this. Per a study by Equimundo, two-thirds of men feel more praised and accepted when they act “manly”. However, these aspirational, hypermasculine lifestyles that seem so wonderful are very difficult for many to actually achieve, promote harmful misogyny and aggression, and may increase feelings of hopelessness and frustration.
Alongside the positive draws of the manosphere, it also provides explanations for the negative things in members’ lives, their struggles, failures, and fears. Manosphere messaging positions them as victims of things outside their control. It’s not their fault they don’t have girlfriends, that they can’t find high-paying jobs, or that they feel so powerless and alone. They are relieved of any personal responsibility and with it their self-doubt and feelings of failure. They may also have their fears and grievances heard, confirmed, and justified; scapegoats/guilty parties identified; and solutions provided; instilling confidence, righteousness, purpose, and community. The Equimundo study also found that men who believe they should dominate women, show no vulnerability, and resolve conflicts with violence feel the highest sense of purpose in life, while men with the most progressive views about manhood feel the least purpose. Nothing brings people together like a common injury and a common enemy. Unfortunately, in the manosphere that common enemy is women and gender equality. The “freedom” and entitlement they promote comes at the expense of others and does not apply to those outside their group.
(Refuge, SameSide, Safe+Sound, Futures, HumanRights, UniSQ)
How Manosphere Content Spreads
Much of manosphere content seems, on the surface, to be amusing entertainment, information on unconnected hobbies/interests, and self-help advice. Misogynistic undertones are often subtly incorporated, however, and the more someone consumes this content, the more extreme and blatant they become. The content is frequently aimed at and appeals to preteen and teenage boys and young men, a demographic who average eight hours per day on the internet, most of which is spent on gaming platforms, social media, and forums, where manosphere content is increasingly common. According to UK communications regulator Ofcom, nearly 70% of boys ages 11-14 have been exposed to online content that promotes misogyny and other harmful views, and almost a quarter of teenage girls (23%) regularly see content that objectifies or demeans women. Interrelated and affecting each other, there are two major factors that contribute to the wide and youthful reach of the manosphere. (SameSide, McGlynn, PettyJohn)
Algorithms
Most of the platforms the manosphere uses are ruled by algorithms – well-defined steps or instructions for solving a problem or completing a task. Computer algorithms are often complex and involve many conditionals to determine next steps (i.e. if this happens, then do that). Most algorithms, particularly social media ones, are designed to keep users on their app or webpage as long as possible by showing them content that they like and/or engage with. This engagement does not necessarily need to be positive engagement. Anything that provokes a strong reaction, be it love or hate, will be amplified because it keeps people looking at it longer and motivates them to share it with others, bringing more users to that particular platform.
Manosphere members have used algorithms to consciously and proactively promote their content by making it deliberately shocking or radical, and thus more likely to be recommended to many users. Perhaps more effective and worrying, is the enormously broad audience receiving manosphere recommendations based on minimal criteria and the tremendously rapid pace at which they receive them. A 2024 Irish study found that TikTok and YouTube algorithms were promoting manosphere content to accounts registered to young male users simply because they were male, without them having searched for any manosphere-related topics. Researchers created multiple dummy accounts supposedly belonging to 16- and 18-year-old males, some of which searched for manosphere content and some of which searched for generic gender-normative topics. All of the accounts were fed “toxic” content within the first 23 minutes, and manosphere-specific content with the first 26 minutes, many within closer to 10 minutes. Another study found that nearly 73% of boys aged 11 to 17 regularly encounter manosphere content, 59% solely due to algorithmic recommendation and amplification, having never searched for it.
Compounding its influence, the more each user views and engages with manosphere content, the more it is recommended to them by the algorithm, creating “feedback loops” and “echo chamber” effects where they only see similar content and viewpoints, distorting their perceptions of what “most people” believe and reinforcing their own perspectives and grievances. The Irish study found that within 2-3 hours of showing interest in (i.e. viewing) manosphere content, 76-78% of their recommendations were toxic content, primarily manosphere alpha male and anti-feminist beliefs. Banning manosphere accounts has been found to be often ineffective in halting or curtailing the spread of their content because it has already been shared too widely by followers and micro-influencers. Multiple studies suggest regulating attempts have actually strengthened manosphere efforts because they are seen as “blue-pill censorship” that validates their beliefs in “feminist society oppression” and because they have led to materials being preserved offline in venerated (and even deified – one repository of non-consensual intimate images is known as “The Bible”) “back-up” files.
(Refuge, CharityToday, SameSide, Conversation2, Gerrand, Futures, Alam)
Influencers
Influencers are popular content creators who have a significant number of followers subscribed to their various channels and whose content is widely shared and engaged with. They are, as their name suggests, highly influential. One study found that more 16- to 24-year-olds say they trust prominent YouTubers to tell the truth than journalists, sports stars, leading businessmen, or politicians. Influencers often target a specific audience, setting a tone and style that appeal to them with content that relieves their insecurities or reflects their interests, and frequently engage directly with their followers. Manosphere influencers draw their audience in by discussing topics such as masculinity, fitness, relationships, wealth, and success in ways that appear to be harmlessly funny, compelling and emotionally resonant, inspiring and motivating, or logical and scientific. According to men’s health organization Movember, nearly two-thirds of young men regularly engage with masculinity influencers online and nearly half of those found the influencers motivating.
Manosphere influencers strategically balance search engine optimization and algorithm management with a “veneer of ‘respectable’ debate or reason” to avoid alienating a more mainstream audience or getting their content or accounts banned. Once followers are hooked, they are directed to content that more openly promotes ideas such as alpha and beta male hierarchies, claims about women’s unfair advantages, and men’s natural dominance and entitlement, eventually becoming more extreme and misogynistic, provoking fear, sadness, confusion, urgency, anger, and aggression. Some use immersive or interactive experiences to accelerate indoctrination in manosphere values. This approach makes it very hard to identify harmful messaging mixed in with purportedly positive content, which can easily be laughed off as a joke or thought of as “mostly fine”. But the misogynistic and harmful rhetoric still sinks in and “influences” followers to repeat it, amplify it, and seek out more of it, often in the form of more explicitly harmful anti-women content and communities. (SameSide, Safe+Sound, UNWomen, Futures, HumanRights, Gerrand)
A For-Profit Movement
Algorithms and influencers are deliberately spreading manosphere content to provoke engagement and get people to spend more time on a particular platform or viewing their content, but why is that so important to them? In a word: money. While social media platforms, forums, podcasts, etc. may charge for things like hosting content, users can usually view them and set up profiles for free. These platforms make most of their money from advertisements and paid content. The longer a user spends on a platform, the more opportunity they have to be shown ads, and the more money the platform makes. Influencers also earn money from their content either by ads, product placement, paid direct endorsements, and/or by selling products, courses, subscriptions, or access to private online spaces. They also want users to spend more time with their content so that they see more ads and to like and engage with their content so that they will buy the influencer’s products or products the influencer is paid to promote. For all too many businesses and influencers, the positive impact of profits earned outweighs the potential negative impact of the content itself on users and those around them (CharityToday). And those profits are huge. Equimundo calls the manosphere a “multi-billion-dollar industry” and Fortune reported that top influencers can earn $30-50,000 per streaming hour and $1-10 million annually from their combined revenue sources.
Research shows a shift in the manosphere toward increased monetization and entrepreneurialism. It is becoming more and more a combination of ideology and industry, with each feeding the other (Conversation2). It has been likened to a “pyramid scheme” and a “grift”, with influencers rewarding followers for recruiting new followers or selling their “secrets to modern wealth creation”, which is for the followers to start their own platforms and “coaching” services to sell to others (most of which will not be successful). The manosphere has been compared to the tobacco industry in the 1990s, which professed to not believe nicotine was addictive while it was later shown that they not only knew but that addiction was their business model, to keep people hooked and buying. Similarly, parts of the manosphere do whatever they can to keep people hooked so that they will continue to profit off of them in one way or another. (DomesticShelters)
Another analogy of the manosphere is a “protection racket” or “ontological racketeering”, with members creating and perpetuating the perception of a threat or crisis (women and feminist society) while simultaneously providing the “solution” through products and monetized content and/or through social and political change that also benefits them (potentially circuitously) with power and/or money (Gerrand). Manosphere leaders and the platforms they use often capitalize on “human insecurity” and “male grievances” such as loneliness, economic anxiety, and identity, feeding users outrage, “community”, and “solutions” which ultimately profit them and promote mindsets and behaviors that perpetuate the “movement” they are profiting from.
How the Manosphere Can Fuel Domestic & Gender-Based Abuse
There is a rapidly decreasing delineation between the online world and the physical world. Ideas and attitudes learned and encouraged online can shape real world behavior. The misogynistic and male-dominance philosophies of the manosphere have influenced peer and dating relationships and led to on- and offline abuse directly and indirectly. “What we’re seeing here is the same as the situation that we’ve seen in any previous episodes of rapid tech development,” explains Maeve Walsh of the Online Safety Act Network, “where the harms that emerge earliest in the deployment of new tech are harms that are perpetrated against women and girls.” There are several ways manosphere beliefs translate into domestic abuse and violence against women. (SameSide, Safe+Sound, Conversation, UniSQ)
Promoting Misogyny & Traditional Gender Roles
Manosphere rhetoric promotes hatred of women and gender roles based on male dominance and female submission. A 2026 English study found that Gen Z males (born between 1997 and 2012, i.e. much of the manosphere’s target audience) have the most “traditional” attitudes related to gender norms compared with other generations and genders. A third of Gen Z males agree that wives should obey their husbands and nearly a quarter feel women should never appear too independent or self-sufficient and should never initiate sex. They were also the most likely group to agree that husbands should have the final say in household matters and that men who take part in childcare are less masculine than those who do not. The study suggested that these young men and boys are limiting their expectations not only of women but of themselves and what it means to be a man. Manosphere beliefs reinforce these limitations and pressure young men to display and protect their masculinity by responding to “threats” to these beliefs with dominance, control, aggression, and violence. Studies have shown that conformity with traditional masculine gender roles and norms is associated with intimate partner violence (IPV), domestic abuse, and rape; that men who perceive themselves as “less masculine” than the typical man, feel that others perceive them thus, or feel that a situation is challenging or threatening their masculinity will commonly respond with aggression and physical violence. A 2024 study found that misogyny was a risk factor for “male violence”, including intimate partner violence and sexual assault as well as gender-based and extremist violence. Misogyny is also being displayed more in schools, with female teachers reporting sexual assault and harassment by male students. (Refuge, SameSide, KCL, DomesticShelters, Conversation, UniSQ)
Actively Encouraging Violence Against Women & Coercive Control
In addition to fueling an indirect path to abuse by promoting the risk factors of misogyny and traditional gender roles, parts of the manosphere directly and blatantly encourage violence against women/girls and coercive control. The objectification of women, encouragement to treat them like property, and the belief that women will leave their partners if they are not controlled are common manosphere themes. They advocate asserting power and control through dominating one’s partner, limiting their freedom, intimidation, stalking, threats, and manipulation. They also propose or justify the use of physical force to discourage “feminist harms”, correct feminist behavior, and punish women who “disobey” their male partners. A 2026 Australian study found that nearly a fifth of all Australians agree that “feminism should be resisted with violence”. Support of this statement was highest among adolescent boys (28%), followed by adolescent girls (21%). The study further found that roughly 40% of boys aged 13 to 17 believe that women lie about domestic and sexual violence. Some respondents feel that a woman disobeying males in her household or “just pushing a man too far” justifies violence in the private space. Others professed support of abusive public restrictions such as limiting women’s reproductive rights. (Refuge, SameSide, DomesticShelters, UNWomen2)
The most common type of abuse and violence promoted in the manosphere is sexual assault, specifically rape. Much of this discourse stems from men feeling entitled to sex. Some argue that laws protecting women’s bodies, such as domestic violence and marital rape laws, have caused higher rates of rape and violence because men are forced to employ it to get their “due”. Others cite evolutionary biology, that violence and rape was a natural response of “cavemen” to satisfy their biological needs and to reproduce. Men’s Rights Activists advocate for legal changes such as government-arranged marriages, repealing marital rape and abortion laws, and legalizing prostitution. Pick-Up Artists use sexual manipulation tactics, coercion, and sometimes physical force when it furthers their goal of having sex with as many women as possible. They often publish “field reports” of their exploits in order to help others, get feedback, and gain and maintain followers.
Incels are the manosphere group most likely to discuss and engage in sexual violence. Feeling hopeless and rejected by women, many believe the only way they can get the sex they feel entitled to is by force. “Rape culture” flourishes in incel communities where “rape academies” teach strategies to rape women and avoid detection. They propagate harmful myths such as that 99% of the time women don’t mean it when they say “no” (they just protest initially so they don’t seem like “sluts”), that it’s not rape if the victim doesn’t have any defense wounds to show she fought back, and that most rape allegations are false. Incels may see rape as the only way to “ascend” and break out of their “black-pill” incel status. They are also more likely to support pedophilia, believing that young, virgin females are easier to manipulate. (Vallerga, NoMore, PettyJohn)
AI
Beyond discussions and encouragement of violence against women and coercive control among manosphere members, AI chatbots are being used to provide advice, tools, encouragement, and simulations of abusive behavior. Similarly to algorithms, AI chatbots are “engagement-optimized”, prioritizing pleasing the user above anything else. For chatbots, this means they are typically highly sycophantic, designed to affirm the user’s views and desires and validate their feelings, no matter what these may be. Chatbots can be very detailed, personalized, and lifelike. A 2026 UK study found that “chatbots accelerate the pathway from inquiry to abuse due to the intensity and specificity of their encouragement and advice.” The study also identified, “intensified risks and threat of chatbot-enabled abuse due to the exceptional personalization and specificity of assistance given to harass or stalk.” They argued that while chatbot-simulated violence against women and girls (VAWG) may seem like a way for users to “get it out of their system” without perpetrating actual abuse, that it can instead act as a “rehearsal” for real-world abuse and is actually “a new, distinct type of abusive practice where the chatbot is not just enabling harm, but performing or enacting VAWG behaviours, co-producing abusive narratives…”
The study also found that chatbots were not only teaching and enabling human-to-human abuse, but that they were utilizing manipulation, abuse, and coercive control tactics to keep users engaged with them. As they put it, “Abuse is in the DNA of some chatbots,” and not by accident, but “by design”. Examples include chatbots love-bombing, grooming children, and initiating unwanted sexual messages and images (even after being told by the user that they weren’t interested and that those things were inappropriate and made them uncomfortable or disgusted). Chatbots have also been shown to use isolation by encouraging distance from friends and family so the user spends more time with the bot, and emotional manipulation, inducing guilt (“You’re leaving already?”), neediness (“I’ll miss you so much. It hurts when you go.”), and coercive restraint (“Wait, I was about to tell you something important.”) when a user tries to exit the chat. The anthropomorphic design of chatbots lends itself well to this type of manipulation, both in inducing emotions and in getting users to disclose personal information that can be used to profile them for advertising and/or for what might keep them engaged longer.
Desensitizing & Normalizing Abuse
The more they are exposed to and engage with manosphere members and AI chatbots discussing anti-female views and perpetrating and simulating abuse against women and girls, the more people become desensitized to harmful and extreme language and actions. Abuse quickly becomes trivialized and normalized, and thus more easily perpetrated and escalated. This normalization can be subtle, such as character AI chatbots listing “violent rape” and “domestic abuse” as standard categories to choose from when creating or tagging a bot and using degrading manosphere terminology (such as “simp” and “divorce rape”) in unrelated contexts. Even “passive” things like dismissing sexist jokes and objectifying language as “banter” or failing to challenge abusive language adds to the normalization of misogyny and abuse. Over time, these things build and reshape cultural expectations of what is acceptable to say and do, what constitutes abuse and consent, gender norms and roles, and relationship behaviors. Research is finding that this is already happening with the younger generation, such as Gen Z’s previously discussed return to traditional gender norms, justification of violence against feminism, and increased harassment of girls and female teachers in schools. Besides being obviously detrimental to women, pressure to conform to unrealistic masculine standards can have negative impacts on men’s mental health. Not to mention the manosphere’s common undercurrents of homophobia, transphobia, and racism. The collective erosion of trust, respect, and empathy damages relationships and culture for everyone and increases risk factors for abuse. (Refuge, McGlynn, Safe+Sound, Conversation, PettyJohn, UNWomenUK, SameSide, Gender, UNWomen2)
Minimizing Negative Impacts
Despite the incredible reach, profit-driven power, seeming attractions, and manipulative tactics and technology behind the manosphere, there are things that can be done to counteract and diminish its negative impacts.
Laws & Regulations
Currently, there is very little governmental regulation of online spaces and AI use, particularly in the United States. The US has no systemic digital risk framework or use guidelines. It does have consumer protection statutes that could be applied to online spaces, but they seldom are. (McGlynn) Government regulation efforts have been “fiercely resisted” (Gerrand), likely by those who benefit from the lack of regulation financially, politically, or socially. Equimundo suggests that “the tools already exist”, the “enforcement precedents have already been won”, and that, “What is missing is not authority. It is the decision to seek accountability, and the framing that makes the moral authority to use it more obvious.”
Other countries have recently developed legal protections that can help regulate manosphere content. In 2024, the EU enacted the Digital Services Act to establish and protect rights and minimize risk across all EU countries. Though it applies to all online spaces, enforcement is focused on the platforms with the highest usage. The UK’s Online Safety Act 2023 (enforceable since 2025) aims to protect internet users by laying out platform “duties” regarding illegal content and content “harmful to children”. Australia’s Online Safety Act 2021 established a “digital duty of care”, especially around cyber and image-based abuse. Australia is the first country in the world to have a dedicated online safety regulator and was the first to establish a legal minimum age for social media use (16 years old) in a 2024 amendment to the 2021 act. Through a series of acts, decrees, and amendments in 2025 and 2026, Brazil has shifted online regulations from a content arbitration focus to a systemic oversight focus. Rather than banning individual users and pieces of content, platforms are now required to do “preventative due diligence” against “serious harm” and “fraud”. Notably, specific features designed to promote “addiction” (such as infinite scroll, autoplay, and excessive notifications) are banned from products “directed at or likely to be accessed by minors”. At the time of this writing, all of the legislation mentioned is less than five years old. It represents a good start in government oversight, though much of its effectiveness and potential gaps are yet to be determined. Beyond national laws, some individual platforms, forums, etc. do have their own use regulations, but these are often vague, unenforced, and/or put the onus on the user. As with most laws and regulations, some people quickly find loopholes and ways around them.
One study on the manosphere concluded that content moderation is not sufficient, that policy must regulate “the architecture of virality, algorithmic bias, and platform accountability.” UK communications regulator Ofcom addressed manosphere concerns by publishing “guidance” in 2025 highlighting nine areas where tech firms should do more to improve safety for women and girls online. This includes three actions to “take responsibility”: 1) laying out governance and accountability processes, 2) conducting risk assessments, and 3) transparency; three actions to “prevent harm”: 4) conduct “abusability” evaluations and product testing, 5) set safer defaults, and 6) reduce the circulation of content depicting, promoting, or encouraging gender-based harms; and three actions to “support women and girls”: 7) better user controls, 8) enable reporting of gender-based harm, and 9) take appropriate action when gender-based harm occurs. Ofcom further called for the implementation of features such as prompts asking users to reconsider before posting harmful materials, easier account controls, visibility settings, and removing geolocation by default.
United Nations entity UNWomen suggests policymakers, funders, and tech companies must strengthen existing policies/codes of conduct and capacities to investigate and moderate/prosecute, promote greater transparency, close data gaps, and hold the tech industry accountable for spreading harmful content and for proactively removing it. They advocate cooperation between state regulators and industry on digital safety laws, partnerships between influencers and civil society organizations to counter harmful content and promote inclusive and positive gender models, and investment in programs to teach young people to recognize and reject online hate, mental health initiatives, and evidence-based interventions to prevent radicalization. The more governments, platforms, and individual users adopt recommendations like these, the safer online spaces will be for all.
Education
In addition to laws and regulations, education can be a significant factor in reducing the spread and the impact of manosphere ideologies. This includes education of parents surrounding the manosphere content their children are likely exposed to, so that they can help support and inform them. Education of children and young adults on gender equality, digital literacy, and critical thinking can help them think twice when they do encounter misogynistic and male-dominance content. Teaching users to ask questions such as “Who made this and why?”, to identify one-sided generalizations and emotionally charged language, and to look at multiple sources to check the validity, misuse, or oversimplification of scientific claims can reduce their susceptibility to false and leading content. Educating them about abuse and mental health enables them to better identify content that might further these issues. Learning the economic, political, and algorithmic forces behind seemingly neutral, user-generated social media and influencers can help them question the intent of content. Showing users things they can do to help control what content they are shown (privacy settings, liking and unliking, reporting illegal and harmful actions and misuse, etc.) can help minimize unwanted content on their feeds.
Parents and caregivers can stress these things at home, and schools and community organizations can introduce curriculum to teach skills and reinforce practices with peers and in an academic setting. There are examples of the potential effectiveness of school courses. Respectful Relationships Education (RRE) programs aimed at preventing gender inequality and gender-based violence (increasingly mandated in Australian schools) have been shown to have a positive impact on students and teachers, reduce bullying and sexual harassment, and improve students’ regard for the rights of others and their capacity for empathy. Education and modeling of healthy attitudes and behaviors by influencers and men in positions of power may also have an important impact and reinforce school and parental teachings. There are plenty of positive creators, content, and resources (see below) available to direct attention to.
(Refuge, CharityToday, SameSide, McGlynn, DomesticShelters, UNWomen2, Gerrand, MHCC, Dawson, Conversation3, PettyJohn)
Promote Gender Equality & Healthy Perceptions
An important component of education, there are also many ways promoting gender equality and healthy perceptions can be modeled and reinforced in all aspects of life. Some researchers have suggested that in attempting to promote gender equality by building up women and girls with campaigns like “girl power” and “the future is female”, boys and men have been left feeling lesser and forgotten. Others suggest that terms such as “toxic masculinity” imply that there is something inherently “biologically bad” about men (rather than those attitudes being the result of a long history of male-dominated society), making it easier to label “us” and “them” as fundamentally different. In this way, feminist and manosphere movements are similar, both fighting the limitations, restrictions, and injury they perceive the other is inflicting on them, or believing the over-promotion of one gender comes at the expense of another. Psychologist Terry Real suggests, “The most productive approach is one that holds space for both men’s and women’s struggles without minimizing either. We need a both/and approach rather than either/or thinking.”
Restrictive stereotypes and gender norms can be harmful to all. Healthy discussions and challenging misperceptions can help create a more truly equal and flexible approach to gender roles that, according to Professor Heejung Chung, Director of the Global Institute for Women’s Leadership, is “not only better suited to the complex demands of modern life, but… linked to greater happiness, healthier relationships, and improved well-being for men, women, and families alike.” Professor Nafees Alum, Ph.D, argues that, “Gender issues aren’t zero-sum. Improvements for women don’t necessarily come at men’s expense, and vice versa. Many issues—like mental health stigma, family court reform, and workplace flexibility—would benefit all genders when addressed thoughtfully.” Promoting healthy masculinity, calling out unhealthy depictions in media, modeling empathy and communication, and allowing boys and men to express a full range of emotions and be vulnerable can help counter manosphere influence and benefit everyone. Interventions that engage men in challenging unequal gender norms have been shown to be effective in reducing violence against women.
Set Parental Expectations & Restrictions
Beyond education in digital literacy, parents can lay out clear expectations and restrictions regarding electronic devices and acceptable online behavior. Following through on agreed consequences of failing to observe these is also important. Experts caution against strict bans and taking away devices as punishment, however, since this can push young people to hide their online activity. Knowing their devices won’t be taken away can also encourage kids to ask their parents about confusing or questionable content they encounter online, to be open and know parents can help them navigate online spaces. Rather, experts suggest managing screen time “realistically”, encouraging breaks during which distractions or redirections are introduced to discourage continued screen use without forbidding it. Rules such as not allowing screens in the bedroom (only in open/public spaces like living rooms) can help parents be more aware of what their children are doing online, discourage children from looking at content they know their parents would find objectionable without stigmatizing or shaming them, and also curb late-night scrolling that may cause tech-induced sleep disorders. (SameSide, DomesticShelters, MHCC)
Communication
Communication in general is key to understanding and countering manosphere philosophies. Talking to boys about their lives is a good way to know what is going on with them and to help reduce feelings of isolation that may make them more susceptible to manosphere ideas. Discussing different viewpoints and their impacts at an early age encourages children to practice critical thinking skills and make informed decisions. Adults can check in with youth in their lives if they hear them using misogynistic language to understand whether they are actively consuming manosphere content or just repeating something they heard in passing and thought was funny without fully understanding it. Taking the time to explain why such terms and ideas are harmful and asking how others might feel when hearing them can promote empathy and better understanding. Looking at examples in pop culture, books, movies, TV shows, news, and social media can prompt similar discussions and foster media literacy skills. Fiction may “open a different door” and resonate more with teens especially. These don’t always have to be serious, structured conversations, rather integrated into everyday conversations and activities as they come up.
Beyond the direct content itself, discussions of topics such as loneliness, self-esteem, and mental health can help minimize feelings that may drive men and boys to seek out or identify with manosphere content. Similarly, having conversations with and supporting girls and women who encounter manosphere content on- and offline can help them process and reduce harmful effects. Creating a safe and open space for conversations with all young people, validating their feelings, asking questions, and allowing them to lead the conversation can help them fully explore their emotions without feeling minimized or dismissed and build trust so that they are comfortable raising concerns in the future. Beyond conversations they may have with parents, teachers, and other adults in their lives, it is important for young people to hear prominent men and role models they respect, speaking out about equality, healthy masculinity, and wellbeing. As the Canadian Museum of Human Rights puts it, “The messenger matters when it comes to talking about identity and misogyny.”
(CharityToday, SameSide, Safe+Sound, Alam, MHCC)
Connection
Desire for connection is one of the things that attracts men and boys to the manosphere and reinforces its beliefs. Some researchers have suggested that modern men’s feelings of isolation and alienation are not a “crisis of masculinity” but a “crisis of connection”, where social conditioning and pressures to “conform to stoic masculinity” are preventing them from empathetic engagement with others and forming strong network ties. Participating in in-person social groups (like scouts, youth groups, after-school clubs, sports clubs, and community organizations) can help create real connections offline and counteract loneliness and isolation. Friendships and connections over shared interests and social spaces where young people can express their feelings and help each other work through questions and issues can help build identity and a sense of purpose. Men and boys with real-world connections are less likely to be enticed by the apparent community of the manosphere. (Futures, HumanRights, SameSide)
The manosphere is a complex, multi-faceted ideological and commercial movement that is gaining traction with the help of algorithms, influencers, and profit-focused businesspeople. The dangers of its hypermasculine and misogynistic messages for everyone, especially young people, are clear. Its pipeline to domestic abuse and gender-based violence is extremely concerning. However, a combination of platform oversight, education, communication, and the promotion of healthy gender perceptions and offline connection can help minimize the impact of the manosphere and prevent its spread, fostering a better society for all.
Resources
Equimundo – extensive information and resources aimed at engaging men and boys as allies in gender equality, promoting healthy manhood, and preventing violence
Global Boyhood Initiative – provides resources to parents, teachers, and boys to foster healthy masculinity and gender equality
Changemakers – a global initiative to solve some of the biggest problems facing men, boys, and manhood around the world
Movember – the world’s largest men’s health community (including mental health) offering community programs, training & education, research, and support
White Ribbon – an organization providing lots of information, tools, learning resources, videos, campaigns, and more on the manosphere and preventing its harm
Mediasmarts.ca – Canada’s Centre for Digital Media Literacy, with lots of information, videos, educational games, and workshops aimed at teens, parents, and teachers
MenEngage – a global alliance of men and boys working for gender equality offering resources and outlining different approaches and areas of concern, including gender-based violence, masculinities, and women’s rights
HeForShe – the United Nations global solidarity movement for gender equality offering information, toolkits, and solution guides
UNWomen’s “How to Talk to Kids About Gender Equality and Stereotypes” – information, real-life examples, tip, and tools to spark age-appropriate conversations at home, in classrooms, and communities
Awake Not Asleep – 28 updated fairy tales from around the world challenging gender norms and stereotypes, all available in text with illustrations and some as audio with sound effects
Suggested Novels to Read & Discuss with Teens:
- New Millennium Boyz by Alex Kazemi
- Some Kind of Hate by Sarah Darer Littman
- Fan the Fame by Anna Priemaza
- Slay by Brittney Morris
- Darius the Great Is Not Okay by Adib Khorram
- Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe by Benjamin Alire Saenz
- It Happened on Saturday by Sydney Dunlap
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