Introduction
I used to think that being younger meant being more progressive. Growing up as part of Gen Z, I naturally gravitated towards adopting a modernized set of ethics. I assumed that was the case for most of us. However, I was massively disillusioned by the rising wave of verbal and physical assaults made by misogynistic young men.
In my naivete, I thought only the boomers and the subsequent elder generations were orthodox. In contrast, the older generations, while having their reservations, are adapting to modernity far better than Gen Alpha. And it's not like people who follow traditions are inherently conservative either. In fact, traditional outlooks are becoming quite tolerant and receptive in these times.
This alarming contrast raises some poignant questions: Where did we go wrong? Why is the manosphere prevailing in younger generations?
H2 The Manosphere Deciphered
We've all seen Netflix’s seminal series titled “Adolescence”. The series helped unveil the hidden narratives of misogyny underscored within online and offline spaces for teenagers. For most of us, the series performed as a harsh introduction to this apathetic disconnect between young boys and girls.
It made me wonder: What is the Manosphere?
The phenomenon of the manosphere consists of growing online communities that claim to heed men’s concerns like fatherhood, fitness, and dating. However, the popular discourse within these communities always ends up being dangerously entitled and hateful towards anything associated with feminism.
Image Credits: Freepik
You can even see its presence on various online platforms. The online world is becoming more calculated and divided into separate factions with specific content. It caters differently for men, women, teenage boys and girls, racial majorities, and the LGBTQ+ community. For instance, my Instagram feed is enmeshed with makeup, queer media, dark academia core, book recommendations, and independent journalists. Alarmingly, I found reels about alpha male lifestyle, fitness, dank memes, and misogynist influencers in my classmate's feed.
H2 The Many Faces of Toxic Masculinity in Online Communities
The truth about why the manosphere attracts so much attention from young boys and adults runs much deeper than just mindless misogyny. One of the major contributing factors to the rising manosphere movement is loneliness. As more and more young girls are taught the value of earning for themselves, they naturally seek partners who can match their emotional and intellectual quotient.
In contrast, young boys feel lonely and like no one really knows them. Since the young men of Gen Alpha feel isolated in the real world, they seek validation and support from manosphere lifestyle coaches. However, instead of teaching about responsibility and the core of men's challenges like male rapes, bullying, and suicide rates, these life coaches teach the opposite.
Manosphere influencers view themselves as alpha lifestyle coaches whose mission it is to reveal the “truth” to others. This truth unveils how men are victims of society and how the world is prejudiced against them. To summarize, they capitalize on spreading tall tales about misandry.
This type of “inspirational and motivational” content has given rise to the following sub-groups under the manosphere:
Men's Rights Activists (MRAs): Often toting an academic veneer to disguise their misogyny, these groups claim that women's rise as scholars, politicians, and major stakeholders has negatively affected men's rights. For instance, those men in your Instagram comment section who throw statistics about men’s suicide rates and blame them on women's apathy.
Involuntary Celibates (incels): These are arguably the second most dangerous sub-group in the manosphere. Incels believe that by the right of nature itself, men are entitled to *** and women who deprive them of it should be “taught” their status. Incel culture encourages ****, assault, racism, and homophobia. For instance, there was a telegram chat with over 70,000 incels discussing ******** assaulting the women in their lives.
Pick Up Artists (PUAs): These self-proclaimed ones are, in my opinion, the most dangerous of them all. These “artists” teach men how to coerce women into getting into relationships with them or marry them by making up a fake, sympathetic personality. They mock the idea of ****** consent. Usually, the teachings of these artists give rise to ****** predators who prey on adolescent girls.
Red Pill Ideologists: Derived from the famous movie The Matrix, this ideology draws on the fact that men are asleep to the reality that the world favors women over men. To be “redpilled” is to know the truth and to be awake. For them, men who support feminism and believe in equal rights are blue-pilled.
Image Credits: Unsplash
In other words, online communities like the manosphere would rather believe in obscure theories than learn how to share the world with women.
H2 How to Stop the Influence of Manosphere
The myth that online communities have no tangible significance in the real world needs to be dismissed with prejudice. The increasing popularity of the manosphere has given rise to violent games like No Mercy that contain graphic scenes of ****** assault. The game was forcibly taken off Steam due to protests raised by survivors, child protection activists, and the general public. We need to learn how to navigate the negative impact of the manosphere on gender dynamics. The following are some crucial steps that everyone must take in order to prevent the rise of the manosphere:
Keep an eye out for your children. Are they becoming secretive and spending too much time on the internet? Are they using hateful speech, and is their behavior becoming disruptive towards the women in their families? Are they suddenly obsessed with manliness? These are red flags; check their online activity immediately!
It's time we teach our younger generations that healthy forms of emotional expression are valued and appreciated. You should always encourage them to explore their identities without falling into the pitfalls of gender stereotypes. Make young children, especially boys, understand that being vulnerable is not weak.
Expose children to social media and popular culture in a mindful way that promotes healthy discussions about gender dynamics and toxic masculinity.
Media literacy is an incredibly important skill that teaches one to discern oversimplifications, generalizations, and propaganda from the truth. When you help your children develop this skill, they will automatically know how harmful movements like the manosphere are built on lies.
It is up to us, as the next generation of parents, to reverse the tide against this growing online animosity towards women.
Image Credits: Freepik
Conclusion
To be aware is to be responsible. We need to recognize that the victims of radical movements like the manosphere are not only women, but men too. If feminism has taught me anything, it's that one can never go wrong in supporting equal rights for everyone. That includes men as well. Young, vulnerable, and depressed boys fall prey to the promise of community offered by these manfluencers only to end up even more isolated. Manosphere is a cry for help, and not a battle cry. The cycle needs to stop.
