Man Feels Enlightened After Watching "The Manosphere," Concludes That Just How Men Are
Louis Theroux’s recent Netflix documentary “The Manosphere” illustrates the growing trend of “Red-Pilled” men who espouse traditional values, or more accurately: misogynistic beliefs. They often regard women as second-class citizens, denigrate their intelligence, and humiliate them at any given opportunity. Anyone with a modicum of skill in character evaluation can instantly see these content creators are extremely insecure, display no confidence, and are desperate for any validation they can glean. But a small minority of viewers see something much different in these men: boys being boys.
It is not uncommon for women to receive aggressive, belittling, and inappropriate messages from men. Some communications seem more harmless, e.g. “I love your cleavage I wish you were mine.” Others are soaked in sexual violence, “If I ever saw you irl I wouldn’t be able to control myself.” And a few are just perplexing, “Did you know that women can’t be chemical engineers because their hormonal ovaries produce pheromones that interfere in the alchemical process?” These types of messages are rooted in the internalized misogyny of our society, which is currently being fueled by what some have termed, “the Manophsere.”
“The Manosphere” is a loose collection of different influencers, content creators, websites, blogs, and forums advocating for traditional masculinity. It comes as a response to feminism, and a petulant plea for a return to a completely patriarchal society. The Manosphere has risen in popularity, primarily amongst teenage boys who interpret being cool as having a fancy car and suit, wearing sunglasses, and bullying minorities. The men who view this as success do not possess the critical thinking or media literacy to watch Theroux’s documentary as the scathing exposé that it is. They leave thinking the movie’s display of toxic masculinity is an explanation rather than a critique.
On X (formerly Twitter), user Evie posted screenshots of direct messages she received from a man stating, “would love to have a go at you,” “are you available to meet and smash,” “are you getting these? i want to have sex with you.” The unreplied messages show the man’s profile picture with his presumed wife (assuming a woman would marry such a man). A commenter tried to dissuade the Evie from her repulsion and stated, “Evie. Watch the Manosphere, just once. I guarantee it will change your views on things like this and make you realise he’s just simply being a Man. It changed the way I think, so I know it will for you. Trust me.”
This man’s response, completely out of touch, lacking intro- and extrospection, and delivered with such sincerity he believed would change the woman’s mind is almost endearing. Almost. We are left wondering if this man saw Al Gore’s “An Inconvenient Truth” and came away thinking that the Earth’s reliance on fossil fuels necessitated increased production. Whatever Manosphere this man is living in, we certainly know it’s completely disconnected from anything we could ever imagine.