A report published in The Lancet argues that the Manosphere, a collection of online communities spreading misogynistic ideas, should be treated as a public health problem, with regulation similar to that applied to smoking and fast food.
The authors say the movement has contributed to health harms including violence against women and girls, mental health issues, and the "delegitimising" of the idea of boys and men seeking help. They describe it as a money-making "loose collection" of online communities "united by shared beliefs about masculinity, misogyny and male victimisation".
Profit From Outrage
The report claims people are making money online from causing outrage because it is seen as "good for business". Online platforms and companies are profiting from young men's anger and insecurities, the authors warn. On some forums, they say, women are portrayed as weak, expected to obey, and only capable of motherhood.
The authors argue that outrage and grievance are "good for business" in this online environment, with boys and young men targeted by those wanting to make money by exploiting their fears and vulnerabilities.
Parallels With Tobacco Industry
The report states that the Manosphere, its content creators, and hosting platforms use similar strategies to the "tobacco and ultra-processed food industries", putting the blame on the individual. It says: "Men's problems are framed as the result of feminism rather than structural conditions, and masculine identity is commodified through products and paid content that normalise and reinforce health-harming and performance-oriented masculinities."
It adds: "Efforts to regulate or moderate content are frequently framed as threats to men's autonomy, restricting political space for intervention." The authors argue that regulation should focus on online platforms rather than users, similar to bans on tobacco advertisements directed at children rather than criminalising smokers.
Coordinated Response Needed
The authors say tackling the Manosphere should involve a coordinated response by governments, schools, health services, and community organisations. They believe the power of algorithms should be harnessed to combat the Manosphere's damage and promote positive messaging instead.
Professor Sarah Hawkes, report co-author and co-founder of Global 50/50 social justice think tank, said: "The Manosphere offers boys and young men belonging, identity and an explanation for why life feels hard. Those needs are real. A response that only removes the Manosphere, without offering something credible in its place, will fail. We need to offer boys something better, not just tell them what to avoid."
Fellow co-author Professor Kent Buse, affiliated with the Department of Global Population Health at Monash University Malaysia, argued boys and men are not the problem, but rather the business model set up to target them. He said: "This is a business model, not a fringe. Outrage and grievance are good for business, so the system rewards the most extreme content. Expect the playbook that served tobacco so well: blame the individual, and call regulation an attack on freedom. Public health has a tested toolkit for commercial harms and we should use it. Boys and men are not the problem. The problem is the conditions that leave them isolated and without a secure future, and the companies that profit from their anger and insecurity."
Previous research found about 63 per cent of young men are thought to watch masculinity influencers, with one in six boys aged six to 15 said to have a positive opinion of Andrew Tate. The Children's Society warned it could "escalate into physical and sexual violence against women and girls when their views become extremely distorted".
The report says factors such as boys and young men being pushed to the edge of the education system and isolation must be addressed. It calls for a boost to employment, providing skills to improve access to jobs, re-engaging boys in education, and improving access to mental health and other frontline health services for this age group.
The report concluded: "The harms to boys and men, to women and girls, and to wider society, provide a clear basis for action. Reducing these harms requires addressing the societal and economic conditions, commercial structures, and social norms that sustain the appeal of the Manosphere. This is a political, legal, economic, and social challenge demanding co-ordinated, sustained action on multiple fronts - a public health framing can unlock such an approach."
