A new report published in the Lancet argues that the manosphere should be tackled as a public health problem, in a similar way to campaigns against smoking.
Academics say so-called 'masculinity' influencers are causing health harms that need to be addressed in a comparable way to the crackdown against the tobacco industry. The manosphere, a loose network of digital forums and groups claiming to address men's struggles, has instead led to violence against women and girls, as well as mental health issues and isolation for boys and young men, the report says.
Call for coordinated response
The report calls for a coordinated response by governments, schools and health services to treat the manosphere as any other public health risk. Previous research by The Children's Society has shown that two-thirds of young men watch so-called 'masculinity' influencers, who expose them to content filled with negative attitudes towards women and girls.
These influencers collectively boast millions of social media followers. While their content is tagged as fitness, dating or moneymaking, they are accused of veering into misogyny, antisemitism and homophobia.
Dual British-US citizens Andrew and Tristan Tate, who are facing extradition to the UK over rape and sex trafficking charges, have been viewed as some of the biggest figures in the manosphere community. They deny the allegations.
Health harms and commercial ecosystem
Authors Prof Sarah Hawkes and Prof Kent Buse, co-CEOs of think tank Global 50/50, say in their research that the manosphere 'redirects blame' for the problems men face 'to women and feminism rather than the structural and economic forces responsible.'
The academics argue that the manosphere has caused a host of health harms. The report says that the sense of dominance and entitlement the videos create has led to a heightened risk of violence against women and girls. Doxxing, cyberstalking and rape threats can cause victims to suffer from PTSD, depression and other conditions, Prof Hawkes and Prof Buse stated.
Andrew Tate, who a 2024 HOPE not hate study found had been watched by 80% of boys aged 16 and 17, has publicly admitted he is 'absolutely a misogynist' and talked about hitting and choking women.
The Lancet research also says that boys and young men suffer from the narratives peddled by manosphere influencers. One concern is that the idealised male body promoted by content creators has been linked to causing mental health problems in boys. So-called manfluencers can also encourage men not to seek professional help for issues they are struggling with.
The paper added: 'Similar to the tobacco and ultra-processed food industries, content creators and hosting platforms deploy strategies that individualise responsibility.'
Prof Buse told Metro: 'Boys are not the problem. They are the market. A boy goes there because it offers what school, family and the state have not: belonging, identity and an explanation for why life feels hard.'
'The manosphere cultivates the insecurity, then sells the cure. The manosphere is not a few bad men on the internet. It is a commercial ecosystem that earns its money from young men's insecurity.'
Regulation and government response
The report laid out why the manosphere 'is best understood and addressed as a public health problem', which the academics argue will help target its 'underlying social, structural and commercial' causes. The authors said factors such as social exclusion and isolation in boys and young men could be addressed by boosting employment, skills to improve access to jobs, and re-engaging boys in education.
They also called for 'equitable access to mental health and other frontline health services' designed to reach this group. Prof Hawkes and Prof Buse argued that regulation should focus on the online platforms rather than the users, similar to bans on tobacco advertisements directed at children, rather than criminalising smokers.
They want ministers to invest in boys' education, jobs and mental health services and clamp down on the business model propping up manfluencers. Prof Buse added: 'For a decade we have argued about what boys watch. We should be asking who profits and who pays.'
'My message to government is that it has the pieces and no plan…'
'[The government should] regulate the incentives: make platforms accountable for what their algorithms amplify, using regulatory and fiscal measures, as the UK did with tobacco.'
Jake Richards, Minister for Men and Boys, told Metro: 'This report is a wake-up call for us all, but this government is determined to rise to the challenge.'
'Too many men and boys are experiencing poorer outcomes at every stage of life – in education, in employment, in their physical and mental health. For many, this is leaving them isolated and disconnected from real-world communities.'
'It's therefore no surprise that many turn to social media and self-styled 'role models' in search of a sense of belonging. Positive online communities exist, but this report exposes the pervasive scale of a serious, insidious online threat.'
'This has been going on for far too long. We must close off these routes and provide men and boys with a viable alternative to this toxic online ecosystem. It means women and girls will be safer, communities stronger, and society better off.'
'Men styling themselves as role models online are in fact inflicting serious damage on the mental and physical health of the very people they claim to support. They say they build men's confidence, but in reality they knock them down. They exploit loneliness and insecurity to distort what it means to be a man. And they ramp up division to sow the seeds of misogyny.'
'As this report sets out, this issue cannot be tackled by just one Government department.'
He continued: 'This ranges from improving healthcare through the Men's Health Strategy to clearing the path to work and training through apprenticeships, skills reforms and the Youth Guarantee. This is a cross-Government ambition which we are determined to meet.'
'We cannot talk about improving outcomes for men and boys without addressing the safety of women and girls. The manosphere exploits the challenges men face to foster sexist attitudes that put women in real danger.'
'This week, we launched the first ever misogyny prevention fund. We are serious about taking real action to identify, transform and root out sexist attitudes – many of which thrive in the manosphere.'
'And my colleague, the Minister for Women and Equalities, Bridget Phillipson last month launched a national taskforce for tackling misogyny. Together, these will help us to stamp out the horrific violence, abuse, discrimination, and misogynistic comments women and girls face every day in Britain.'
Mark Brooks, Policy Director at the Centre for Policy Research on Men and Boys, welcomed the report's position that the manosphere was a public health problem. He continued: 'Far too often, the manosphere discussion has positioned all men and boys as a problem and not taken into account the broader economic, education and cultural challenges that drive their engagement.'
However, Alex DiBranco, executive director of the Institute for Research on Male Supremacism in the US, said the manosphere was part of misogynist 'ideology' and warned: 'Mental health approaches [to tackling it] are really problematic because misogyny is not a mental health issue.' She argued that a focus on mental health 'centres the idea that boys and men are the main victims of the manosphere, rather than girls and women', who are 'erased' by the 'sympathetic culture'.
DiBranco added: 'Even though it is very popular to focus on the manosphere and influencers, male supremacism is at the core of our society and has been since its routes. It is not something that is a new phenomenon of the internet.'
