What We Can Learn From The Rise of the Manosphere

The manosphere has exploded over the last few years. This collection of streamers, social media personalities, and internet forums has been growing in prominence for some time, beginning in the dark corners of the internet and slowly leaching into the mainstream. Now its influence and popularity have reached a fever pitch—two-thirds of young men regularly engage with masculinity influencers online. And though it may seem counterintuitive, we can learn something from the manosphere’s rise.

The movement has many tentacles, running the gamut from creators offering self-help tips and nutritional supplements to those spewing shockingly toxic ideas about women’s value and what it means to be masculine. The core ideology says that men are worthless without expensive cars, aggressive demeanors, and big muscles, and that women should stick to housework, sex, and procreation. If you don’t fit that mold, you’re doing it wrong.

Why is it that people are embracing such retrograde ideas, while at the same time we’re making broad progress toward gender equity? Though gains are slow and there has been recent backsliding, global gender equality has improved over the last 20 years in the realms of workforce leadership, political representation, and education for women and girls. You would think that such gains would help dismantle harmful ideas about gender, not coincide with their resurgence in some circles—but research tells us that progress toward equality often provokes exactly this kind of backlash among those who fear a loss of status.

Plus, the last two decades have brought major headwinds that are feeding this culture: a volatile job market and increased cost of living that can make traditional markers of success—such as going to college or owning a home—feel increasingly out of reach. These pressures fall on men and women alike, but the manosphere offers men a seductive, if false, solution. And when people feel trapped—like the system is rigged against them, like they can’t get ahead, like they are set up to fail—they find solace in surprising places. Fueled by political grievance and online discourse, they fantasize about a different world—one in which they have a clear-cut identity and sense of purpose, and their only responsibility is to themselves.

But this approach won’t solve their problems—it will make them worse.

Neither men nor women will succeed if they define success so narrowly for themselves, if they let the internet tell them how to be. And more equity between genders inside and outside the home would actually help create the kind of broader change that could counter the urge to retreat to such archaic gender roles to begin with.

We know that:

• Rigid ideas around masculinity can negatively impact mental health in boys and men.
• Egalitarian couples are typically healthier ones, and when husbands and wives both earn salaries, divorce rates fall—and lower divorce rates are related to more financial stability.
• When women participate equally in the labor force, it directly correlates with increased GDP and more resilient economies.
• Women typically reinvest 90% of their earnings into their families and communities, which boosts development and decreases poverty.
• When women hold more political power, economies grow; further, women legislators tend to bring more federal money to their constituents and advance more bills that address issues like poverty, education, and health care.

More equal gender roles make for a healthier economy, stronger households, and happier men and boys. By fighting for a world in which women aren’t full participants, the manosphere is fighting for a world in which everyone is worse off, and the very systemic forces they are reacting to will only become more entrenched.

Lean In was founded to encourage women’s ambition, because we believe that systemic problems—unstable economies, poor education, deficient health care, biased workplaces, inadequate support for parents and caretakers—won’t change unless more women are in the positions of power where they can drive that change.

The manosphere is loud. But so are we—and we have the evidence on our side. We hope you’ll join us.