The manosphere is filling a gap. But why?
The release of Louis Theroux's Into the Manosphere has brought a set of uncomfortable but important realities into sharper public focus, writes Kaci Oliphant.
‘Fringe issues’ embedding deep and wide
For many, Louis Theroux’s has exposed the scale, sophistication, and emotional pull of online spaces that are shaping how some young men understand the world around them, and their place in it. While the visibility is recent, the underlying dynamics are not. What is often framed as a fringe issue or strictly online phenomenon is in fact deeply embedded across our real-world systems - intersecting with families and communities, digital ecosystems, education environments, and political narratives.
Emerging evidence and practice insights point to a more complex picture than one of simple exposure to harmful content. Many young men engaging with these spaces are navigating a set of overlapping pressures: social isolation, economic uncertainty, disengagement from education or work, uncertainty about what it means to be a ‘good man’, a perceived sense of failure or misalignment with shifting gender expectations, and limited access to consistent, trusted sources of guidance. These experiences are often compounded by the erosion or fragmentation of traditional relational structures - including intergenerational connection, community-based mentorship, and everyday opportunities for positive role modelling.
Within this context, the manosphere does not operate solely as a source of problematic ideas, but as a system of meaning-making. It offers coherence, identity, belonging and direction in ways that are emotionally resonant and readily accessible. Its influence is therefore not only ideological, but relational - meeting needs that are otherwise unmet. They frequently centre power, dominance, and grievance, reinforcing harmful ideas about women and relationships that can shape behaviours and expectations in ways that perpetuate gendered harm.
This has important implications for how we understand prevention.
Role modelling and proximal influence
Framing the issue primarily as one of misinformation or harmful narratives risks overlooking the conditions that make those narratives compelling. Interventions that focus exclusively on counter-messaging or content moderation - trying to beat the ‘manosphere’ at a game it plays far too well - are unlikely to be sufficient if the underlying conditions remain unaddressed. Instead, there is a need to strengthen the everyday environments in which masculinity is learned and practised.
In our primary prevention campaign This is Manly, this means focusing on the role of proximal influence. Research consistently shows that norms around masculinity are continuously shaped most powerfully by close, repeated relationships - in families, schools, workplaces, sporting clubs and communities - not abstract messaging. These interactions, often subtle and cumulative, play a critical role in signalling what is acceptable, expected and possible.
Where positive, reflective and emotionally aware role modelling is absent or unsupported, other influences will inevitably fill the space.
The opportunity, therefore, is to intentionally build the presence and capability of these role models. This includes supporting men to recognise the influence they already hold, equipping them to engage more consciously in that role, and creating the conditions for this influence to be sustained within communities over time.
This approach does not seek to directly compete with the scale or reach of online ecosystems. Rather, it works at the level where identity is most deeply formed: through relationships that are trusted, repeated, and embedded in everyday life.
Growing the conditions for healthier relationships
The task ahead is not to outcompete the manosphere, but to outgrow the conditions that sustain it. This means intentionally strengthening the presence of positive male role models in young men’s lives - not as an add-on, but as a core strategy for prevention. This does not require perfect men. In fact, the pursuit of perfection can be paralysing. What matters is that more men are willing to reflect, to try, and to show up differently, even in small ways. This includes being open about getting it wrong, taking responsibility, learning, and showing up differently next time. Change doesn’t come from getting it right every time, but from more men doing a little better, more often.
If this resonates, there is a role to play, in your clubs, your workplace, your community, and your own relationships:
Explore and share the This is Manly campaign.
Check out the Accidental Role Model Playbook and pass it on the good men in your life who need a little help noticing their everyday influence and using it well.
Reach out to rhett.corker@thirdstory.org if you are interested in doing something for men in your local community.