The Manosphere Isn't About Men. Or Women

[Lila9]

22 hours ago, something_else said:

I usually agree with your points, but I think this one is being overthought a bit. It very clearly is a pipeline, and it disproportionately affects vulnerable kids.

In particular, I think this is where the framing goes off:

I don’t think that implication is there at all.

What’s actually happening is much simpler. Young boys, often in the 8–16 range, are being pulled into algorithm-driven content loops that progressively normalise these ideas. At that age, their ability to critically evaluate what they’re seeing is limited. It’s not that they have zero agency, but their ability to make an informed choice is heavily constrained.

It’s very similar to how young girls are influenced into makeup and beauty standards early on. We don’t describe that as a fully independent “choice” because it clearly isn’t. The same dynamic exists here, just in a different direction.

As they get older, I agree more with your point. At some stage, people are responsible for their views and actions. But early exposure matters, and it’s exactly why this content targets younger audiences so aggressively.

Not directly, but it plays a role. Isolation reduces social feedback, which makes it harder to develop empathy and calibrate behaviour. That doesn’t excuse anything, but it does increase the risk of someone adopting unhealthy views.

Because, in many cases, it’s upstream of the problem. A lot of harm towards women ultimately comes from men who have developed unhealthy views early on.

If the goal is to reduce that harm, then creating healthier men isn’t excusing behaviour, it’s addressing the root cause.

This article applies to young men from 18–20 to 35–40. They are called "boys" because society sees them as boys; it infantilizes them and does not hold them accountable.

The point is that young women also go through isolation and even more (oppression, discrimination, violence) and still do not behave like those men, which implies specific indoctrination in those men to hate, devalue, and objectify women.

Actual boys and girls (children, underage) are obviously vulnerable and do not have the mental capacity to think critically about it. But young adults do.

[Joseph Maynor]

I feel like the Feminine in general is more focused on relationship, and the Masculine is more focused on the individual; and this creates a natural conflict in reality that we face every day.  

Edited 3 hours ago by Joseph Maynor