A “manosphere” tells young men to dislike themselves and others
In the age of self-improvement where self-worth is measured in likes, shares, and the contours of one’s jawline, the “manosphere” has taken male-dominated corners of the internet by storm. The term refers to a portion of the internet targeted at young, white, right-leaning males.
The content ranges from self-help, workouts, and misogynistic dating tips to full-blown hatred of women. It’s created by self-proclaimed “alpha males”, pickup artists, men’s rights activists, and life coaches, and followed by a legion of impressionable fans.
These modern-day Casanovas claim their charisma is a gift only few possess. For a fee, they’ll gladly share their secrets on their podcasts or websites in scammy seminars and pyramid schemes.
The result is a community where if you don’t hate yourself and others, you’re doing it all wrong and you need to change.
The commitment to the alpha grind varies. Some, like Leo Huehnergarth, ‘26, take a direct approach to what defines alpha-hood. “I just assert my dominance around other males, and they can tell. I’m shorter than most of them, but…I still mog all of them.”
Others take a more intense approach. One particularly concerning trend called “looksmaxxing” involves using pseudoscientific methods such as mewing, clenching the tongue to the roof of the mouth, to achieve rigorously upheld Eurocentric beauty standards.
Absurd measurements like “canthal tilt” that have no value to heterosexual women are high on the list of priorities to participants in this strange phenomenon.Few even go as far as to destroy their jawbones with hammers, hoping to regrow a sharper shape.
The rhetoric of these alphas is all about pushing the boundaries of human aesthetics. Yet it’s nothing but a money making scam, devoid of the integrity that the alphas claim to dearly value.
The toxicity goes beyond looks. The subculture pushes the narrative that being a man involves hating or conquering women, isolating oneself from loved ones, and caring about money over everything else.
With episodes from channels like “Alpha M” boasting titles such as “Make a Woman BEG for Your Attention!” and “Helping Young Men Unlock Their Inner Alpha,” young listeners are targeted for their insecurities, and eventually robbed of the personhood they had set out looking for.
This can culminate in violence and crime, with incidents like the 2018 attack in Santa Barbara that killed 10 people. The attack was motivated by incel ideology, a subset of the manosphere that encourages men lacking sexual interaction to blame women and society.
However, it doesn’t have to be this way. Family and friends can encourage young men to form a healthy sense of identity, and schools can equip students with robust media literacy skills. Perhaps then, alpha ideology will no longer escalate insecurities over acne to hatred of minorities and women.
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