‘Men drawn to manosphere need to feel valued, not judged…’
The so-called ‘Manosphere’ is a hot topic right now with the advent of insidious influencers such as Andrew Tate and Jordan Peterson. Now that we are beginning to see behind the curtain of these men and their tumultuous private lives, the focus seems to be turning away from the manosphere influencers themselves and more towards their followers…
Written and directed by Peter Grant for the BBC and presented by James Blake, Men of the Manosphere follows three young men who have become enticed by the manosphere as they attempt to navigate a world that views them with suspicion at best and hates them at worst.
Blake is an interesting choice as a presenter as he admits that he himself became attracted to the manosphere following a particularly rough break up. This ensures that the young men that he interviews are happy to open up to him as they perhaps see a kindred spirit there. The downside to having an affable, younger man doing the interviewing is that he never really encourages his subjects to consider if the beliefs of the manosphere are morally dubious or not. He lightly skirts the topic of misogynism, for example, where someone like Louis Theroux would have been more direct and incisive. That being said, at its best Men of the Manosphere demonstrates that the young men who become embroiled in this area are not monsters but rather just sad and insecure men who want to feel like a little less lonely.
It’s tough to explore such a vast and troubling topic in an hour (I would recommend James Bloodworth’s excellent book Lost Boys for anyone interested in exploring the manosphere in more depth), but by focusing on the followers rather than the leaders, Men of the Manosphere remains compelling throughout.