The Manure/Manosphere

The Manure/Manosphere

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I like to call it the Manure-sphere, because all these guys are spewing so much shite.

After the Louis Theroux documentary on the Manosphere dropped last week, the world has been abuzz with its reception. Many people think it was an important watch, others think it missed the mark. I tend to agree with both sides. In that, while there are definitely things missing, such as the perspectives of women, the perspectives of men entrapped by the manoshperic grift, it is still better to have this version of a documentary than nothing at all. At least the conversation is happening. More needs to be addressed, I totally agree, but that doesn’t mean that what’s been done thus far isn’t good.

Now more people know that manosphere grifters are exactly that. Scam-artists who don’t even believe their own bullshit. Condemn porn while simultaneously profiting from the production of it. Telling men to be provocative while being monogamous themselves. There are so many, many hypocrisies.

The major difference between this scam and other financial scams is that it also sells a life perspective. One that is dangerous, hateful, and ignorant. However, like most scams it functions by preying on vulnerability, offering simple-but-false answers to your problems: ‘Hey young man, the reason you’re unhappy is because of women. It has nothing to do with how you were socialised, conditioned and manipulated into believing you can’t interact and engage with an emotionally healthy life.’

Target the mot vulnerable minds with simple answers to complex problems and you will influence them. It doesn’t even need to be subtle. All they’re doing is profiting from vulnerability. The question is, how do we stop it?

We need to highlight role models and influencers who promote a different message. And the issue isn’t that there aren’t any. I know a lot of good men doing good work. The problem is reasonable, rational, compassionate opinions aren’t extreme. By their very nature they’re not divisive, because they make sense. And so media outlets don’t write about them, and algorithms don’t boost them, because they’re not hot takes – they’re reasonable takes.

What we need to do (at least, one of the things we need to do among many) is stop normalising the mainstreaming of fringe and radical opinions. Big Tech has a lot to answer for in this domain. Promoting the most controversial content because these videos tend to get a lot of clicks is unethical. But the game is to get the most views, clicks, likes, shares, and there’s very little thought given to the type of content that garners those engagement metrics.

So maybe part of the solution is reimagining what makes money online. What is reasonable takes were the most compelling ones? Why aren’t they? Is that on us, or is it how we’ve been conditioned to consume?