Recently documentary film maker Louis Theroux released a film on the phenomenon known as the ‘Manosphere’, a troubling and toxically misogynistic way of life that is gaslighting many young men globally. Lara, member of the Somerset Youth Parliament advisory group watched the film and gives us her thoughts on it and the manosphere at large…it’s a powerful read.
I recently watched The Manosphere by Louis Theroux on Netflix. Whilst watching, I was joined by my dad, which was an insightful experience for both of us as he got to see who the men around me are shaping to be. Since then, I’ve had conversations in the office with other men my age and a few years older, as well as conversations with women in my life about the content that we watched.
My Thoughts and My Dad
It seems to be the consensus that the content that the men involved in the documentary were spewing is everything from outrageous to downright nonsensical. The way they treated the women in their lives and on the Internet was absolutely vile and it naturally made me ashamed to be showing my dad a piece of media that reflects so poorly on the way people in my life are growing up. During watching, he was quiet for the most part, occasionally breaking the silence of the room to mutter something about how terrible what they were saying was. However afterwards, we had a wider discussion on how things got to be this way, considering he couldn’t wrap his head around the idea of treating women like this when he’s got so much respect for the women in his life, which he credits to the way his mum raised him.
Men In My Life
I find it difficult to reason with some of the young men that follow people like HS and Andrew Tate so closely, but I also understand that radicalisation can oftentimes be a slow process and not an overnight change. The male loneliness epidemic is only increasing with the new digital age, and I know from experience that there are men in my life that couldn’t tell me what subjects their friends study, let alone how their mental health is doing. In my opinion, the patriarchy doesn’t just squash women, it’s directly impacting young men in a way designed to trap them with ideals of “status” and make them rely on belittling women to feel purpose.
Online views
Since then, I’ve seen a lot of content online making fun of the “high value“ men in the documentary that promoted fraudulent money schemes and lustful behaviour as a way to increase status. A big trend has been listing all of the things that women actually want, as opposed to someone that follows the behaviour of “high value men”. I definitely feel like this content is missing the mark. The focus is on what men think that women want. Even if there are women that agree with what these people are saying, that want femininity and compassion and empathy from a partner, it’s not the women that are saying this. Their voices are continuing to be left silenced in a conversation that directly affects them.
Summary
I think that the men with all of this power are truly lonely and troubled individuals. What I would’ve liked to have seen from this documentary is the impact that they have on women globally. There were interviews involving HS’s followers, but I don’t think it truly reflected the way that these men go on to treat the women in their lives. All of the people leading this movement are at the top of the food chain, having earned their money off the backs of other people. The followers of these groups are never going to amount to the money and “status” that their leaders so highly praise and are only ruining their own lives by breaking ties with all of the good women surrounding and supporting them. I find it sad to watch, and even sadder that a movement that’s so harmful to young women only has a focus on men.
Lara
Not just elected members
Did you know that Somerset Youth Parliament isn’t just it’s elected members? Any young person in Somerset aged 10-25 years can become a member of the Somerset Youth Parliament Advisory Group.
For more information about becoming a member of the Somerset Youth Parliament Advisory Group and to join, visit our Join Us page.
