Trigger Warning: mentions of misogyny, sexual violence, incels, men’s rights activists, transphobia, homophobia, and antisemitism. Please take care while reading.
If you are someone who dates men, chances are your cautionary attitude towards dating men and/or your general fear of men has been scrutinized. You have probably heard comments that fall into “the not all men” pipeline, or been told that there are “plenty of fish in the sea” in a dating pool that feels ever-constricting. You might fidget uncomfortably when older people, relatives, or friends press you about why you don’t just trust men.
And yes, while there are many kind men out there who respect women, the global rise of conservatism has undeniably contributed to what UCL professor Katherine Twamley labeled the Gen Z love crisis. The love crisis is supported by mounting evidence that Gen Z is turning away from dating. Studies show we are less inclined to maintain romantic relationships and are decidedly heteropessimistic—i.e., “disenchant[ed] with heterosexual relationships” compared to older generations.
In fact, we are a generation defined by dissatisfaction with sex and hook-up culture, with Carter Sherman writing that The New York Times has run article after article describing how Gen Z hook-ups have turned “orgasms into an endangered species.” Gen Z has been decidedly less sexually active, with many people intentionally opting out and/or disengaging, marking what is called “the sex recession.”
This love crisis is not just something we feel; it is profoundly real.
Also, that deep, unsettling feeling in your guts not to trust men is not lying to you.
Studies demonstrate there is a growing ideological gender divide, with women on average being more left-leaning than men. Similarly, with the rise of figures like Andrew Tate, there has also been an increased normalization of misogyny, with hateful rhetoric perpetuated and pushed onto young boys and men via algorithmic amplification on social media.
I have observed the Gen Z love crisis all around. Plenty of women I know have flagged being far right and conservative as an automatic dealbreaker on dating apps like Hinge. Interestingly, far-right men continue to ignore this dealbreaker or claim they know how to make women actually happy. Similarly, I have seen plenty of men push back against romantic rejections or intentionally make women uncomfortable both in real life and online.
The Global Gender Divide
So while older generations may be quick to ascribe this love crisis and supposed sex recession as a result of too much technology or the rise of AI love, technology is not the only factor. Furthermore, this gender divide and disenchantment with romantic relationships do not exist in a vacuum. As we increasingly identify and protest worldwide gender inequalities, it transforms our relationships on both an interpersonal and macro scale.
Global gender inequalities have given rise to global movements such as South Korea’s 4R movement, which advocates for the rejection of marriage, childbirth, dating, and sex due to widespread misogyny. Similarly, the overturning of Roe v Wade has led many women/people in the US to fear having sex, childbirth, and intimacy in a country that does not grant them bodily autonomy. Furthermore, in countries with humanitarian crises that have spurred GBV [gender-based violence], women live in fear and fight every day to protect themselves and others from violence. For example, in the Sudanese civil war, women and children have been made vulnerable to mass violence and sexual assault. Sudanese women are leading the movement against GBV, with over 49 women-led peace initiatives forming The Peace for Sudan platform.
While on a national scale, GBV may manifest and appear differently, they all intersect with the persistence of patriarchy, GBV, and oppression on a global scale. As the global rise of conservatism creates a ripple effect—with conservative policies further limiting women’s autonomy and perpetuating the subjugation of women globally—it is clear that these issues are untangleable.
New King’s College London Study & Inside The Manosphere
The intersection of intimacy, patriarchy, and GBV has particularly come to the forefront this month.
On March 5th, King’s College London published a global study, which was subsequently recirculated on social media. On International Women’s Day, it was cited over and over in infographic posts, and it instantly became a hot topic.
The study found that almost a third of Gen Z men agree that a wife should obey her husband— a frighteningly large fraction. This study, which surveyed 23,000 people across 29 countries, including the UK, USA, Australia, India, and Brazil, found that young men today are more likely to hold traditional views about gender roles than older generations. For example, a third of Gen Z men believe that husbands should have the final say in important decision-making.
Similarly, on March 11th, Netflix aired Louis Theroux: Inside The Manosphere, a documentary that explored the world of manosphere influencers, and it quickly climbed to Netflix’s Top Ten. If you don’t know what exactly the manosphere is, it is defined by UN women as a “loose network of communities that claim to address men’s struggles–dating, fitness, or fatherhood, for example–but often promote harmful advice and attitudes.” They are also united by “an opposition to feminism.” Some examples of manosphere beliefs and ideology that are outlined on the UN website include:
Incel ideology: the belief that men are entitled to women’s bodies and sex, with women supposedly intentionally depriving them of sex. Incels also promote rape, sexual assault, and have been linked to acts of mass violence.
Men’s Rights Activists’ ideology: the belief that feminism and women’s rights–for example, women’s voting rights—have harmed men.
Please visit the UN Women website to read more about the manosphere’s various ideologies.
The manosphere ultimately paints men as supposed “victims” of the current sociopolitical climate and spreads hateful messaging. It is important to note that while the manosphere specifically positions men against women and sets out to harm them, these men also engage in homophobic, racist, anti-semitic, and transphobic rhetoric.
Watching Inside The Manosphere
When I sat down to watch Inside The Manosphere, I mentally steeled myself for the onslaught of extremist, misogynistic rhetoric. Yet, I found myself most surprised and almost the most disturbed by how quietly the manosphere has crept into our everyday life and become the norm.
As the documentary demonstrated, these influencers are not extremists lurking in far-off corners of the internet. In fact, many young men and boys approach them on the streets to tell them they are fans of their content. It was strange to see boys as young as thirteen, likely dipping away from their families on holiday for a brief moment to approach these influencers.
The manosphere’s prevalence among youth is also reflected in education and classroom settings, with 61% of teachers in April 2025 reporting an increase in misogynistic attitudes and behaviors throughout the past five years. Similarly, 76% of secondary school teachers also reported they were concerned about online misogyny influencing their pupils.
So while the manosphere may seem a distant, far-off corner of the internet that deserves little attention, it is clear that it is embedding itself into our everyday interactions and our generation’s sense of intimacy, love, and care.
While the documentary highlights the prevalence of this online space, it also fails to achieve much. As British Vogue writer Chloe Laws asserts in her review of Theroux’s documentary: “Theroux wonders whether [trauma and] insecure upbringings created a distrust of traditional family life…,” framing manosphere ideology as rooted in trauma.
However, as Laws highlights, while it may not be the documentary’s intention, misogyny is constantly chalked up to “a lack of male role models, to bad mothers, and to romantic rejection,” in turn creating sympathy towards misogynistic behavior; subtly returning the blame to women; and pinpointing trauma as the heart of the manosphere. In fact, the documentary never explicitly addresses the consequences of misogyny on women and barely explores women’s perspectives at all. It further fails to explore the consequences of the manosphere’s homophobia, transphobia, racism, and other forms of hate.
In fact, while watching, all I could think about was how a woman would never be able to intimately research these groups or create this documentary in the same way. Her questions would not be respected or tolerated. She would be treated much like any woman who appeared in this documentary; she would be berated about her appearance, sex life, etc. I wonder how this documentary would’ve been different if it were created by a woman, and the manosphere was explored beyond a space that is designed for and solely impacts men.
It is clear that the manosphere is all around us, infiltrating our world both invisibly and in extreme ways. It has likely appeared on the algorithm of the man you are interested in seeing. It has impacted and skewed politics, with these influencers swaying young voters and meeting with political figures. It is important not to ignore our growing concerns regarding love, relationships, and men, but instead to hone in and trust our guts.