It is easy to dismiss the manosphere as an online fringe – an algorithmic rabbit hole inhabited by a loud but irrelevant minority. Louis Theroux’s new documentary challenges that assumption. What is presented is not a distant, digital subculture, but rather something much closer to home: a network of dangerous ideas shaping the attitudes and behaviours of young men.
Broadly defined, the manosphere encompasses a range of online communities that are built around anti-feminist rhetoric, male superiority and rigid ideas about gender roles. Somehow, reducing it to ‘online misogyny’ severely underestimates its reach. These ideas start on podcasts and forums, but they then begin to permeate into everyday life, especially the school place.
So, what exactly does this documentary show? The answer is, a number of severely alarming incidents. Featuring exclusive interviews with highly popular influencers, viewers begin to learn about the views of these individuals. One of the most strikingly concerning ideologies possessed by people in the manosphere is that of one-way monogamy – the idea that in a relationship, the man is free to pursue other sexual and emotional connections, whilst the woman must remain loyal. Speaking to Myron Gaines, Gaines states: ‘I do whatever the f*ck I want to do, she’s loyal to me. She packs my f*ckingcondoms when I travel, that’s how real it is.’ The remark is striking not only for its explicitness, but for what it implies: a model of relationships built on control, entitlement, and the expectation of unquestioned female loyalty.
A similar rhetoric emerges in the comments of Justin Waller, who claims that “men build, invent and maintain society,” before challenging Louis to identify anything women have created in their plain sight. Such statements do more than provoke—they actively construct a narrative in which women are positioned as non-contributors, with their labour and achievements erased in order to justify their marginalisation.This claim is not only reductive, but demonstrably false. The very technologies that underpin modern life bear the imprint of women’s innovation: from the frequency-hopping technology pioneered by Hedy Lamarr, which laid the groundwork for the Wi-Fi Justin uses to upload his ideas, to the windscreen wipers invented by Mary Anderson that are used on the luxury cars below him, and early central heating systems developed by Alice Parker- used to heat his home. Waller’s argument therefore does not simply diminish women—it relies on a rewriting of reality.
It is important to understand why beliefs such as the ones previously mentioned are dangerous. The danger of the manosphere lies not only in its most extreme expressions, but in its gradual normalisation. When misogynistic ideas are repeatedly framed as reasonable or justified, they begin to lose their shock value. Over time, they risk becoming part of the cultural background. For women, the consequences are tangible. The attitudes promoted within these spaces can translate into everyday behaviours: dismissiveness, hostility, and, in more serious cases, coercion or harassment. What begins as rhetoric can shape expectations about relationships, consent, and power.
One of the biggest problems that arises with the manosphere, and the ‘Red Pill’ rhetoric is the influence it has on young adults. Schools are increasingly becoming one of the first points of contact with these ideas—not through formal education, but through social media, peer dynamics, and algorithm-driven content. By the time students reach university, many of these beliefs are already familiar, if not partially internalised. Manosphere content often presents itself as self-improvement advice—confidence-building, fitness, financial success—before gradually introducing more extreme ideas about gender roles and relationships. For young boys navigating insecurity, identity, and social belonging, this messaging can be particularly persuasive. It offers certainty at a time when much of their world feels uncertain. When misogynistic ideas are allowed to circulate unchecked, they shape peer interactions, reinforce harmful stereotypes, and create environments in which respect and equality are undermined.
There are ways to tackle these ideas. Space for open, structured conversations about masculinity, media literacy, and support for teachers who wish to address these issues is crucial to stop such beliefs from infiltrating young, impressionable minds.
Louis Theroux’s ‘Inside The manosphere serves as a stark warning for the troubling online subcultures that have been left unaddressed for far too long. It is a reflection of a generation of young men grappling with their senses of identity and belonging, but doing so in spaces that distort those struggles into resentment and misogyny. Interrogation, support and conversations are vital to critique these ideas and offer alternatives.