Louis Theroux is back with his documentary take on the growing conversation around a community and concept you may have heard of: the manosphere.
So, in short, the documentary is a lot. It involves watching Theroux meet and observe the lives and philosophies of numerous male influencers and entrepreneurs who embody the manosphere, a space of the Internet that is reportedly radicalising men into buying into a toxic form of masculinity that is harmful to all.
After the cultural impact of Adolescence – which explored the ways in which young boys are being radicalised into misogynistic violence against women online – and the popularity of influencers such as Andrew Tate, this documentary could not be more compelling or, truthfully, frightening.
Women have become equal players in their downfall.
So far, so controversial, and after all Theroux is no stranger to controversy. Just recently he has received criticism for his BBC documentary following violent ultra-Zionist settlers in Israel and others have argued he didn't press musician Bobby Vylan further in an interview with him after Vylan called for the “death of every single IDF soldier”. Now, he turns his analysis to the manosphere.
Here are Glamour's 5 top disturbing takeaways from Louis Theroux's Manosphere documentary.
A number of manosphere influencers talk about “one-way” monogamy with their female partners, something that they say has been agreed upon between themselves and their girlfriends. Essentially, in this heterosexual dynamic, the men are allowed to sleep with whoever they want, while the women remains faithful.
“I do whatever the f**k I want to do and she’s loyal to me. It’s monogamous on her end, open on my end,” vlogger Myron Gaines, one of Theroux's interview subject, says. He adds that his partner Angie also packs his condoms for him when he goes away on trips. Another interview subject, podcaster Justin Waller, is also in a “one-way monogamous" relationship, and is defensive about this decision, referencing criticism and anger he has received for this. When Theroux visits and interviews his partner about her arguably trad wife life (Justin states that he doesn't do nappies or other domestic work to help raise his children) she responds that “we don’t cross into each others lanes, it works for us”.
When Theroux talks to Myron's partner Angie about his suggestion that he will eventually have “multiple wives”, things get uncomfortable fast. She looks extremely unimpressed at the prospect, responding “I'll see when it happens”. When Theroux flags her discomfort, he brushes it off and asks Angie to clean the room up in front of them.
Later in the documentary, Myron informs Theroux that Angie won't be participating in any more conversations, with a rather sinister suggestion that he has arranged this as when asked if this was her decision, he says that it's both of theirs. “She doesn't need to be in the limelight,” he says. Theroux wonders if previous conversations with Angie had made Myron feel “weak or insufficiently alpha”.
This isn't the only example of women being silenced in the documentary. When Louis tries to speak to the woman who books female talent for Myron's podcast, their conversation is very quickly stopped by Myron himself. “I just messed up” she says, when it's clear that he's become aware of this conversation and she refuses to answer any more of Louis' questions, apologising.
The core of the manosphere concept is men searching for their value and defining it in a modern world where they're being forced to interrogate the terms “toxic masculinity” and of feminism at the same time.
A response to this from many advocates of the manosphere is as follows: that women are born with their value, which lies within their bodies and more specifically their sexual organs, while according to Myron Gaines, men must “create their own value”.
So basically, in a world where men are perhaps struggling to define themselves, women are being objectified and reduced down to mere bodies.
Myron asks Theroux at one point “Am I as toxic as they say?” It feels like this community of men are so angry at their masculinity being labelled as toxic, it leads to even more bait and hatred online, leading to more clicks, comments and arguments.
Justin's key problem with “toxic masculinity” is that it has allowed feminism to take prominence. It feels like a huge part of the manosphere's popularity is providing a space for men to vent their anger at being called toxic – instead of analysing why that might be – and buying into the sensationalist content that influencers create in response.
When Theroux speaks to big fans of the manosphere, red pill culture and the influencers that promote both, one cites one huge reason for this is the way it provides a way to “reject the 9 to 5” and find their own way to define their lives.
So arguably, capitalism and disengagement from the workforce is a huge reason why the manosphere may feel compelling, particularly to young men.
On the other side of things, influencers such as Harrison Sullivan, (HSTikkyTokky on TikTok) openly discusses with Theroux his money-first policy, that while he morally disagrees with OnlyFans as a means of making money and calls Bonnie Blue “disgusting”, he is happy to promote the work of sex workers if it makes him money. Women are therefore being shamed for their sexuality through the prism of the manosphere, but being used to line the pockets of the men who shame them.
It's all down to the attention economy, he says, whatever leads to clicks, watches and therefore sponsorship. Multiple influencers that Theroux speaks to also pedal antisemitic, racist and anti-LGBTQ+ attitudes for the sole purpose of creating outrage and clicks, due to the money that the “attention economy” earns them.
Above all, the safety of and respect towards women seems to rank miles below these influencers' quest for prestige and viral clicks.
