This week, Louis Theroux’s latest documentary, Inside the Manosphere,was released on Netflix, with reviewers calling it his ‘most chilling yet’
While the streaming service’s hit 2025 show, Adolescence, was based on part of the same movement, this gives us a glimpse into its real-life champions — and the fact it’s not dramatised makes it even more terrifying.
Louis’ subjects are among the biggest names on the ‘alpha male’ influencer scene, with 23-year-old Harrison Sullivan, known as hstikkytokky, and Amrou Fudl, aka Myron Gaines of the Fit and Fresh podcast, featuring heavily.
Following on from the likes of Andrew Tate, these men collectively boast millions of social media followers, who tune in to hear them muse about ‘why women deserve less’ (also the title of Fudl’s book) or how to be a be more ‘dominant’ in relationships.
Though their content is tagged as fitness, dating or moneymaking — with some selling life coaching programmes or advertising multi-level marketing opportunities to become as ‘successful’ as them — it often veers into misogyny, antisemitism and homophobia.
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Dan Guinness, managing director of Beyond Equality, previously told Metro: ‘These communities present themselves as spaces of support but often deepen feelings of self-hatred and resentment towards women… Online algorithms can pull vulnerable young people further into extreme content, reinforcing harmful beliefs.’
And despite the fact this is such an easy rabbit hole to fall into, Dan says the dangers are ‘significant’, as ‘many young men caught in these spaces experience declining mental health, and some become desensitised to violent or dehumanising ideas about women.’
While you may assume this is a fringe issue that could never impact your own child, the manosphere and its proponents have a wide reach.
‘Social media platforms play a huge role in this,’ said Chiara Capraro, Amnesty International UK’s gender justice programme director. ‘Boys and young men are being actively pulled into these toxic spaces by algorithms that reward extreme, divisive, and inflammatory content.’
Dan adds: ‘Vulnerable boys, particularly those who are socially excluded and searching for answers, may be especially susceptible to this pipeline.’
What do you think about the growing influence of the ‘manosphere’?
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It's a dangerous trend that needs to be addressed.
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It highlights important issues, but in a misguided way.
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It's just internet culture and will pass.
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I'm not sure what to think about it.
The fact is, prevention is better than cure, so maintaining open communication and modelling healthy relationships before you encounter issues is key.
If you start to notice your child using these words and phrases however, it may show they’re absorbing the movement’s main talking points — and therefore that it’s time for a bigger conversation.
Glossary of manosphere words and phrases
Matrix: The manosphere bases large parts of its ideology from themes and terminology (including the below ‘pill’ analogy) used in The Matrix movie, arguing that society is structured to suppress men and maintain existing power structures — also known as ‘the system‘. Several of the men Louis meets on Inside the Manosphere perform a ‘matrix’ hand gesture by interlocking their fingers with their index fingers and thumbs extended to create a triangle shape.
Red pill: A person is said to have ‘taken the red pill’ or be ‘redpilled’ if they accept the manosphere’s ideology that argues men are the oppressed gender in society, but feminism and political correctness obscure this reality.
Blue pill: A person is said to have ‘taken the blue pill’ or be ‘bluepilled’ if they disagree with the above ideology.
Black pill: To be ‘blackpilled’ or ‘take the black pill’ is a more extreme version of the red pill, where the man believes there’s nothing they can do to improve their situation, so their only options are to accept their fate or try to force societal change through violent means.
Simp: Can be used as a noun of verb to describe sycophancy or being (in the manosphere’s eyes) overly deferential to women or affectionate in pursuit of a sexual relationship.
Soy boy: A derogatory label for men seen as weak, effeminate or or lacking traditional characteristics they deem masculine.
Cuck: An insult that implies a man is weak or feminised.
Alpha male: A man who is dominant, assertive, and occupies a high social or professional status.
Beta male: A man who is not sufficiently masculine, physically or psychologically, and therefore has lower social standing.
Alpha f**** beta bucks: Often abbreviated as AF/BB, describing the belief that women prefer the more masculine ‘alpha’ males for sexual relationships but settle for less attractive but more compliant ‘beta’ males for financial security.
Sigma male: A man who is equivalent to an alpha male but exists outside the alpha-beta hierarchy as a ‘lone wolf’ due to their self-reliant, successful, and non-conformist traits — believed in the manosphere to be the ‘rarest’ type of man. The word sigma on its own can also be used to describe something as good.
Chad: The archetype of an alpha male; a muscular, sexually successful man and the opposite of ‘incel’ or ‘beta male’, often depicted in memes and used in racist contexts.
Dictator: Gaines describes himself as this on Inside the Manosphere and elsewhere, saying that in relationships, he’s the dictator and the woman is ‘the subordinate’. In a clip of his Fit and Fresh podcast, he explains the philosophy as: ‘I dictate when I want to put dick in you, b****. And then you dictate when the sandwiches come.’
Based: A term adopted in online, often right-wing, spaces to describe someone who stands by their beliefs despite potential backlash.
Game: Popularised by the pick-up artist (PUA) subculture within the manosphere, this refers to a set of techniques, behaviours, and strategies aimed at attracting women and maximising sexual success. In the documentary, Sullivan describes seducing women as ‘dropping game’.
Frame/maintaining frame: Emotional control and dominance over women; a popular concept in PUA and red pill communities.
One-sided monogamy: A number of men featured on Inside the Manosphere described their relationships this way, with Gaines explaining that, for him and his partner, it means: ‘It’s monogamous on her end, open on my end.’
Sexual marketplace/market value: A commonly-held belief in this community is that every person has a sexual market value, also known as also known as SMV, and can be objectively graded in terms of attractiveness on a scale from one to ten. A calculator popular on manosphere forums allows men to input their details (such as height, income or penis size) and receive their own SMV score.
Top-tier/prestige/high-value: Those with a high SMV. For men this would mean being ‘alpha’ or ‘sigma’ with a high income and fitness level, while women need to be young and conventionally attractive with stereotypically feminine traits like nurturing and submissiveness.
Value exchange: A transactional view of relationships between men and women espoused by the likes of Gaines, where partners are viewed as providers of specific assets rather than individuals in an emotional partnership.
Prime: Many in ther manosphere believe a woman’s prime or peak age is between 18 and 25. Around the age of 30, they are said to ‘hit the wall‘, declining in attractiveness, fertility, and perceived market value.
Body count: While this term is used across the board to describe the total number of sexual partners a person has had, in these communities, it’s often used to judge a woman’s worth, with lower numbers deemed more desirable for long-term relationships.
Telegram: A secure social media and instant messaging service used by a number of creators who’ve been banned from other platforms.
Kick: A live streaming platform used by Sullivan and other manosphere influencers.
-maxxing: This suffix can be added to a variety of words to describe extreme optimisation of a specific aspect of one’s life, appearance, or health in an effort to increase your ‘value’. Looksmaxxing, the process of making oneself as physically attractive as possible to gain sexual attention, is one of the most popular uses, but there’s also jestermaxxing, (using extreme humour), moneymaxxing and healthmaxxing.
Mewing: A clenching exercise used by looksmaxxers intended to build a more defined jawline (although the results are medically unproven).
Mogging: Derived from AMOG, or ‘alpha male of the group’, this refers to when someone looks significantly more attractive than someone or something else, causing them to appear inferior in comparison.
Negging: A technique popularised in the PUA community where a man gives a women backhanded compliments or subtle insults as a seduction tactic, designed to undermine her confidence and foster a need for approval.
Apex fallacy: The idea that determining men’s status based on a few successful or ‘elite’ individuals disregards male struggles on a larger scale.
AWALT/’All Women Are Like That’: The idea that all women have negative characteristics and behavioural traits.
Hypergamy: In terms of anthropology, this is the act or practice of a person dating or marrying a spouse of higher mating value than themselves. In the manosphere, it’s used solely in terms of women, who they claim are obsessed with ‘marrying up’ with physically attractive and financially successful men despite their own ‘status’.
JQ: An antisemitic term seen in Inside the Manosphere which refers to the Nazi-era ‘Jewish question’ whereby the status and rights of Jews were publicly debated and challenged, eventually leading to the Holocaust.
Great replacement: A far-right white nationalist conspiracy theory arguing white European populations are being deliberately replaced by non-white immigrants.
Foid/femoid: A portmanteau of ‘female’ and ‘humanoid’ typically used by incels as a derogatory word for woman.
Briffault’s Law: A conspiracy theory claiming women use men for their personal gain and are selfish, deceptive beings.
Rage bait: Online content deliberately designed to be frustrating, provocative or offensive in order to increase traffic and engagement.
How to talk to your children about online culture
Regardless of whether you think your child is already involved in these spaces, BACP-accredited therapist and parenting expert Jenny Warwick recommends opening up an ongoing conversation about the things they may see online.
‘Keep an open and curious mindset,’ she tells Metro. ‘You want to encourage an open dialogue with no judgement. Ask questions like: “What do you think about how some people talk about gender online?”’
This approach helps create a safe space where your child feels comfortable discussing anything they might have come across, even if it’s disturbing.
Jenny stresses that it’s essential to help children recognise manipulation techniques used by extremist groups online, such as the ‘us vs. them’ mentality, and to discuss healthy relationships, gender equality, and the echo chamber effect of social media.
‘Encourage critical thinking,’ she adds. ‘Teach them to question the sources of online content and why some groups hold certain beliefs.’
Instead of resorting to drastic measures like blocking sites or removing screens, parents should take a measured approach, encouraging them to share their favourite content with you, discussing tools like screen time limits and filters, and ‘offering support as they learn to manage their online habits.’
Jenny also notes that if parents notice a change in their child’s personality – such as becoming overly angry, frustrated, or withdrawn – it’s a sign to start a conversation, explaining: ‘Defensive or secretive behaviour when asked about their online activity should be paid attention to.’
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