The ‘manosphere’ has entered the mainstream. Netflix’s Adolescence and Louis Theroux’s documentary Inside the Manosphere have brought greater attention to its influence, while new Australian research* has found children as young as six repeating misogynistic language used by online influencers.
The manosphere is a loose network of groups and influencers promoting antifeminist beliefs and narrow ideas about what it means to be a man. Its content ranges from seemingly innocuous advice about dating, fitness and self-improvement to overt misogyny and extremism.
For young people who encounter this content, knowing how to respond isn’t straightforward. Challenging it publicly can amplify it or expose them to online abuse. Many understandably feel there is little they can do.
At All Together Now, we’ve been working to counter hate and racism since 2010, and we wanted to try a different approach: asking young people themselves what an effective response could look like.
For our Design Against Hate project, we spent six months working with a group of 18- to 25-year-olds to understand the problem and develop their own response.
We saw a shift in perspectives as early as the first workshop.
One participant told us they had arrived angry and frustrated with people consuming manosphere content. But as the group discussed the loneliness and insecurity that can make someone susceptible to these ideas, that anger gave way to concern.
* This University of Melbourne news article summarises Australian research linking misogynistic attitudes among young people with online influences and support for violent extremism. (University of Melbourne)
The group decided an effective response needed to start with empathy. They focused on the friends and family of people engaging with manosphere content: people who might be well placed to intervene, but unsure how to start a conversation without pushing someone further away.
Over the following months, participants tested and refined different ideas before turning them into a campaign: Unplug Hate. They made decisions about who the campaign should speak to, what would make people stop and pay attention, and how to approach a difficult subject without sounding preachy or condescending. We supported them through the process, but the direction and final campaign came from the young people themselves.
Rather than running the campaign on social media, they deliberately took it offline. They designed and printed 400 posters and 12,000 coasters for cafes, community centres, bars and libraries across Greater Sydney, encouraging people to reflect and directing them via QR codes to practical resources.
They also created articles, cartoons and a conversation guide offering advice on talking to someone engaging with manosphere content. The aim wasn’t to provide a script for changing someone’s mind in a single conversation, but to help people begin what could be a much longer process.
For us, the campaign itself was only one measure of what the project achieved.
The manosphere tells young men they are powerless, then offers women as someone to blame. Design Against Hate starts somewhere else: giving young people the resources and opportunity to decide what they can do about it.
Unplug Hate coasters appeared in clubs and bars across Sydney. Photo: All Together Now
In a survey after the workshops, every respondent said they felt more empowered. After the campaign launched, all respondents said they felt more able to use their skills to make change.
“Participating in the workshops has just given me a lot of hope about how we can make positive change,” one participant said.
Another said: “It’s inspiring to me that I have the opportunity to see my work in the community. Everything feels a bit more possible.”
Young people cannot solve the problems of the manosphere alone. Governments, educators, community organisations and technology companies all have responsibilities. But responses developed without young people risk overlooking their knowledge and experience, as well as the stakes they have in finding solutions.
The manosphere tells young men they are powerless, then offers women as someone to blame. Our response shouldn’t reinforce that powerlessness by simply telling young people what to think and do.
Design Against Hate starts somewhere else: giving young people the resources and opportunity to decide what they can do about it.
The project is now moving into its next phase, with All Together Now preparing to recruit participants from the Shoalhaven and Illawarra for the next cycle of Design Against Hate.
For more information visit All Together Now.
Design Against Hate is funded by Multicultural NSW under the COMPACT program. COMPACT works across communities and sectors to inspire and empower young people to foster social cohesion, stand united against divisive forces and come together in times of need.
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