Louis Theroux documentary ”Inside the Manosphere” trying to get a grip on the manosphere The manosphere will disappoint young men Louis Theroux’s Netflix documentary "Inside the Manosphere" follows some of the movement’s biggest personalities in an attempt to understand them and the culture they promote. It raises an important question: What will happen to all the young followers when they become disappointed with the manosphere’s solutions? It is easy to be outraged by Theroux’s interview subjects—their misogyny, racism, homophobia, glorification of violence, and extreme self-centeredness—where anything that leads to personal success is considered acceptable. “I'm not living for other people; I'm living for myself”, says Harrisson Sullivan, better known as HSTikkyTokky, justifying offensive statements by claiming they are necessary to become successful on social media.In the documentary Sullivan represents the manosphere—a global, male-centered, anti-feminist digital subculture that seeks to “restore masculinity” — alongside other influencers: Justin Waller, Myron Gaines (Amrou Fudl), Ed Matthews, and Sneako (Nicolas Kenn De Balinthazy).It quickly becomes clear that the most important thing for these men is to position themselves at the top of the hierarchy—not only above women or less successful men, but as men who have managed to escape “The System” or "The Matrix". Several of them claim that the system (the established political, economic, and social structures) is rigged to turn men into losers and is controlled by a Jewish, perhaps even Satanic, elite. These influencers see it as their mission to free other young men from the system through expensive training programs that teach financial independence, physical self-improvement, and how to attract women. ” Women’s value is reduced to men’s desire for them, while men’s value is determined by how well they perform in society. “As a man, you are born without value. We have to build that value throughout time”, says one young fan who has fully embraced the doctrine. Women, on the other hand, are said to be “born with their value through beauty”, according to Justin Waller, or as Myron Gaines phrased it when asked by a young woman what kind of value that was implied: “You literallly have a vagina and titties. You're born with value”. This is roughly where the “gender analysis” ends. Women’s value is reduced to men’s desire for them, while men’s value is determined by how well they perform in society. In several cases, the influencers’ own “value” is built on businesses that profit from the exploitation and sale of young women’s bodies through platforms like OnlyFans—even while they simultaneously condemn those same women as disgusting.There is so much to criticize, so many absurd statements to challenge. The problem is that simply listing counterarguments or pointing out how wrong these influencers are, makes little difference. Many of the millions of boys and young men who follow them will still be deep in the manosphere rabbit hole—or at least influenced by its way of thinking and acting. The rules are simple: make money, train hard, dominate women, and never lose control. ” These self-proclaimed top dogs seem perpetually on edge, afraid of being exposed. The question is: What are they hiding? Theroux is at his best when he gets his interview subjects to break the final rule—when he throws them off balance. You can watch Myron lose control in real time, panic creeping across his face, when his girlfriend Angie is interviewed about Myron’s “one-sided monogamy”, an arrangement she does not seem particularly enthusiastic about. The same anxiety appears in HS’s concern about being set up by the filmmaker, something he tries to counter by obsessively using Theroux himself as content for his social media channels. These self-proclaimed top dogs seem perpetually on edge, afraid of being exposed. The question is: What are they hiding?Perhaps they know, deep down, that their solutions work for only a select few. Young followers can swallow as many red pills as they like, but reality will eventually catch up with them. Not everyone can earn millions on TikTok, maintain an intense fitness routine every morning, or successfully approach women on the street. And perhaps they will start to wonder why their one-sided monogamous relationships fail, or why they still feel lonely and empty inside despite doing everything they can to become “winners”.Theroux looks for explanations for the influencers’ extreme views in their personal traumas, absent fathers, or the all-encompassing online culture of today. But those explanations all feel insufficient.What we are really seeing are the same old patriarchal structures repeating themselves in a new form. A few years ago, MÄN published a discussion paper outlining what we call The Conditions of Masculinity—conditions shaped by a history of harsh and unequal circumstances characterized by competition between men. These conditions are reflected in traditional ideas of masculinity, where men are expected to be decisive, physically resilient, emotionally controlled, independent, rational, and respected by others. These can be valuable traits in themselves, but they become a prison when no other qualities are allowed to exist—both for men themselves and for everyone around them.The conditions of masculinity arise from an unequal and unjust society. Restoring masculinity according to old patriarchal patterns will only create more “losers”. The ideas of the manosphere have now gained significant influence among the highest levels of power, helping to shape dominant ideals of masculinity. Every day, through our support chat for boys (at Killar.se), we see how pressured they feel by the constant demand to become successful, looksmaxxed, and hyper-disciplined men. As a society, we need to offer them different solutions—solutions that genuinely work, and that benefit more than just a small number of wealthy men.