logo
episode-header-image
Sep 2023
19m 35s

How to exit the manosphere

Bbc World Service
About this episode

You may have heard about how young men are being drawn into the so-called ‘manosphere’ but how can they escape? Can subreddits such as #IncelExit help men who are involuntarily celibate to put their disturbing views to one side and foster more healthy perspectives about women and dating?

We hear from former manosphere subscribers around the world who have found comfort in opening up and addressing their issues in relatively empathetic Reddit forums. Academic Josh Thorburn from Monash University in Melbourne welcomes the deradicalisation that can occur in these online spaces and says subreddits are able to reach communities internationally that professionals often can’t.

However #IncelExit and #ExRedPill are not a silver bullet for deradicalising young men. Many Redditors experience a non-linear journey and don’t get rid of all of their misogynistic baggage overnight. And not everyone is a “decent dude” looking for a way out.

Presenter: Jonathan Griffin Producer: Loonie Park Editor: Flora Carmichael

Up next
Jun 2024
Trending is moving to the Documentary Podcast
BBC Trending's podcast feed is closing, but we'll be publishing new episodes in the BBC World Service's Documentary Podcast from now on. Search for The Documentary wherever you get your BBC podcasts, and subscribe to get new episodes of BBC Trending along with a range of exciting ... Show More
43s
Jun 2024
Colombia’s guerrilla recruitment video problem
Fighters from dissident armed groups in Colombia are using TikTok to glorify their lives as guerrillas and recruit youngsters.These armed groups didn't like the terms of a peace treaty negotiated between the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) and the government in 2016 ... Show More
18m 6s
Jun 2024
The Kenyan influencer championing climate denial
Jusper Machogu is a farmer from southwestern Kenya who describes himself as a “climate sceptic”: he wrongly claims that climate change is a “scam” or a “hoax” designed to hold Africa back. On social media, he has also become known as a staunch defender of fossil fuel exploration ... Show More
18m 7s
Recommended Episodes
Apr 2023
How the Internet is Radicalizing Young Men
Laura Bates, founder of the Everyday Sexism Project and author of Men Who Hate Women and Fix the System, Not Women, joins Offline to shed light on one of the darkest corners of the internet: the manosphere. Made up of tens of thousands of incels, pick up artists, and white suprem ... Show More
57m 23s
Jul 2023
The Manosphere
The girlies take a trip into The Manosphere — the community of internet men who think that feminism is ruining the world and can’t stop podcasting about it. They talk Rush Limbaugh, Joe Rogan, Andrew Tate, Jordan Peterson, and more! Fun! Digressions include a ride on the toxic go ... Show More
1h 26m
Feb 2024
Andrew Tate effect: Is misogyny on the rise?
There is growing concern that a new wave of violent misogyny is becoming popular with young men. Many blame social media and online influencers like Andrew Tate for promoting extreme anti-feminist views. Gabriel Gatehouse speaks with BBC filmmaker Matt Shea and Cosmopolitan's Har ... Show More
26 m
Nov 2023
Is there a right way to be masculine?
There’s so much stuff online about masculinity; guys telling you how to get buff, what to eat and how to talk to women. Sometimes a particular type of masculinity, known as toxic masculinity, seems dominant on some platforms. That’s where traits like being tough and not showing e ... Show More
14m 9s
Jan 2022
S14: "Boys Like Me" E3: Boys Will Be Boys
Alek frequented incel sites for years, lurking in forums that celebrated or even encouraged the kind of attack he’d go on to commit. What draws young men into this toxic world? Ellen connects with a prominent incel who takes her down the rabbit hole. For transcripts of this serie ... Show More
39m 20s
May 2022
Should we talk more about men and mental health?
"You know the African way of raising kids and raising men - we are taught you should keep it all to yourself, don't open up." Male suicide rates far outnumber female rates in Africa – that’s according to the WHO. Some health experts put this down to the stigma that surrounds men' ... Show More
14m 33s
Dec 2021
The Women Of 'Succession' And Reflections On Navigating Corporate Sexism
The HBO show Succession is compelling in part because it portrays a world most of us will never see: the backroom deals between cutthroat billionaires and their fraught family relationships. But the show's dark comedy also gives us insight into the world we all inhabit, and how t ... Show More
12m 52s
Apr 2022
Why are many women harassed in newsrooms?
Warning: Please be advised that this episode contains open and frank discussions about topic listeners might find distressing. Across Africa’s newsrooms, sexual harassment appears to be rife. That’s according to research by Women in News - a media development programme. Half of a ... Show More
12m 43s