The «manosphere,» an online masculinist movement, should be treated by authorities as a public health problem, on par with smoking or obesity, according to a study published Friday in the prestigious British journal The Lancet.
Its authors argue that combating the «manosphere» and online misogyny requires a coordinated response from the government, schools, health services, and community organizations.
Masculinist influencers like Andrew Tate or Clavicular promote the ideas of this movement, which has gained momentum in recent years, with hostile and sometimes violent rhetoric towards women.
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“ Reclassifying the ‘manosphere’ as a public health issue (…) allows us to activate a number of additional levers for action« Professor Sarah Hawkes, co-author of the report, argued on Friday on the BBC.
«delegitimization»
Such an approach allows us to « to look at the root causes »and to ensure that« government agencies work together«From the economy to health and education, as in the fight against tobacco," she said.
The academics emphasize in their report the damage caused by this movement, from violence against women to mental health problems, with a « delegitimization »Men's needs in this regard.".
“ Men's problems are presented as a consequence of feminism rather than structural conditions, and masculine identity is commodified through paid products and content.", they write.
Because the «manosphere» is a very lucrative industry, with influencers encouraging their followers to invest in financial devices or expensive unregulated supplements.
Isolation
As " Outrage and resentment are good for business; the system rewards the most extreme content. »online,« notes Professor Kent Buse, co-author of the article, describing a veritable " business model“.
The authors suggest, however, that regulation should focus on the platforms, with a « strengthening content moderation »harmful, rather than on the users, by avoiding« to present masculinity as inherently toxic“.
They also emphasize the growing isolation and disengagement from education among boys and young men, and stress the need to act on « structural characteristics“.
Their « The needs are real.«, and a « A response that merely eliminates the ‘manosphere’, without offering something credible in its place, will fail. We must offer boys something better.«,” argued Sarah Hawkes.
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