How ‘misogyny influencers’ on social media exploit young men’s anxieties

Parents, teachers and politicians are worried about the appeal of so-called “online misogyny influencers” to boys and young men.

These influencers post content to thousands of followers in videos and podcasts, offering advice about relationships, mental health and wellbeing, and achieving material success and status. They are believed to be having a negative effect on young men’s attitudes, beliefs and expectations, including about gender roles and relationships between men and women.

I’ve carried out extensive research with young people about sex and relationships for nearly a decade. We need to ask what the appeal of misogyny influencers among some young men tells us about how they feel about themselves, and what it means to be a man right now.

We also need to question what it tells us about our society’s failures to take the challenges young men face seriously. There seems to be a vacuum for these influencers to fill.

I use the term “misogynistic” to refer to clear expressions of outright hatred or dislike of women and girls – but also, more broadly, to the sharing of sexist ideas about both males and females.

Finding an audience

We can understand the appeal of misogyny influencers by thinking about “push”, “pull” and “personal” factors.

Push factors come from the situations in which young men find themselves in society...

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