{"id":39,"date":"2026-01-09T11:07:27","date_gmt":"2026-01-09T11:07:27","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs.cardiff.ac.uk\/manifestos-for-social-change\/?p=39"},"modified":"2026-01-14T08:47:46","modified_gmt":"2026-01-14T08:47:46","slug":"39-2","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.cardiff.ac.uk\/manifestos-for-social-change\/39-2\/","title":{"rendered":"Man or Bear – Reclaiming Masculinity from Andrew Tate and the Manosphere. Author: Anais Reynolds"},"content":{"rendered":"

Following a social media debate, women are asked if they would prefer to be stuck in the woods alone with a man or a bear. \u201c<\/span>Man\u00a0or Bear?\u201d<\/span><\/i>\u00a0(Greer et al.,2025) they ask; yet women know that the only attack likely to be sexually or power-driven, would come from a man. Men laugh at these \u2018hysterical\u2019 responses, dismissing them as \u2018crazy feminist\u2019 ideas instead of listening to what are, in truth, cries for help.\u00a0Unison has expressed that violence against women has been declared a \u201cnational emergency\u201d with the number of female victims underestimated at around 2 million a year (2025). These violent crimes include rape, stalking and assault,\u00a0however, now include\u00a0increased misogynistic online content.\u00a0In a society that should be\u00a0celebrating\u00a0men\u2019s newfound emotional vulnerability and\u00a0hopes for\u00a0women\u2019s fearless walks in the dark, a darkness\u00a0emerges\u00a0online: the \u2018manosphere\u2019 (Haslop\u00a0et al., 2024:1).\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

The narrow and harmful views of multiple online communities have been branded the \u2018manosphere\u2019,\u00a0promoting \u201cfalse narrative[s] that feminism and gender equality have come at the cost of men\u2019s rights\u201d (UN Women, 2025). The face to the \u2018manosphere\u2019 is social media influencer Andrew Tate (Haslop\u00a0et al., 2024), who is unapologetically leading masculinity into failure.\u00a0Seeking\u00a0to reclaim masculinity and reinstate masculine power, Tate instils a dangerous mindset by targeting young, still-developing men and boys, setting gendered equality back decades. This manifesto calls for social and educational change to challenge these harmful, toxic masculinities (Ging, 2019:640) and reinstate an empathetic masculinity as the norm.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Whilst presenting a humorous persona (Haslop\u00a0et al, 2024) and promoting fitness advice, wealth and lifestyle tips (Gilmour, 2025), Tate\u2019s\u00a0seemingly harmless\u00a0content attracts young boys, appearing as any other, \u201ccool\u201d influencer. Taking a darker turn, Tate\u2019s content then progressively introduces \u201cregressive stereotypes including that women cannot drive\u201d (Das, 2022, in\u00a0Haslop\u00a0et al, 2024:1), and the belief in women\u2019s sexual inferiority, claiming that women \u201cbear responsibility for rape\u201d (Haslop\u00a0et al, 2024:1).\u00a0\u00a0Tate claims that dominance is\u00a0maintained\u00a0by reducing women to \u201cmens\u00a0property\u201d (Haslop\u00a0et al, 2024: 1). These historically normative ideals incite fear in young girls, as such language and attitudes are becoming a daily occurrence. Whilst particularly harmful for women, this content also endangers young boys, who struggle to decipher the boundaries of Tate\u2019s so-called comedy. For parents, families, teachers, the rise of social media and its false, harmful narratives are becoming an ever-growing concern. Being unable to censor all content young people see online, some influencers exploit this for their own advantage.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

UN Women (2025), an organisation ensuring equal standards and human rights for women and girls, has raised awareness of this ongoing issue due to its dangerous promotion of gender-based violence and \u201cgrowing links to radicalization and extremist ideologies\u201d (UN Women, 2025). Some of these ideologies, and even the \u2018manosphere\u2019 itself was unknown to parents and teachers until Netflix\u2019s series\u00a0<\/span>Adolescence\u00a0<\/span><\/i>(Gilmour, 2025)<\/span>.<\/span><\/i>\u00a0The ideologies including\u00a0<\/span>\u201cbetafags\u201d and \u201cincels\u201d\u00a0(Ging, 2019:640)<\/span>\u00a0and being \u201credpilled\u201d (UN Women, 2025). Ging (2019) explains this \u2018incel\u2019 culture as a reaction to sexual rejection from women, used as a means by women to\u00a0maintain\u00a0societal power. To combat this, the \u2018manosphere\u2019 urge society to take the \u201cRed Pill\u201d (Van Valkenburgh, 2018) a concept deriving from\u00a0<\/span>The Matrix<\/span><\/i>\u00a0(Van Valkenburgh, 2018: 87), helping society to \u2018wake up\u2019 and realise everything once taught as truth, is a lie. These online communities compare this to women\u2019s true societal dominance, claiming women hold hierarchal power over men by withholding sexual activity. Consequently, the \u2018manosphere\u2019 promotes misogynistic ideologies and extreme measures, such as sexual violence, to reinstate male power, inciting the end of gender equality.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

These extreme misogynistic ideologies can be linked to “hegemonic masculinities” (Connell and Messerschmidt, 2005: 829-854). Derived from Gramsci’s (cited in Connell and Messerschmidt,\u00a02005:831) theory of hegemony, which explores hierarchal systemic inequalities within social classes, has been further applied to masculinities. These oppressive views often dominate \u2018inferior\u2019 masculinities as well as women, encouraging men through fearmongering about poor romantic and economic futures. These fears are\u00a0demonstrated\u00a0in\u00a0<\/span>Adolescence<\/span><\/i>, as online extremism promoted by social media influencers capitalises on men\u2019s and boy\u2019s insecurities. This further manifests in their search for a solution to these insecurities, leading to some becoming \u201cradicalised\u201d (Gilmour, 2025).\u00a0<\/span>\u201cRadicalisation is a gradual process, but it is often triggered by a personal event\u201d (Gilmour, 2025:321), where figures such as Tate can capitalise off negative experiences which are all normal parts of your adolescent years. Instead, Tate villainises females for these experiences, and catastrophises them.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

These young men\u2019s brains are still developing; they are still discovering their own identities. It must become a shared understanding that men cannot project their feelings of embarrassment and insecurity upon women and young girls.\u00a0<\/span>Whilst families and teachers play a vital role to help educate our young people to become caring individuals, \u201c56% of young fathers (under the age\u00a0of 35) approve of Andrew Tate\u201d (Over et al, 2025: 272). Therefore, not only do young people need guidance, grown men in society also require educating.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Whilst no research currently supports that sexual violence has increased due to the \u2018manosphere\u2019 (Over et al, 2025), we must acknowledge that this still could take effect. Over et al. (2025) state that there have been negative consequences for women\u2019s mental health, as well as open discrimination against people of colour and LGBTQ+ members. This needs to change, as the \u2018manosphere\u2019 violence is not only gendered, but racialized and homonormative, attacking any diversity as threat, which is simply prejudice. Following\u00a0<\/span>Adolescence,<\/span><\/i>\u00a0we need to call this ideology out for what it is: \u201ctoxic masculinity\u201d (Ging, 2019:640) and raise awareness of its damaging effects on young people\u2019s mental wellbeing, sense of identity, and women\u2019s general safety. Women\u2019s safety is not negotiable, and this manifesto demands a change.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Rather than portray women as \u201cirrational, hypergamous, hardwired to pair with alpha males, and need to be dominated\u201d (Ging, 2019a, cited in\u00a0Haslop\u00a0et al, 2024: 2), we need to ensure that men, boys, and society as a whole look beyond figures such as Andrew Tate, the victimising influencer, who profits enormously from these ideologies, and see our women who they truly are. Not villains\u00a0seeking\u00a0to dominate society and gendered power, but people: our mothers, sisters, daughters who keep society running.\u00a0We must\u00a0hope\u00a0that violence against women can one day become extinct, and women will choose being alone with a man, as the safest\u00a0option.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

References<\/span><\/p>\n

Connell, R. W, Messerschmidt, J. W. 2005. Hegemonic Masculinity: Rethinking the Concept.\u202f<\/span>Gender and Society<\/span><\/i> 19(6), 829\u2013859. DOI: <\/span>https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1177\/0891243205278639<\/span><\/a>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Gilmour, J. 2025. Narrative Matters: Adolescence in The Manosphere – A perfect\u00a0storm?.\u202f<\/span>Child and Adolescent Mental Health<\/span><\/i>\u00a030(3), 320\u2013322. DOI: https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1111\/camh.70012<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Ging, D. 2019. Alphas, Betas, and Incels: Theorizing the Masculinities of the Manosphere.\u202f<\/span>Men and Masculinities<\/span><\/i>\u00a022(4), 638-657. DOI:\u202f<\/span>https:\/\/doi-org.cardiff.idm.oclc.org\/10.1177\/1097184X17706401<\/span><\/a>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Greer, K. M,\u00a0PettyJohn, M. E, Cary, K. M, Sciara, T, Simi\u0107\u00a0Stanojevi\u0107, I\u00a0and\u00a0Nina Lester, J. 2025.\u00a0Man\u00a0or\u00a0Bear?:\u00a0A Thematic Analysis of Men\u2019s Responses to Gender-Based Violence Discourse on TikTok.\u202f<\/span>Leisure Sciences<\/span><\/i>,\u00a01\u201320.\u00a0DOI:\u00a0https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1080\/01490400.2025.2502107<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Haslop, C.\u202fRingrose, J.\u00a0Cambazoglu, I. and\u202fMilne, B.\u202f2024.\u202fMainstreaming the Manosphere\u2019s Misogyny Through Affective Homosocial Currencies: Exploring How Teen Boys Navigate the Andrew Tate Effect.\u202f<\/span>Social Media\u00a0+ Society\u00a0<\/span><\/i>10 (1), 1-11. DOI:\u00a0<\/span>https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1177\/20563051241228811<\/span><\/a>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Over, H. Bunce, C.\u00a0Konu, D.\u00a0Zendle, D.\u00a0<\/span>2025, Editorial Perspective: What do we need to know about the manosphere and young people’s mental\u00a0health?.\u00a0<\/span>Child and Adolescent Mental Health<\/span><\/i>\u00a030(3), 272-274.\u202fDOI:\u00a0<\/span>https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1111\/camh.12747<\/span><\/a>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Unison. 2025.\u00a0<\/span>Violence against women is a \u2018national emergency\u2019.<\/span><\/i>\u00a0<\/span>Available at:\u00a0https:\/\/www.unison.org.uk\/news\/article\/2025\/06\/violence-against-women-is-a-national-emergency\/\u00a0 [Accessed: 4 November 2025]<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

UN Women. 2025.\u00a0<\/span>What is the manosphere and why should we\u00a0care?.<\/span><\/i>\u00a0Available at:\u00a0<\/span>https:\/\/www.unwomen.org\/en\/articles\/explainer\/what-is-the-manosphere-and-why-should-we-care<\/span><\/a>\u00a0<\/span>[Accessed: 29 October 2025]<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Van Valkenburgh, S. P. 2018. Digesting the Red Pill: Masculinity and Neoliberalism in the Manosphere.\u202f<\/span>Men and Masculinities<\/span><\/i>\u00a024(1),\u00a084-103.DOI:\u202f<\/span>https:\/\/doi-org.cardiff.idm.oclc.org\/10.1177\/1097184X18816118<\/span><\/a>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Following a social media debate, women are asked if they would prefer to be stuck in the woods alone with a man or a bear. \u201cMan\u00a0or Bear?\u201d\u00a0(Greer et al.,2025) they […]","protected":false},"author":7166,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[19],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-39","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-student-manifesto-2025"],"meta_box":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.cardiff.ac.uk\/manifestos-for-social-change\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/39","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.cardiff.ac.uk\/manifestos-for-social-change\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.cardiff.ac.uk\/manifestos-for-social-change\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.cardiff.ac.uk\/manifestos-for-social-change\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/7166"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.cardiff.ac.uk\/manifestos-for-social-change\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=39"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.cardiff.ac.uk\/manifestos-for-social-change\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/39\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":116,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.cardiff.ac.uk\/manifestos-for-social-change\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/39\/revisions\/116"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.cardiff.ac.uk\/manifestos-for-social-change\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=39"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.cardiff.ac.uk\/manifestos-for-social-change\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=39"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.cardiff.ac.uk\/manifestos-for-social-change\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=39"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}