Violent Masculinities, Misoginy and Social Media: Decoding the Manosphere

Gender violence has increasingly become a global social problem, heavily fueled by misogynistic content disseminated across social media platforms. Influencers on Instagram, YouTube, TikTok, and other channels have rallied around social representations of masculinity that are heteronormative, performative, and aggressively directed toward women, teenagers, and girls.

This antifeminist and misogynistic discourse, predominantly spread by high-profile influencers, encompasses classist, sexist, and white supremacist values. It is often oriented by conspiracy theories framing women as manipulators seeking to undermine traditional values and dominate men. Crucially, these social representations are weaponized by a new wave of influencers who monetize this digital deviance through videos, courses, and coaching, ultimately radicalizing ever-younger audiences.

Aligned with the congress theme of navigating "Turbulent Times," this session invites research that delves into the so-called “manosphere” to understand the morals, values, and meanings propagated by high-profile influencers. We seek empirical and theoretical papers examining how this digital content translates into offline deviance, specifically its relationship to episodes of gender-based violence against women, the LGBTQIA+ population, transgender individuals, and other marginalized groups.