{"id":15942,"date":"2025-11-27T23:49:44","date_gmt":"2025-11-27T12:49:44","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/rationalemagazine.com\/?p=15942"},"modified":"2025-11-27T23:50:57","modified_gmt":"2025-11-27T12:50:57","slug":"algorithms-are-amplifying-antifeminist-masculinities","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/rationalemagazine.com\/index.php\/2025\/11\/27\/algorithms-are-amplifying-antifeminist-masculinities\/","title":{"rendered":"Algorithms are amplifying antifeminist masculinities"},"content":{"rendered":"

The online world of boys and young men in the\u00a0post-Andrew Tate moment<\/a> is now saturated with masculinity influencers who take ideas, advice, talking points and ideologies from the ‘manosphere’<\/a>\u00a0\u2013 a loose online network of men\u2019s interest communities known for its\u00a0virulent misogyny<\/a>, coordinated\u00a0antifeminist campaigns<\/a>\u00a0and cases of\u00a0extreme real-world violence<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Whether it\u2019s manipulative dating strategies, get-rich-quick schemes, or\u00a0extreme discipline and fitness content<\/a>, an entire ecosystem of masculinity influencers are now selling their version of how to be a “real man”\u00a0by\u00a0repackaging ideologies<\/a>\u00a0from subgroups of the manosphere \u2013 such as Incels, Pick-Up Artists, Red Pillers, and Men Going Their Own Way.<\/p>\n

Yet, a version of the\u00a0manosphere has existed on the internet since its early use<\/a>. So why has it only now become mainstream?<\/p>\n

The case of Andrew Tate\u00a0<\/strong><\/h2>\n

Andrew Tate became a viral sensation in 2022 as a self-styled misogynist and\u00a0anti-woke maverick<\/a>\u00a0who \u201ctells it like it is\u201d. His rise to infamy marked a key turning point in the information ecosystem of the manosphere.<\/p>\n

Clips of Tate\u2019s most controversial takes, which include\u00a0beating women into submission<\/a>\u00a0and\u00a0questioning women\u2019s right to vote,<\/a>\u00a0had flooded TikTok and other short-form video platforms. His content became\u00a0inescapable for boys and young men<\/a>, regardless of\u00a0whether users actively engaged with it or not<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Research shows<\/a> that Tate\u2019s content capitalises on the gendered anxieties of boys growing up in a world that still defines masculinity by dominance, control and economic success. His product is masculine empowerment; he produces and connects to a feeling of deficit, points the finger at an enemy (feminists, elites, weak men), and presents a simple solution \u2013 become unapologetically ‘manly’.<\/p>\n

And this had real-world effects. Teachers have come out across several countries reporting a\u00a0surge in sexual harassment<\/a>,\u00a0misogyny<\/a>\u00a0and\u00a0antifeminist talking points<\/a>\u00a0against women teachers, girl peers and LGBTQIA+ students in schools.<\/p>\n

Moreover, a recent study on gendered attitudes<\/a> in the UK has shown that young men aged 16-29 were the cohort most likely to believe men have it harder than women, that feminism has done more harm than good, and that Tate raises important points about \u201creal threats to male identity and gender roles\u201d.<\/p>\n

However, the viral success of Tate cannot wholly be explained as a reaction to gender equality movements. Tate\u2019s ideas are not new, nor is his formula for masculine empowerment. Manosphere thought leaders have been profiting from and recruiting members with this formula since the beginning of social media influencer culture in the early 2010s.<\/p>\n

What is new is the ubiquity of his content. From niche dedicated forums, websites and podcasts, the manosphere has now moved into the everyday social media feeds of boys and young men.<\/p>\n

So how did this happen?<\/h2>\n

Understanding why the manosphere\u2019s messaging has amplified takes us to a specific development in social media technology \u2013 TikTok\u2019s recommender algorithm.<\/p>\n

As the COVID-19 pandemic hit and countries went into lockdowns, TikTok\u2019s popularity skyrocketed. TikTok presented a new form of social media, one that enabled users to create interactive short-form audio-visual content, which it circulated using a highly effective recommender algorithm.<\/p>\n

Content recommender algorithms at their simplest are mathematical procedures used by computers to calculate what content should be recommended to users. Content recommendation systems can use a variety of different algorithmic models to determine the characteristics, context, interests and preferences of users.<\/p>\n

Social media recommender algorithms rely heavily on machine learning, which uses a feedback model that tracks and responds to the real-time behaviour of users on platforms. This makes recommender algorithms highly successful at learning and predicting the shifting moods, interests and desires of users.<\/p>\n

Where social media had previously networked users through a model of friends and followers, TikTok\u2019s recommender algorithm began to connect users through shared attention and relatability to content.<\/p>\n

Other social media apps soon followed suit by releasing their own short-form video features and accompanying recommender algorithms, such as YouTube Shorts, Instagram Reels and Facebook Reels.<\/p>\n

Recommender algorithms might seem innocuous, or even helpful, for connecting us to relevant content and people within an unfathomable volume of online information. However, the primary objective of content recommender algorithms is not actually to serve the most relevant content \u2013 it\u2019s to optimise engagement.<\/p>\n

Recommender algorithms are designed to learn what keeps users engaged on social media platforms for as long as possible, as frequently as possible<\/a>. They produce attention metrics based on a user\u2019s engagement with certain content, alongside predictive analytics based on the user\u2019s demographic information, characteristics and location.<\/p>\n

This suggests two things:<\/p>\n