Experts urge UK to treat manosphere and online misogyny as public health issue
A new report published in The Lancet argues that the manosphere and online misogyny should be tackled with a coordinated public health response, similar to the approach taken against smoking and ultra-processed food.
Experts in the UK have called on the government to treat the manosphere and online misogyny as a public health issue, in the same way it has approached obesity and smoking. The authors of a new report, writing in The Lancet, argue that the harms spreading through these online spaces require a coordinated response from governments, schools, health services and community organisations.
The authors draw a direct comparison with the public health response to tobacco use and ultra-processed food. In both cases, they argue, the problem was addressed not through a single intervention but through sustained action across multiple sectors, and the report suggests that online misogyny calls for a similar approach.
According to the report, boys and young men have their insecurities cultivated within the manosphere, a loose network of online communities that promotes hostility towards women and rigid notions of masculinity. The study warns that these vulnerabilities are subsequently monetised, meaning that the content and the commercial interests behind it profit from the anxieties of the young men who engage with it.
Coverage of the research has drawn attention to the way the manosphere portrays women as weak and fit only for childbirth, a framing the researchers link to broader harms. Commentary in the press has compared the manosphere to smoking and fast food in terms of its effect on the wider public, a comparison that reflects the report's core argument that the damage extends beyond individuals to society as a whole.
The report stresses the need to offer boys something better. Rather than focusing only on removing harmful content, the authors emphasise providing young people with constructive alternatives, including positive role models, education and community support that address the underlying needs the manosphere currently exploits.
The recommendation places responsibility on several institutions at once. Schools are positioned as places where early intervention can build resilience against online radicalisation, health services as settings where the effects of these influences can be identified and addressed, and community organisations as spaces where young men can find alternatives to online echo chambers.
The publication adds to a growing debate in Britain about how online misogyny should be classified and countered. By framing the issue within public health, the authors seek to move it from the realm of individual behaviour or content moderation into a domain where prevention, measurement and long-term policy are standard tools.
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