What is the manosphere?
The manosphere is a collective term for online influencers, platforms and communities that focus on masculinity and relations between men and women. This content often presents clear role patterns: the successful, dominant man and the subordinate woman. Well-known figures play a visible role in this, but these ideas also spread through social media, memes, and gaming and sports culture.
Gender, group dynamics and social safety
Research commissioned by the School and Safety Foundation shows that education professionals are increasingly experiencing the influence of online developments, social uncertainty and group dynamics in secondary vocational education. In many classes, this concerns a small group of students who make misogynistic or strongly conservative statements and often have high status, enabling them to set the tone. This affects social safety: conversations come to a standstill and students hold back or withdraw. Statements about gender roles, relationships and sexuality can make students feel uncomfortable or unsafe, including girls, LGBTQI+ students and boys who do not fit within the dominant macho image. At the same time, female secondary vocational education professionals more often feel that their authority is being questioned, requiring teams to pay attention to the social safety of both students and professionals.
What does this mean for secondary vocational education?
For secondary vocational schools, this issue is directly related to their duty of care regarding social safety. Students must feel safe to learn, be themselves and express their opinions. The influence of the manosphere can put this under pressure, especially when signals are not recognised or discussed.
At the same time, secondary vocational education has an important strength: the relationship between teacher and student. Many secondary vocational education professionals indicate that they have a good relationship with their students. It is precisely from this relationship that boundaries can be set and difficult topics can be made open for discussion.
Points for attention for secondary vocational schools and teams:
- Make it a team issue. Discuss signals together and establish what you as a school stand for.
- Invest in knowledge. Ensure that teams know what the manosphere is and how it can influence students.
- Keep the conversation going. Address students about their behaviour, precisely from the basis of the relationship.
- Be alert to unsafe situations. Pay extra attention to signals among girls, LGBTQI+ students and students who deviate from dominant group norms.
- Support professionals. Provide space, professional development and clear support from management.
Finally
The influence of the manosphere is not an isolated incident, but part of broader social developments. For secondary vocational education, this calls for a conscious and joint approach in which social safety is central. By sharing knowledge, engaging in dialogue and making use of the strong pedagogical relationship with students, secondary vocational schools can prevent unequal ideas from being given room to spread.
Source: Klimmbo.