Samira is joined by Dr Stephanie Westcott & Professor Steven Roberts (Monash Uni) for a foray into the wild online world of the Manosphere – the hodgepodge of internet communities and influencers who promote anti-feminist and sexist narratives online.

Stephanie & Steven’s latest research uncovers how these communities are influencing boys behaviours and attitudes towards women in Australian School environments.

Together, they explain their current working hypothesis for why the manosphere has become so popular right now (a perfect storm of algorithmic content recommendations, a backlash to the post me-too movement and the timing of covid lockdowns) and some of the problems facing teachers and women in school environments as they attempt to combat online misogyny and misinformation.

“Women disclose to us that they don’t feel like they’re getting enough support on this. Often, they will report really difficult incidents that have happened in their classrooms, and they may not be believed.”

Photo credit: Triple R.