Manosphere in Schools: The influence of misogynistic social media content on young people’s development.

About the Project

Project:

The recent rapid expansion of social media connection and influence has seen the emergence of so-called ‘manosphere’ content, online spaces which discuss and promote toxic masculinity, misogyny and perceived opposition to feminism, and ‘manfluencers’, celebrity figureheads who use social media to defend and assert unequal gender ideals. There is growing concern that the manosphere and manfluencers are contributing to the orientation of the attitudes of young men towards ideals of dominance and hostility. Such ideals threaten gender equality and promote hostile acts towards women. While a great deal of research has shown that misogynistic attitudes increase the risk of violence against women (e.g., Rottweiler et al., 2025), little is known specifically about the role of manosphere content and manfluencers on young people’s lives.

Adolescent boys may be particularly vulnerable to such content due to algorithmic pressures to engage with extreme and controversial opinions on social media, at a time when they may be experiencing hormonal and social pressures to develop intimate relationships which can come with rejection, embarrassment, and isolation. It is unclear whether certain risk factors leave some more vulnerable radicalisation to the manosphere. Additionally, it is unclear how engagement and acceptance of misogynistic content might affect intimate relationships and facilitate abusive behaviour. Furthermore, while it is known that misogyny affects women and girls’ mental health (Hackett et al., 2019), it is less clear to what extent manosphere content could affect young girls directly when they see it, or indirectly through boys repeating and approving of these narratives in school, social, or intimate contexts. The ability and confidence of school staff to manage and challenge ideals of dominance and hostility among young boys also remains unclear. These important topics – among many more – demand research interest to better understand the role of manosphere content in young people’s lives, a crucial step to developing and strategizing prevention and intervention efforts with and for young people.

Applications are invited for self-funded students for PhD proposals in an area related to these important topics. This project would suit applicants with an interest in the psychological effects of social media, radicalisation of young people, and factors related to the victimisation of women and girls such as misogynistic attitudes.

Training Opportunities:

The successful candidate will gain advanced training in the collection and analysis of different types of data. As public engagement with young adults will be key to developing and delivery this research, they will also develop competencies in community engagement, inclusive research practices, and effective dissemination. Supervision will be provided by Dr George Hales and Dr Florence Sheen in the Health and Wellbeing Research Group at University of Leicester. This project offers a unique opportunity to contribute to a growing field at the intersection of cyberpsychology, developmental psychology, and forensic psychology.

Apply at:

https://le.ac.uk/study/research-degrees/research-subjects/psychology-and-vision-sciences

Supervisor contact details:

Dr George Hales - gkh6@leicester.ac.uk

Dr Florence Sheen - fms15@leicester.ac.uk

Dr Ruth Hatcher - rmh12@leicester.ac.uk