The term “manosphere” first emerged in 2009, referring to a collection of blogs like The Spearhead and Return of Kings that promoted “men’s rights” and criticized the feminist movement, at times promoting violence against women.
Over the next 15 years, the term evolved to encompass not just a generation of bloggers, but men no longer hiding behind keyboards and usernames—content creators and influencers attaching real names to their beliefs around what it means to be a man.
It would therefore be inaccurate to call the manosphere just an ideology, when actually it has transformed into its own economy—one exploiting Gen Z men’s anxieties and resentment toward society, according to researchers from digital safety organization Reset Tech and the nonprofit Equimundo.
In a new report titled “The Grift Economy: How Young Men Are Being Sold Fake Belonging and Fake Wealth Online,” they found the “movement” around men’s rights and masculinity masks a multibillion-dollar industry.
“We should be deeply concerned about the opportunists,” the report said. “In the very real moment of confusion–politicians peddling fear, uncertain job prospects, battles over the meaning of manhood–there is an industry of platforms, influencers and advertisers who are making billions off of young men’s insecurities.”
Masculinity’s emerging economy
Young men are struggling. For only the third time in history, women outnumber men in the U.S. workforce, likely a result of fewer young men entering the workforce. Instead of earning a living, more adult men are living with their parents and becoming NEETs, or not in employment, education, or training.
Separately, men are also chronically online, which contributes to loneliness. A study published in the Journal of Political Economy found that about 70% of the hours young men spent not working were being filled with video games and recreational computer use.
In need of belonging and economic security, this vulnerable demographic has found men online offering coaching and promising self-sufficiency, dominance, and emotional suppression, according to “The Grift Economy” authors.
Meanwhile, Gen Z men are also chasing “looksmaxxing” trends, and start off “softmaxxing” then move on to higher-risk “hardmaxxing” practices like hormone injections, supplements, peptides, and surgery in the name of body optimization, the report said.
The content creators promoting these solutions are raking in cash, according to the report. For example, streamer Adin Ross has an hourly streaming revenue of between $30,000 and $50,000 on the platform Kick, which he also has an equity stake in. A representative for Ross did not immediately respond to Fortune’s request for comment.
Other top streamers can earn between $1 million and $10 million in annual revenue, including from offering online courses, sponsorships, and speaker fees.
Where to lay the blame
But researchers warn against blaming the emergence of an economy based on young men’s insecurities on one particular influencer. Instead, algorithmic systems on social media platforms are to blame for the masculinity industry boom, according to Kristina Wilfore, director of Global Projects and Innovation at Reset Tech, who co-wrote the study.
“It’s just almost laughable, right? When you sort of see these viral trends and you dismiss them because they’re goofy or it seems like some idiot online,” she told Fortune. “But that reaction is dangerous because what we see behind it is massive infrastructure.”
Wilfore has called for greater consumer protection, as well as platform accountability. Other countries have already taken steps toward regulating online spaces: In 2024, the European Union applied the Digital Services Act to online social media platforms, laying out strict boundaries on content moderation, safety, and transparency.
“I do not accept the idea that we just have to live in the world that the social media companies have created for us,” Wilfore said.
David Sasaki, director of the Boys & Men Online program at the American Institute for Boys and Men, told Fortune that addressing algorithmic systems could be beneficial in improving online safety for more than just men.
But he urged people to think beyond just retroactive measures for protecting young men, and instead toward practical, real-life solutions, like how adults can create analog opportunities to build community and provide role models to young men.
“It’s great to diagnose the problem, but boy, has there been a lot of diagnosing of problems of boys and men in the world that they inhabit,” Sasaki said. “What is missing is the affirmative message of what can we do about it.”
This story was originally featured on Fortune.com