Inside the manosphere luring young Indian men and boys

Trigger warning: Mentions of extreme misogyny, sexual harassment, and queerphobia

At the age of 12, Chithra’s (name changed) son called his father a “beta” male.

Her husband had spent the day helping his family prepare an elaborate sadhya (feast) for Onam, smugly pointing out at the dining table that the mango curry was “all him.” The table soon broke into a mock argument over who made what, but his son let out a snort of derision. “This is nothing to be proud of, acha (father). You are being a beta,” the 12-year-old said. A ‘beta male’, in internet slang, refers to a man perceived as weaker, more submissive, and less assertive than the dominant ‘alpha male,’ according to the pseudoscientific theory of male dominance hierarchy.

“We were really caught off guard,” Chithra told me. 

The incident occurred more than two years ago, when the trio was spending Onam with their family in Kerala’s Kollam.

“We didn’t want to jump on him with a lecture on gender stereotypes and embarrass him in front of his cousins,” she said. “When we spoke to him later in private, he quickly apologised to my husband. He said he had learned the term from a YouTube video and that he was only joking. He also promised that he would never disrespect his father again.”

Over the next few months, however, Chithra noticed slow but sure changes in her son’s behaviour, his negativities now directed more towards her than his father. “I had lost my job during the layoffs that followed the COVID-19 pandemic, and my son seemed upset that I was looking for a new one. He never told me why, but he would start showing irritation every time I brought up the topic. He also seemed to find pleasure in mocking me if I made a slip of the tongue or forgot something, making comments like ‘female brain,’ but framing it as a joke.” 

Chithra said she put a lot of this down to him simply being a teenager. “But we have raised our son with a lot of love and care,” she said. “So it was disturbing when it suddenly started to feel as if he didn’t like me much anymore.”

It wasn’t until much later, during a parent-teacher conference at her son’s school, that Chithra realised his concerning behaviour had begun to extend beyond home. His teacher had informed her that several boys in the school, her son among them, have frequently been pulled up for making sexist and inappropriate comments towards girls and female teachers. The teens were apparently influenced and inspired by a controversial online personality named Andrew Tate, a British-American influencer infamous for his extreme misogyny.

In what has become a growing global concern, Tate is now recognised as a gateway for young men and boys into a potentially dangerous online ecosystem known as the ‘manosphere,’ luring them in with ‘motivational’ speeches and, over time, negatively shaping their attitudes towards womenkind and progressive gender roles.

Over the past few months, I have scoured manosphere-related subreddits, 4chan forums, and X (formerly Twitter) profiles, interacting with several self-described misogynists and ‘incels’. I spoke to boys and young men who are yet to realise they are beginning to hate women, others who have left these hateful ideologies behind, and parents, teachers, and academics across India who are left baffled as to why these young boys have abruptly developed strong misogynistic beliefs.

What I realised is that while Tate himself has a huge following in India, young Indian boys are also being drawn into misogyny by several regional versions of these influencers—ranging from the Elvish Yadavs and the Lakshay Chaudharys of the north to abusive video game YouTubers such as ‘Thoppi’ in the south. In this article, we’ll explore the profound impact figures like Tate have had on the psyche of many young men in India, how this hatred takes on ‘local flavours’ online, and why teenagers are so susceptible to these ideologies. Finally, we’ll discuss potential solutions to address this growing concern.

In November last year, a 14-year-old boy studying at a prominent school in Bengaluru told me that Tate was being “deadass serious” with his remarks on women being subservient to men. “There is never a time when a man and woman will be equal. They both have different energies and they can never be one. Tate specifically says that men should focus on making money and taking care of women, while women are meant to take care of their children and their houses.”