Louis Theroux is an insightful documentary filmmaker known for exploring unusual and provocative human phenomena around the world. His latest documentary, released on Netflix in March 2026, focuses on the manosphere.

Knowing about my work on masculinity and men's wellbeing, more than a few people told me, "You have to watch Louis Theroux on the manosphere." Those uncomfortable with my support for men often seemed to say it as a warning: "This is what your men have become." Others meant the opposite: "You have to watch it. It will remind you why healthy masculinity matters."

I finally watched it.

As a researcher of masculinity, little in the documentary surprised me. And yet, there were still difficult moments to watch: the casual humiliation of women, the emotional coldness, the relentless performance of dominance, and the striking absence of empathy and intimacy. The atmosphere felt less powerful than insecure.

The documentary reminded me that the manosphere is worth taking seriously. But it also reminded me that if we focus only on its most provocative personalities, we risk missing the deeper psychological story.

Broadly speaking, the manosphere is a loosely connected online ecosystem of influencers, forums, and communities concerned with masculinity, gender relations, and men's struggles. Some parts emphasize self-improvement, discipline, fitness, or financial success. Others promote hostility toward feminism, nostalgia for traditional gender hierarchies, and admiration for masculine status measured through physical power, sexual conquest, wealth, or dominance over women.

Watching the influencers, it seemed that much of their energy was devoted to appearing masculine rather than simply feeling secure, with little inner sense of security and much performance aimed at seeking external validation. While competence, ambition, and discipline are healthy aspirations, when masculine worth depends on domination, aggression, humiliation, emotional detachment, or endless proof of status, something essential has gone wrong.

A moment that stayed with me after watching the film was when the influencers were asked whether they would want men like themselves dating their own daughters. To their credit, they answered honestly: No. That contradiction says a great deal. When a man promotes values he would not wish upon his own children, an inner fragmentation becomes apparent. Psychological integrity depends on a reasonable alignment between what we believe, what we feel, what we say, and how we choose to live.

Another scene was equally revealing. Female partners of several influencers described relationships in which the men openly maintained multiple sexual partners while denying their girlfriends the same freedom. Whatever private arrangements consenting adults may choose, the emotional reality visible on those women's faces suggested that they were far less comfortable with the situation than they claimed to be.

That part of the documentary also left me wondering about another question that receives far less attention: Who are the women who choose to participate in this world? Some appear on podcasts, attend events, or enter relationships with influencers whose views about women are neither hidden nor ambiguous. There are often understandable contributing factors, such as little exposure to healthier models of relationships and gender equality, difficult family backgrounds, emotional dependency, and limited opportunities. These realities deserve empathy. Yet they do not fully answer the question. Understanding why some women choose to participate in this world is also part of understanding the phenomenon itself.

But the people who concerned me most were not the influencers themselves, but the young men following them. Many struggled to explain exactly why these figures appealed to them. Yet beneath their words was something unmistakable: fear about the future, economic uncertainty, loneliness, confusion about relationships with women, and the feeling that few people were speaking honestly about the challenges they faced.

The impression I was left with was that these influencers represented a winning path in a world where many young men increasingly feel dispensable.

That, to me, is the real psychological issue.

As uncomfortable as some of the participants' views may be, they reflect a broader reality emerging across egalitarian societies, where gender relations have changed dramatically within just two generations. Women today are, on average, more educated, more economically independent, more selective in choosing partners, and freer than ever to shape their own lives without depending on men.

In light of this changing reality, many men are left trying to understand what their role is. Increasing numbers, particularly in the United States, report feeling uncertain about their purpose and direction in life, and about what is expected of them in romantic relationships and family life.

For perhaps the first time in modern history, large numbers of men are asking not only how to succeed, but what makes them valuable as men in the first place.

The data concerning boys and men across many Western countries are worrying: declining educational achievement and social connection, uncertainty about identity, loneliness, and a suicide rate nearly four times that of women. Yet contemporary public discourse continues to treat heterosexual men primarily as a privileged majority, making it surprisingly difficult to recognize their legitimate struggles without immediately becoming politically polarized.

The manosphere does not represent most boys, adolescents, and men, who are far from misogynists. To me, it was clear that many of the young men in the film were not primarily searching for domination, but for direction, identity, belonging, and self-worth. They were simply trying to understand how to build meaningful lives, satisfying relationships, and a secure sense of themselves under rapidly changing social conditions.

Freud famously suggested that human beings need "someone to love and something to do." Today, that path seems more complicated than before. Many young men are entering adulthood facing economic uncertainty, unstable housing markets, changing career paths, and changing expectations about what it means to be a good partner and father.

Many men do not withdraw from intimacy because they reject closeness. They withdraw because they are uncertain about the value they bring into intimate relationships. The attraction of the manosphere's worldview, despite its many unhealthy ideas, tells us less about the quality of its message than about the depth of the uncertainty many young men are experiencing.

Previous generations largely taught boys how to become providers. Today's world asks men to become something broader: providers when needed, but also emotionally mature partners, engaged fathers, collaborative colleagues, and psychologically reflective individuals. For many men, that transition is both unfamiliar and overwhelming.

The answer is not a return to older forms of masculinity built on domination, nor is it the dismissal of men's struggles as little more than resentment or privilege.

The growing independence of women is one of the most important social transformations of modern history. It has expanded freedom, opportunity, and choice for millions of women, while simultaneously asking men to rethink where their value comes from and what they bring to relationships and family life. For many men, that is not a small adjustment. It is one of the greatest developmental challenges of their lives.

This is precisely why the answer cannot simply be louder voices, greater resentment, or nostalgia for a world that no longer exists. Men need thoughtful guidance through this transition. They need mature male role models who understand both strength and emotional maturity, confidence and humility, responsibility and partnership.

Many men are not looking for someone to tell them who to blame. They are looking for someone to help them understand how to become the kind of man who can flourish in the world as it is.

That, to me, is what the Healthy Masculinity Center aims to offer.