Why ‘critical reasoning’ could help brands tackle the manosphere
With research confirming the negative impact masculinity influencers can have on male mental health, experts are urging brands to rethink their approach.
Legal action against influencer Andrew Tate, combined with the popularity of Netflix’s viral hit Adolescence, has catapulted the topic of toxic masculinity into the headlines in recent months.
As brands and consumers tackle ‘the manosphere’, influencing is seeing a shift.
In April, charity Movember and consultancy The Good Side launched ‘Young men’s health in a digital world’, a report based on a survey with 3,000 young men, which found 63% of respondents watch men and masculinity influencers. Over two-fifths (43%) find these influencers motivating and entertaining (45%).
Speaking to Marketing Week at BBH Labs’ ‘Marketing Meets The Manosphere’ event today (19 June), director for the reimagining masculinities initiative at the Movember Foundation, Sarah Sternberg, said the research was born from work the charity was doing with YouTube influencers on reaching young men regarding topics of “openness and emotional vulnerability”.
