Letter from school... "Manosphere"

[NotTellingYouMyRealOne]

Name changed in case anyone recognises the school!

Weve just recieved this letter from school... is this actually a real thing? Are boys being exposed to such rubbish?

Yes they are. On Reddit, 4Chan, You Tube and other SM platforms.

It's all very Andrew Tate style stuff so yeah, boys are definitely being exposed to it.

That said the definitions of Alpha and Sigma made me laugh. My year 7 DS goes on about being Sigma all the time, usually in the context of his alleged football prowess.

Actually I'm really impressed that the school is looking to tackle what is a cult of toxic masculinity in some small way.

Sad we don't get the same for girls who's chief aspiration in life is to be on Love Island and get lip fillers at 18.

I guess the main difference is girls intoxicated by sexualisation don't generally become radicalised where as the toxic masculinity arena has a tendency that way.

This has been going on for ages. Many sucked in already.

Here's an example of a fairly popular self help course The Power University whose creepy author(who falsely claims to be an APA member) is heavily inspired by the Manosphere. Some bits of his site tell men they can sometimes ignore a woman's no, 'especially if insertion has partly happened.' His later posts are more moderate, but he still holds a lot of v damaging views & is promoting them to insecure men. It's most dangerous imo when it slinks into more mainstream stuff that seems OK at first, like this.
Op, it's important to be aware, & keep talking to your son. Most boys aren't fooled by this creeps, but if your son is shy or insecure I would keep an eye.

thepowermoves.com/alpha-fucks-beta-bucks/#Alpha_Providers_Family_But_No_Diapers

Fortunately, in this instance, I only have daughters. I'm pleased the school is taking this seriously (the letters were actually sent by post not just email!). But girls will bear the brunt of the boys misplaced anger

The scary thing is, looking at a few of the boys I know through being their Scout leader... I can see how they can be taken in by this. The Internet is a scary place.

Looks like a PSHE lesson on toxic masculinity, glad the school is trying to tackle this

Yes OP I think it is really good they are sending you this. Its good to have it there in black and white and boys do come across this all the time. I am aware mine are scornful of it and forever grateful for that

parent of three teen boys

This is the tip of the iceberg really. But good on the school for making parents aware of some of the terminology, it’s a minefield.

NotTelling, sorry I guess I assumed son bc of the topic, but that's totally right, mums of girls need to know too, bc they are the target of the radicalised boys. It's great if you're up on the issues so you can support & guide.
I've told my mum about the worrying stuff I've heard from friends at uni whose bfs think choking & other extreme stuff is a normal part of sex which doesn't require prior checking. Not manosphere, more porn influenced, but similar problem.. I showed her this article- https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/article/2024/sep/02/i-think-its-natural-why-has-sexual-choking-become-so-prevalent-among-young-people#comments

She's a bit of a conspiracy theorist & didn't believe it. Many boys surely don't do that, but extreme behaviour does seem to be on the rise.

I am so sick of it. I'm glad your school is discussing it.

I mentioned 5 Sigma (the manufacturing efficiency approach) in class the other day and the students were giggling. And the week before I said something quite innocuous and they thought it was a porn reference. A few weeks ago a different, younger class were usung a word that turned out to be a horrible misogynistic thing but I didn't know it! They have a lot more resources and opportunities than we had as teens but they are exposed to such horrible stuff.

I am fed up of resorting to Urban Dictionary to find out what they mean.

Yes. I work in FE and last year we had someone external come in on one of our development days to talk about this.... for 3 hours!!

Yep. Look up "incels."

What is your school doing about it?

Most schools I've heard of do the complete opposite of what would be helpful.