
What is the manosphere?
And how can you help your daughter navigate it?

Quick summary:
- The manosphere is a growing network of online spaces where some boys and men share sexist, angry views about women – and its influence is showing up in teen culture
- Misogynistic content often appears in subtle ways – through slang, memes, or even emojis, making it harder for parents and teachers to spot
- You don’t need to have all the answers, but try to stay curious, keep talking, and remind your daughter she can always come to you with anything

At luna, our mission is to support teen girls through adolescence, and the people raising them – through every awkward, memorable, incredible and sometimes confusing part of growing up.
And right now, there’s something happening online that we think more parents need to know about.
It’s called the manosphere.
The manosphere is a growing network of online spaces where boys and men share views that are often angry, sexist, and damaging.
While your daughter might not be the one watching this content, chances are, she’s still affected by it.
Maybe it’s the boy in her class repeating something he saw on TikTok.
Maybe it’s a friend joking about “alpha males” or “red pills.”
Maybe she’s already come to you asking, “what is the manosphere?”
Add to that a constant stream of content from social media algorithms – and the conversation sparked by the Netflix show Adolescence – and it’s easy to feel unsure of what to say, or how to help.
That’s where we come in.
In this guide, we’ll walk you through what the manosphere actually is, how to spot its language and symbols, and what to do if your daughter is seeing or experiencing misogyny – online or off.
We’re not here to panic you or lecture you, just offer real, honest info to help you feel more confident navigating it all with her.
So let’s get into it.
What is the manosphere?
The manosphere is a group of online spaces where some men and boys share ideas that are often angry, sexist, or anti-women.
They might blame women for their problems, spread harmful views about gender roles, or talk about dating in really negative and unfair ways.
A lot of this content is dressed up as advice – how to be more confident or “manly” – but it can lead people down a path of thinking that women are the enemy.
And even if your daughter isn’t the one watching it or is against it, she might still be affected by the things boys around her are seeing and saying.
Recently, in the luna app, we received this question from a teen girl:
“Some of my friends support Andrew Tate, and that makes me uncomfortable because of all the sexist things he has said. Me and some of my friends have tried to talk to them about it, but they get annoyed with us for 'always bringing it up'. I'm not sure if i should unfriend them or not, but i am worried that i will lose the rest of my friendgroup if i do.”
Even though they’re not directly engaging with this content, it’s clear it’s reaching them in the playground.
What is misogyny?
You may already know this, but we just wanted to address it just in case.
Misogyny means dislike or unfair treatment of women and girls.
Sometimes it’s obvious – like name-calling, rude jokes, or harassment.
Other times, it’s more hidden, less obvious – like believing that girls should behave a certain way, or that they’re less capable than boys.
Misogyny shows up a lot online, especially in videos and memes that mock or put down women.
It’s one of the key ideas pushed in manosphere content, even if they don’t explicitly call it by its name.
Spotting the language of the manosphere
The manosphere has its own kind of slang – and some of it’s easy to miss.
You might overhear this kind of language if you’re sat together and your daughter’s watching TikTok.
She may also ask you what it means, having overheard it in school.
Here are some definitions of manosphere terminology: