Bloomberg offers a valuable, well-documented discussion of the key role that a number of YouTube "influencers" played in pushing young males towards Donald Trump in the last election:

trumpresistance

@wdlindsy
And there are those who say the Christian Bible requires male domination, so they get to say God wills it.

William Lindsey :toad:

@trumpresistance Oh, yes, for sure — many world religions are dominated by men, who claim that they have unique authority to interpret their sacred texts or religious symbols, and who use that claim to try to subordinate and subjugate women. The global resistance to women's rights is deeply embedded in religious resistance across quite a few religious bodies around the world.

Mastodon Migration

@wdlindsy

Absolutely.

The experts also talk about the shifting landscape of opportunity. It is in fact true that men, particularly white men, are now in more competition for traditional 'male' jobs and good jobs are in general harder to find. This makes young men more susceptible to people telling them it is women's (and minorities) fault that they are unsuccessful.

This is not to excuse such reprehensible behavior, but rather to identify one of the contributing causes.

Mastodon Migration

@wdlindsy @paco

It's stunning. Sociologists predict it could reach 2/3 women by 2030.

Men are truly failing and the implications are profound.

Lucy B

@mastodonmigration @wdlindsy @paco

I highly recommend this. Basically, sexism is why this is happening. Once women dominate an arena, men flee.
https://mementomori.social/@undefined_variable/113755708976880845

Ivey Janette McClelland

@wdlindsy @paco They'd rather sit at home and watch TV all day.

William Lindsey :toad:

@mastodonmigration @paco And as this happens, as men increasingly fall behind and scorn educating themselves (ourselves, since I'm a man), the only option left, if they/we don't try to reverse course and recognize that we need education, knowledge, learning, is to descend into brutality.

To try to force others to accept our imaginary superiority, and to subjugate women and strip them of rights….

William Lindsey :toad:

@IveyJanette @paco Yes — and watch video clips online, game online, etc.

William Lindsey :toad:

@lucybeahere @mastodonmigration @paco Thank you for this great link and this information.

William Lindsey :toad:

@mastodonmigration Yes — in the same way that many people want to blame immigrants, with no basis whatsoever. This is where I circle back again to education: learning to see the world correctly, to base our analysis on facts and sound research, opens our eyes to the fact that women and immigrants aren't taking things from men, that human rights are not a zero-sum game.

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@lucybeahere @wdlindsy @paco

Absolutely. Excellent article!

And there is an entire ecosystem of grifters pulling them in and channeling their anger against women. Checknout the links elsewhere in this thread.

And if you have the time this 4 part podcast is excellent on the subject:

we’re talking about the manosphere the wrong way - Sixteenth Minute (of Fame) | iHeart

The manosphere isn't just one of the election's biggest trending topics, it's also one of the biggest outputters of internet main characters -- so why have most of the conversations around it been so unproductive? In our first part of our series on the manosphere, Jamie interrogates the flawed ways in which media is talking about this space, and traces its origins from the 1970s all the way to Gamergate and the Isla Vista shootings. Then, she speaks with researcher Becca Lewis about where we go from here.

Follow Becca Lewis's work here: https://bsky.app/profile/beccalew.bsky.social

Men Who Hate Women by Laura Bates: https://bookshop.org/p/books/men-who-hate-women-from-incels-to-pickup-artists-the-truth-about-extreme-misogyny-and-how-it-affects-us-all-laura-bates/19662669

Backlash by Susan Faludi: https://bookshop.org/p/books/backlash-the-undeclared-war-against-american-women-susan-faludi/8728966?ean=9780307345424

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

iHeart (www.iheart.com)

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@wdlindsy

Mostly agree. The truth is that women and minorities ARE taking something away from men, their privilege.

What is interesting is the response is not to work harder to compete in this more competitive environment, but rather to react with anger and hatred. And there are no shortage of charismatic grifters urging them on. It's a toxic soup.

GhostOnTheHalfShell

@mastodonmigration @wdlindsy

I love that guy. he’s one of the most brightening souls commenting on our common predicament.

Alex@rtnVFRmedia Suffolk UK

@wdlindsy @mastodonmigration @paco they even seem to discourage normal "masculine" stuff (such as working on cars/trucks, DIY etc), I do watch a lot of these videos on YouTube and the American ones tend to made by be "good old boys" our sort of ages rather than younger lads (and when they are younger lads they are non white, usually Latinos and Asians)

Mastodon Migration

@vfrmedia @wdlindsy @paco

It is indeed really instructive to watch a few minutes of one of these podcasts or videos. Generally they are four or five guys talking fast in a sort of impenetrable jargon about how to become fabulously wealthy and fit and have lots of sex with beautiful stupid woman who they despise if only you will buy their bodybuilding supplements, invest in some scheme, or take their class on how to pick up women etc.

The Sleight Doctor 🃏

@wdlindsy @mastodonmigration Indeed. Not a zero-sum game - or to loosely paraphrase a popular meme, human rights aren't like pie: you don't have less because someone else has more. The neccessary universality of human rights is why we protect the marginalized. Ultimately, strengthening the rights of anyone builds a more robust framework for all of us. Conversely, weakening the rights of anyone puts everyone at risk by making rights conditional on the whims of power.

First they came for the...

laguiri

@wdlindsy @paco I teach high school in Spain. Last year I intercepted a love letter and read some lines thinking it was cheating. The girl waxed lyrical about the love object's wish to improve himself. My students share that outlook in public too: you want a girlfriend, you study hard and build a future. They don't want to be supported, just to be partners.

Beachbum

@mastodonmigration @wdlindsy Let’s not forget the ignorant parents who coddle them and let them live at home, pay their bills, buy them cars and fail to teach them and encourage them how to support themselves. #FailureToThrive

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@Beachbum @wdlindsy

For sure. And, hate to say it because absolutely love video games, but video game addiction plays a role too. Not because of the violence, but because of the enormous non-productive anti-social time sink.

sb :q!

@wdlindsy
Here's an archive link to the above article.

Paywall-free: https://web.archive.org/web/20250122180001/https://www.bloomberg.com/graphics/2025-youtube-podcast-men-for-trump/