When the Manosphere Enters the Classroom
Dutch teachers describe a concerning change in children's behaviour due to the spread of extreme ideas of masculinity in online spaces
Groningen, 19 June 2026
"The girl needs to listen to me. I am the one making money." This is what Inge Wedda heard from one of the boys she’s teaching at Leon van Gelder, a high school in Groningen. “I need to be strong, I need to be a big boy,” are the words of another boy.
These views sit at the centre of an online phenomenon that started to raise concern among Dutch educators in recent years. Known as “the manosphere”, the subject was discussed in a roundtable debate in the House of Representatives on June 11, when experts in gender studies, digital media and education discussed the harmful effect this has on young men’s development.
The manosphere is a network of online communities in which male influencers broadly claim to provide a healthy environment for young men who seek a space for addressing their struggles. UN Women argue that the manosphere paints an idealistic version of masculinity, where worthiness is measured in financial success, impeccable physique and overly sexist attitudes.
“If you go to the gym at 7 in the morning, you’ll see groups of underage boys exercising. Also on a Friday night, they’ll be there instead of hanging out outside,” says Yannick Stomp, a social sciences teacher at Leon van Gelder. “They’re taking all kinds of protein products just to get more muscular,” he adds, referring to children between 11 and 15 years old in his class.
There's also a lot of sadness and grief for them because you have 14, 15 year-olds comparing themselves to boys in their 20s who of course are much more muscular"
Boys start to explore what gender is around the age of 10, as Dr. Bertus Jeronimus, the Chairperson of the Developmental Psychology Department at the University of Groningen, explains. According to the expert, boys might not struggle with the cultural debate about masculinity from the beginning. Difficulties appear once they start to look online for a definition, as algorithms push manosphere content on their feeds.
While toxic masculinity has been around for a long time, simple language that appeals to young boys on social media and later radicalises them is what sets the manosphere apart and makes influencers come across as impressive to young boys.
Dr. Jeronimus believes that the pressure that drives young boys to these influencers stems from the growing perception that they must work significantly harder than previous generations to maintain the same standard of living.
“When you don’t have a certain social status, especially in adolescence, what gets the attention of your peers, instead, is being aggressive. And why? Well, because if people are afraid of you on the street, at least you have that,” says the expert.
Another factor that explains the rapid rise of the manosphere is young men’s necessity of a role model in their lives.
“There are not that many people around to show boys what healthy masculinity looks like,” says Dr. Jeronimus. ”And then where do you find your information and knowledge on how men should behave? Online.”
Problematic social media use
4.8%
of 12- to 16-year-old students in the Netherlands showed problematic media use in 2023.
Statements most heard in Dutch schools by teachers
49%
Talks about wealth, entrepreneurship and fitness.
22%
Manosphere jargon and references to influencers such as Andrew Tate
Behaviour indicative of the manosphere's influence in the Netherlands
56%
of high school professionals have observed an increase in behaviour among boys over the past four years that may indicate the influence of the manosphere.
Discussing Manosphere Influencers With Children in School
Stomp and Wedda have had conversations with their students about online influencers. One of the most popular names among children is Andrew Tate, the British-American content creator accused of multiple crimes, such as rape, human trafficking and prostitution for personal gain.
“Some support him, some don’t, but I think they consume his content,” says Stomp. “They listen to him, how he speaks about women and how a relationship between a boy and a girl should be,” adds Wedda.
“I think in these times, when you’re on social media, you find role models or role models come to you. I think that they look up to people like Tate because he comes off as confident,” says Stomp, who understands the difficulty children have in figuring out who they are.
While the Tate brothers belong to the older generation of manosphere influencers, a new wave of content creators continue to push this ideology on an even greater scale.
Robert Wisman, citizenship and politics teacher at Deltion College Zwolle, showed his students Louis Theroux’s “Inside the Manosphere”, a Netflix documentary that follows some of the most controversial content creators.
Contrary to Wisman’s expectations, it wasn’t the boys who defended the objectification of Only Fans models. “It’s their choice if they want to do that,” voiced some of the girls in his class about the profession and appearance of models on influencers' podcasts.
Harrison Sullivan
Harrison, known as HSTikkyTokky, is a 23-year-old English manosphere influencer. In his videos, he rejects "the system", which he calls "The Matrix", puts emphasis on physical appearances and teaches his audience how to make money in the fastest way possible. He owns a company that manages Only Fans models, who he sometimes invites on his podcast.
Nicolas Kenn De Balinthazy
Known by his followers as Sneako, Nicolas is considered one of the most notorious manosphere content creators, having been previously banned from all major social media platforms for hate speech and disinformation. A close friend of Tate brothers, Sneako describes himself as a huge Trump supporter. He wraps gender politics in religious messages and claims that the world is governed by Satan.
Amrou Fudl
Myron Gaines, former agent for the US Department of Homeland Security, has the most poisonous podcast in the manosphere, according to Theroux. He doesn't consider himself a misogynist, but considers that a man should be the dictator of the relationship. He supports the idea of "one way monogamy", meaning he feels entitled as a man to have multiple sexual partners, while for women this is unacceptable.
Justin Waller
Waller is a businessman who promotes himself as a success coach. He is the father of two girls and is currently expecting a third child with his long-term partner. He supports the idea of men having multiple romantic relationships and pushes for the idea of "alpha supremacy". He is close with the Tate brothers, being involved in their online university "The Real World", where boys can learn how to be successful by making money.
Andrew Tate
Andrew Tate and his brother Tristan are two British-American online figures who have been promoting toxic masculinity ideas online since 2012. They gained media attention after Andrew appeared on the British reality show Big Brother in 2016. They are known for advising their audience how to make money, how to talk to women, whom they often objectify, and for promoting racist and homophobic ideologies. There are now 21 charges authorised against them by the UK prosecutors. However, the brothers are not facing them, as they are residing in Romania at the moment.
Braden Eric Peters
Braden, known online as Clavicular, is considered to be the pioneer of "looksmaxxing". He comes before his audience and speaks about ways to maximise one's appearance, usually through plastic surgery to enhance certain parts of the body. In May 2026, he was sentenced to six months of probation for an alleged alligator shooting during a livestream.
“Women prefer the provider, it’s typically a male that’s a bit older, who has more money and a fixed career,” says Dr. Jeronimus about social dynamics between boys and girls. “I think a lot of young men do not fulfil the criteria of their female counterparts.”
However, there is less and less discussion between young men and women about their expectations of each other.
“My male students are definitely not as used as my female students to talk about their feelings,” says Wisman. “If you don’t know how to put your feelings into words you may be more vulnerable.”
Dr. Jeronimus says that boys find it hard to have deep friendships. “These are not getting off the ground since the pandemic, so they don't get this opportunity to be comfortable with women or appreciate inter-gender friendships.”
The Light at the end of the Tunnel
The manosphere is still a grey area that many professionals struggle to understand. There is also perpetual changes in societal dynamics and an increase in social media use among younger generations that add to the challenge of keeping young men away from these influencers. However, not all hope is lost in changing things for the better.
“Invest in vocational training, get boys into practical jobs early on next to education so they experience they can do things that are valuable, that they’re seen and rewarded by people around them for their skills,” says Dr. Jeronimus.
“We should first make sure that young boys are also willing to receive the female perspective, which is not what we do on a societal level,” adds the professor, who believes this has to happen as early as primary school years.
Photos: Influencers - screenshots of YouTube videos they appear in.; Unsplash free stock photos
