Glocalizing the manosphere: a cross-platform analysis of Spanish manfluencer Amadeo Llados

Over twenty years ago, Raewyn Connell proposed that transnational business masculinities had become globally hegemonic. Notwithstanding certain limitations of global masculinity theory, we argue that masculinity influencers are now attempting to redefine hegemonic masculinity at a global scale. However, as most research on the manosphere remains centred on the Anglophone world, there is limited understanding of how neo-masculinist ideologies circulate in other contexts. This article addresses that gap by examining Spanish manfluencer Amadeo Llados, a highly visible yet academically unexplored figure who reaches large audiences across Spain and Latin America. Specifically, we analyse how meritocracy narratives, male supremacy and hyper-individualism are culturally translated in regions marked by economic precarity, Catholic traditions, and post-authoritarian legacies. Drawing on masculinity studies, globalization theory and glocalization frameworks, we adopt a cross-platform approach combining netnography, thematic coding and multimodal content analysis. Based on 500 posts from TikTok, Instagram, X, YouTube Shorts, and Telegram, alongside observation of Instagram Stories and Llados’ website, findings show Llados as a key discursive agent in the glocalization of neo-masculinist subjectivities, tailoring narratives to different platforms and audiences. We conclude that the neo-manosphere aspires to new reactionary forms of transnational hegemonic masculinity, enabled by the current political, technological and economic conjuncture.