“Society failed men”: male self-help influencers around dating and fitness, optimised hegemonic masculinity and networked misogyny

Examining an important aspect of wellness industries namely male self-help influencers and their content, this paper studies the everyday expression of non-violent gendered extremism on social media and the ways that visuals help extremism to spread. The article, first, argues that the purported authenticity and intimacy along with platform affordances and vernaculars used by male self-help influencers make misogyny and heteronormativity accessible. These influencers brand themselves as entrepreneurial subjects and informed experts, embedded within the global neoliberal consumer landscape, in line with the burgeoning mainstream interest in wellness. Second, the article shows how seemingly “apolitical” and “neutral” media content, combined with references to popular media cultures and manosphere memes, perpetuate covert and acceptable networked misogyny. Expanding knowledge on influencer cultures, gender and online extremism, our findings identify these influencers as fun and accessible symbols of a widespread right-wing movement online, perpetuating stereotypical gender norms and optimized and hegemonic masculinity.