“What’s the manosphere? Inside the online world of misogyny that’s targeting boys and young men”
*En anglais seulement
Our director, Ghayda Hassan, was recently interviewed by Toronto Star journalist Omar Mosleh for an article exploring the manosphere.
“Ghayda Hassan, a professor of clinical psychology at the University of Quebec in Montreal and the director of the Canadian Practitioners Network for the Prevention of Radicalization and Extremist Violence, said in the past, divisive political discourse such as identity politics was typically focused on people of voting age.”
“The problem that we are facing is that these different narratives and groups are targeting younger and younger audiences.”
“She said while global economic challenges are a real concern, she also points to an “echo chamber of negative content, around economic crises, political crises, environmental crises,” which have created a sense of hopelessness among some youth, especially boys.
“The reigning discourse is a discourse that counters youth’s natural propensity for hope and wanting to change the future,” she said.
There are risk factors and protective factors (characteristics that reduce the risk of negative outcomes) for youth who embrace extreme and hateful views. Protective factors include family support, a pro-social peer network, and healthy (offline) relationships — or in a word, connection.
“Risk factors are youth who have experienced distress in their developmental history, characterized by interpersonal violence, isolation, and a youth who’s looking for belonging,” she added.”