The Rise of the Manosphere: Are Governors Prepared for the Impact on School Culture?

In this blog, we summarise the key insights and discussions from the session, Rise of the Manosphere: Are Governors Prepared for the Impact on School Culture.

What Do We Mean by Manosphere?

The term 'manosphere' has been the focus of attention across many sectors of the media. 

The term first came to prominence in 2010-2011, but has existed in some form since the 1970’s and was seen as a response to growing feminism. It has gathered new momentum with the emergence of Andrew Tate, who was a Big Brother contestant in 2016 but was removed from the show after controversy surrounding videos of him surfaced.

Tate’s profile and role as an influencer, particularly of young men, grew rapidly and drew a lot of media attention across the world, leading to the creation of many online platforms promoting his misogynistic views and ideology. The growing wave of personalities who echoed his message became a catalyst for Adolescence, the Netflix drama that took the world by storm following its March 2025 premiere.

Over the years, we have seen the number of influencers increase, with huge international followings. This led to the Louie Theroux documentary that aired on Netflix in March this year, which was described by Netflix as an ‘investigation into a growing ultra-masculine network’.

Today, manosphere has come to mean a network of online channels, websites and influencers promoting what is often described as ‘traditional masculinity – where males hold a dominant role and women are subservient.’

It should certainly be on the radar for all schools, as it does represent significant risks to both males and females caught in the discourse around these issues.

School Plans to Tackle Misogyny

There is also further evidence of growing threats from misogynistic behaviour impacting our schools;

• Lucy Powell, Secretary of State, stated in the above press release that data shows 50% of girls reported hearing misogynistic comments from other pupils during a week in school, in May this year – and that almost a third of Year 10 and 11 pupils said they had recently heard comments that made them worry about the safety of girls.
  
  
• Earlier in the year, the NASUWT teacher union conducted research which showed just under a quarter of all female teachers had experienced misogynistic behaviour from male pupils.
  
  
• The Youth Justice Board (public body sponsored by the Dept. of Justice) produced in March 2026 an Evidence Pack, focussing on Harmful sexual behaviour, misogyny and violence carried out by children.
  
  
• School experiences of misogyny and violence against women and girls have led the DfE to launch its VAWG strategy, specifically aiming to better protect children from misogyny.

The exec summary in the VAWG strategy talks about ‘the cultural norms and misogynistic attitudes that enable and inspire this violence permeate every part of our country – from family homes, schools and workplaces to our streets, sports clubs and local communities.’

What Do Governance Structures Need to Focus on?

Age-Appropriate Learning

Those in governance roles must understand that misogyny is not a challenge confined to secondary schools. It is a risk that can affect children and young people at every stage of education. Even the youngest children may be exposed to harmful attitudes, stereotypes and beliefs, both outside and within school.

As with any safeguarding concern, early intervention is vital. Schools should be actively challenging inappropriate language, attitudes and behaviours from the earliest years of education. Governors and trustees should therefore seek assurance that staff in EYFS and Key Stage 1 are addressing gender stereotypes, challenging harmful assumptions, and helping children develop an understanding of mutual respect, fairness and consideration for others.

The new RSHE guidance came into force in September this year. This requires primary schools to focus on ensuring children learn about positive relationships between friends and family. This builds on work begun in Early Years relating to children understanding respect and kindness in all relationships, whilst at the same time ensuring children know how to be safe and, importantly, recognise what counts as abusive behaviour, so that they can ask for help if they need to.

The key is age-appropriate learning. In secondary Schools, all pupils learn about consent, and lessons are intended to focus on helping teenagers understand consent as well as kindness and respect. They are intended to learn how to identify positive role models and understand how to challenge harmful attitudes that they may encounter online.

Online Risks 

Barnardo’s, the children’s charity, launched a new campaign back in May this year titled Call it what it is. The campaign aims to counter what they describe as ‘dangerous narratives about misogyny and harmful notions of masculinity’. They make the point that whilst misogyny is not new, the way that children and young people encounter it is. Harmful misogynistic content is everywhere, and many children face an online barrage of extreme, degrading messages about women and girls alongside damaging myths about masculinity. Barnardo’s points out that when children and young people see and hear this online content, it quietly normalises attitudes and harmful behaviours that no child should ever learn to accept.

What Good Looks Like

There is a lot of research and content out there, and the DfE is investing funding to help schools tackle the issues of misogyny and Violence Against Women and girls. However, schools will have to dig deeper to find examples of what schools are doing now, in 2026, to confront these issues.

A document posted by the Essex Primary Headteacher Association, published in July this year, is titled Misogyny – explaining and responding to it in school. It presents the importance of action, and there is a great section on ‘Tips for Primary School Teachers’. This lists four strategies aimed at early intervention, in age-appropriate ways for use with primary-age children.

1. Tackle gender stereotyping: Urging teachers to respond to hearing gender stereotyping in the classroom by using it as what they refer to as a ‘teachable moment’, e.g. hearing a young child say ‘My dad says girls can’t play football ’, teachers can respond by talking about how many famous women and girls football clubs there are, as well as teams, including the English Women’s team and their successes. The tip also encourages teachers and schools to use inclusive language (e.g., Firefighter rather than fireman) and to use display boards to counter stereotypical views. This, of course, is something that governors and trustees can look for examples of on visits or learning walks.
   
   
2. Challenge Sexist Language: Sexist language can become normalised if it is not consistently challenged. Children may encounter these attitudes and expressions at home, online or elsewhere in their daily lives, making it particularly important for schools to set clear expectations. By routinely addressing inappropriate language, schools can help children understand the importance of respect and the impact that words can have on others. 
   
   
3. Promote Equal Participation: By observing and responding to boys' dominance in certain activity/play areas. Oracy is a key government priority for schools at present, and when promoting oracy, teachers could choose children to speak, rather than let dominant individuals always take the lead. Establishing ground rules such as this can help instil the idea of respectful relationships.
   
   
4. Champion a whole-school approach: Schools taking positive action to establish a whole-school approach are guided by an overarching set of principles which promote equality between boys and girls.
   
   

What Does This Mean for Secondary Schools?

Manosphere is probably more ‘on the radar’ for secondary schools, particularly because of the age of young men who are more susceptible to the influence (mainly online) of the likes of Andrew Tate and many other influencers.

The new RHSE guidance emphasises that secondary schools must teach:

·       Digital and Online risks: including AI, Deepfakes, AI chatbots, identifying fake social media accounts, online scams, fraud and sextortion

·       Harassment and Extremism: tackling online misogyny specifically, incel culture, sexual ethics and the harmful impact of pornography

·       Safety & Crime: knife crime, conflict resolution, image-based abuse, coercion, grooming and the criminal offence of strangulation

·       Physical and Mental Health: which includes suicide prevention and self-harm

Organisations such as the PSHE Association and the DfE are about to release resources which provide schools with tools to use when teaching.

Key Takeaways

Want further insights? 

Our Governance Expertise and Partnership Lead, Steve Barker, will be speaking at our Annual Safeguarding Virtual Conference on governance oversight of suspensions and exclusions through a safeguarding perspective. Whether it’s misogyny, Ofsted, the mobile phone ban, SEND or PEX, there are sessions you won’t want to miss. Attendees will also have access to recordings of every session so you can watch them all back at a time that's convenient to you. 

Click the banner below to book your place. 

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