The manosphere

From Adolescence to men’s health: was this year of the boy?

- Alexandra Topping

The prime minister said it was a “really hard watch”, while a British police force said it should be a “wake-up call for parents”.

The Netflix drama Adolescence - which tells the story of a 13-year-old boy arrested for killing a female classmate - was hailed from the school gates to the Houses of Parliament for turning a spotlight on the toxic influence of the manosphere.

But the national conversation did not end with the final episode of the drama. A series of high-profile campaigns, conversations, policy shifts and research projects resulted in a sense that 2025 has been the year of the boy.

In March the former England football manager Gareth Southgate warned about the dangers of “callous, manipulative and toxic influencers”, while Lost Boys, a study from the Centre for Social Justice, argued that “boys [were] being left behind” from educational attainment to mental health.

The first “dad strike” was held in June, when fathers gathered in London and Edinburgh to protest at pitifully poor paternity leave provision in the UK. By November, the government had produced the first men’s health strategy for England; a month later its violence against women and girls strategy focused on preventing misogynistic behaviour among boys.