Challenging the manosphere

Information

In partnership with White Ribbon Scotland

BSL Interpreted

The manosphere is described as an informal network where everyone from online influencers to men’s rights activists promote deeply misogynistic content. For legions of young men who feel insecure, anxious and disempowered because their lives do not match the false images of sports-car driving, looksmaxxing, rich, muscled males, disappointment can turn into grievances. Algorithms amplify the myth, and the manosphere is shaping everything from respect in relationships to gender-based violence and men’s own mental health crisis. Join the panel to discover what legislators to educators are doing to tackle what has been described as a ‘national emergency’.

Panellists:

Rebekah MacLeod is the Project Lead for White Ribbon Scotland, a charity dedicated to preventing gender-based violence through the education and empowerment of men and boys. Drawing on her lived experience as a survivor, she helps shape the organisation’s approach to engaging men, framing gender-based violence as an issue everyone has a role in addressing and preventing. She has a particular interest in the manosphere: examining how it operates, why it can be so insidious, and how society can effectively challenge and counter its influence.

Alan Bissett is an award-winning novelist, playwright and performer. His book, Lads: A Guide to Consent and Respect aims to help teenage boys navigate a culture of misogyny, relationships and incel culture. He is also the founder of the in-schools programme ‘The Bro Code’. He is performing his new solo show The Red Hourglass at the Edinburgh Fringe and has an Honorary Doctorate from the University of Stirling for his outstanding contribution to Scottish culture.

Agnes Tolmie is Chair of the Scottish Women’s Convention and has been an active campaigner in the women’s movement her entire life. These campaigns include equal pay and women’s representation in political and public life, including campaigning for 50/50 gender balance in the Scottish Parliament. She is a past President of the Scottish Trades Union Congress (STUC) and a past chair of the STUC Women’s Committee. She was an active anti-apartheid campaigner and was honoured with an Ally Award at the 2024 national Black History Month Celebrations in recognition of her commitment to anti-racism.