Connecting the dots: Men’s mental health, masculinity in the manosphere, and addressing violence
10 December 2025
Are there links between men’s emotional distress, risk behaviors, and the use of violence? What role is digital media—and specifically the manosphere—playing in shaping these behaviors and beliefs? How can understanding masculinity help us prevent harm before it starts?
Issues such as depression, substance use, social isolation, and identity insecurity as outward expressions of a deeper crisis in masculinity—shaped by societal pressure to suppress vulnerability, assert control, and prove one’s worth through dominance or risk. In today’s digital age, these pressures are increasingly magnified in online spaces. The manosphere—a loose network of websites, forums, and influencers promoting rigid and often harmful ideals of masculinity—has emerged as a powerful force in shaping how boys and men understand themselves and their relationships. From algorithm-driven content to communities that glorify misogyny and emotional suppression, the manosphere presents a growing challenge for those working to support young men.
By connecting the dots between men’s mental health, the influence of the manosphere, and the roots of violence, this webinar invites educators, caregivers, and frontline practitioners to better understand the digital and cultural forces at play, and to explore strategies for early intervention and prevention. We will focus on how supporting men’s mental health, and challenging narrow ideals of manhood, should be better understood in addressing work with men and preventing gender-based violence.
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About the speakers
Debbie Ging is Professor of Digital Media and Gender in the School of Communications at Dublin City University and Director of the DCU Institute for Research on Genders and Sexualities. She
teaches and researches on gender, sexuality and digital media, with a focus on digital hate, online anti-feminist men's rights politics, the incel subculture and radicalisation of boys and men into male
supremacist ideologies. Debbie’s research also addresses youth experiences of gender-based and sexual abuse online and educational interventions to tackle this issue.
Taveeshi Gupta, Gupta is a globally recognized expert in gender equality, masculinities research, and the transformative power of care. As Director of Research, Evaluation, and Learning at Equimundo, she leads groundbreaking research that challenges harmful gender norms and advances equitable caregiving across cultures and communities worldwide. Through her recent work, she addresses critical contemporary challenges, including the impact of the “manosphere” on young men’s attitudes toward gender equality and the rising isolation experienced by men across generations. Her research reveals both the urgency of these challenges and the hopeful potential for transformation through redefining masculinity and valuing care as a fundamental human capacity. She graduated from New York University with a PhD in Developmental Psychology.
