The manosphere between the global and the local

The so-called manosphere, a cluster of misogynist and anti-feminist online communities, has grown significantly in recent years. Often regarded as a primary English-speaking hub situated in the anglophone West, it has influenced online misogyny on a global scale where ideas, dynamics, and discourses are copied, adapted, or translated into different languages. Going beyond dichotomous lines between the Western/non-Western manosphere, we call for addressing the rise of these spaces within a framework of heterogeneity and hybridity between the global and the local contexts. In this regard, this chapter examines the Iranian manosphere in relation to the global (mostly anglophone) manosphere to understand how this growing space is formed, what some of its subgroups are, and how they interpret and engage with antifeminist, masculinist fantasies as well as incorporate Islamic discourses and laws. We argue that the Iranian manosphere is a particular realm of fantasizing in that many of its users are able to actively perform their desires for annihilation offline and through state-sponsored forces and misogynist laws, while at the same time claiming to be victims of women and feminists. These developments are manifestations of how, among other threats, a universal abstract fantasy that women (especially feminist women) and other marginalized bodies are the ultimate threat is negotiated in this emerging space. The chapter is followed by Sama Khosravi Ooryad’s research note, elaborating on parts of her PhD project

Fantasy · Hybridity · Islam · Realm · Situated · Anthropological Studies and Insights · Diaspora, migration, transnational identity · Global Education and Multiculturalism

• Politi-clavicular state

  Open Access•Ozan Félix Sousbois•NORMA•2026

  Add to list