When Help Is Harm
Health, Lookism and Self-Improvement in the Manosphere
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 2250475 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Marjorie Halpin (0000-0001-9109-8290, Department of Sociology and Social Anthropology Dalhousie University Halifax Canada, corresponding author), Meghan Gosse (0000-0001-6640-3775, Department of Sociology and Social Anthropology Dalhousie University Halifax Canada), Katharine Yeo (Department of Medicine University of British Columbia Vancouver Canada), Ingrid Handlovsky (0000-0003-4838-320X, School of Nursing University of Victoria Victoria Canada), Finlay Maguire (0000-0002-1203-9514, Faculty of Computer Science Dalhousie University Halifax Canada) |
| Year | 2025 |
| Volume | 47 |
| Issue | 3 |
| Pages | e70015-e70015 |
| Publication date | 2025-03-01 |
| Peer Reviewed | Yes |
| Open Access | Yes |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | Sociology of Health & Illness (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 0141-9889 • E-ISSN: 1467-9566 |
| Publisher | Wiley (PUBLISHER • GB) |
| DOI | 10.1111/1467-9566.70015 |
| PMID | 40069550 |
| OpenAlex | W4408382166 |
| Language | EN |
| Citations received | 5 |
| References cited | 58 |
How do online communities impact men's health? How does hegemonic masculinity harm men's health? In this paper, we analyse an online looksmaxxing community that receives 6 million unique visitors per month and is aimed at men seeking to improve their appearance. We qualitatively analysed 8072 discussion board comments in total. Our findings first demonstrate how users apply a hegemonic masculine gaze as they critique men's bodies (e.g., facial asymmetries and brow ridges). Second, we show how the community encourages men to substantially alter their bodies (e.g., with leg lengthening surgeries or by mewing). Third, we argue that the community subjects users to masculine demoralisation, wherein they are seen as failed men and encouraged to self-harm. Drawing on masculinities theory, we argue that looksmaxxing and similar self-improvement communities harm the health of the men who participate in them
Gaze · Harm · Hegemonic masculinity · Hegemony · Masculinity · Political science · Psychoanalysis · Sociology · Gender Roles and Identity Studies · Gender Studies · Gender, Feminism, and Media · Law · Media, Gender, and Advertising · Psychology · Social Psychology
Abductive Analysis
Testosterone
The Birth of the Clinic
Black Feminist Thought
In the Game
Misogynistic Men Online
A Structured Review and Critical Analysis of Male Perceptions of the Penis
The Impact of Social Media on Body Image Perceptions and Bodily Practices among Gay, Bisexual, and Other Men Who Have Sex with Men
Engendering health
Drinking male tears
Gamergate and The Fappening
We’re Continually Comparing Ourselves to Something”
Degrading Bodies in Pandemic Times
Men, masculinities and diabetes
Stochastic Gender-Based Violence
Men who hate women
What is beautiful is good
Social Media Effects on Young Women's Body Image Concerns
Ethnography for the Internet
Constructions of masculinity and their influence on men's well-being
Reconceptualising men's loneliness
Male Bodies
Medicalized Masculinities
Gender health equity
Digesting the Red Pill
Embodying the Double-Bind of Masculinity
Masculinities in Hardcore Bodybuilding
Body Image
Weaponized Subordination
The Tyranny of the Male Preserve
Hegemonic Masculinity
Macho Men' and Preventive Health Care
Men's discourses of help-seeking in the context of depression
Battles over 'unruly bodies
Masculinities, emotions and men's suicide
Keeping It Real
I don't consider a cup performance; I consider it a test
Challenging medicine? Bodybuilding, drugs and risk
Beholding Inequality
Conditions of Successful Degradation Ceremonies
| Unique citing works | 5 |
|---|---|
| Citations per year | 5 |
| Citation span | 2026 - 2026 (1) |
| Citation velocity | current |
| Highly cited | No |
| Citation types | Neutral: 2 |