Männerräume 2.0. Von der Manosphere, Maskulinismus und der Mitte der Gesellschaft

In the organizer's words:

Lecture by Angela Frick on Thursday, May 28, 2026, 6 p.m.

In the current debate about digital sexualized violence , the manosphere is a recurring topic. The so-called manosphere refers to a loose, predominantly anti-feminist network of blogs, forums and online communities. The term is made up of "man" (man) and "sphere" (area) and first appeared around 2009.

There are various groups within the manosphere, including Pick-Up Artists (PUA), Incels, Men Going Their Own Way (MGTOW) and men's rights and fathers' rights movements. Despite sometimes contradictory positions, they are united by the promotion of certain, often hegemonic, toxic images of masculinity, a pronounced rejection of feminism and misogynistic attitudes - from subtle to extreme.

Thematically, the content ranges from self-optimization and dominant "seduction concepts" to conspiracy narratives about an allegedly anti-male society. There are also overlaps with far-right and alt-right milieus.

Since the 2010s at the latest, masculospheric discourses have become increasingly widespread through social media and have penetrated the social mainstream in some cases. Research also shows that radicalization processes within these networks are linked to online harassment and real-life violence.

The lecture
Angela Frick's lecture will provide an overview of the players, ideologies and developments in the manosphere. Aspects such as right-wing gender politics and changing concepts of masculinity will be highlighted. In addition, the question of what makes the identity offers of the manosphere so attractive for many men will be explored.

The speaker
Angela Frick is a sociologist and political educator. Her main topics are anti-feminism and masculinity. Her publications include "Männerräume 2.0 - Von roten Pillen, der Manosphere und dem Internet als Brutkasten antifeministischer Einstellungen" (Berlin 2023) and "Taking the Blackpill - Männlichkeit und Wirklichkeit der Incel-Community" (Mainz 2019) in the series "Was ist eigentlich Antifeminismus?".

The Museum für Kommunikation Berlin is showing the exhibition APROPOS SEX. Two of the seven thematic areas - "Drawing Boundaries" and "Media Lust" - explicitly complement the lecture topic. You can find all the events accompanying APROPOS SEX in our calendar.

Price information:

8 Euro, reduced 4 Euro, under 18 years free