[Ads-l] manosphere (2011)

Mon Jul 6 15:47:32 UTC 2026

Not in OED. Merriam-Webster has 2011, but they don't list the source as is their practice.

The earliest I found is in the title of a thread to the subreddit r/MensRights:

“Women can age beautifully. One of the best posts in the manosphere.” Reddit.com/r/MensRights, 21 January 2011. [First post in thread deleted] [ https://www.reddit.com/r/MensRights/comments/f6gqz/women_can_age_beautifully_one_of_the_best_posts/?sort=old ]( https://www.reddit.com/r/MensRights/comments/f6gqz/women_can_age_beautifully_one_of_the_best_posts/?sort=old )

Bobsutan. “Game for MRAs.” Reddit.com/r/MensRights, 11 February 2011. [ https://www.reddit.com/r/MensRights/comments/fjqij/game_for_mras/ ]( https://www.reddit.com/r/MensRights/comments/fjqij/game_for_mras/ ) 

"It's a little disappointing that so many men resist Game in the manosphere. The way I see it, Game is the yin to MRA's yang—together they take pussy off the pedestal and give men the tools to navigate life an a [sic] safe and effective manner. Why would anyone be against that?"

Then again in another (this time very long) thread title:

“I'm compiling a list of the best articles of the manosphere, starting with The Spearhead: Here's one I rated 9/10 by Novaseeker entitled "Equality Redux" covering the topics of: history of feminism, female privilege, misandry, male spaces, anti-male laws, empowering women at the expense of men.” Reddit.com/r/MensRights, 18 April 2011. [ https://www.reddit.com/r/MensRights/comments/gt985/im_compiling_a_list_of_the_best_articles_of_the/ ]( https://www.reddit.com/r/MensRights/comments/gt985/im_compiling_a_list_of_the_best_articles_of_the/ )[  ]( https://www.reddit.com/r/MensRights/comments/gt985/im_compiling_a_list_of_the_best_articles_of_the/  )

"Manosphere" goes mainstream in 2013.

Kimmel, Michael. Angry White Men: American Masculinity at the End of an Era. New York: Nation Books, 2013, 113. ProQuest Books.

"The development of the Internet has fueled websites and blogs that keep the conversation going and the blood boiling. The emergence of what one writer calls the 'manosphere' is a loose collection of websites that sustain the rage; even the most casual tourist will happen upon 'a torrent of diatribes, invectives, atrocity takes, claims to entitlement, calls to arms, and prescriptions for change in the service of men, children, families, God, the past, the future, the nation, the planet, and all other things non-feminist.'"

Moore, Suzanne. “This Pre-Emptive Strike Against Equality Comes from a Rightwing Establishment that Wants to Preserve the ‘Manosphere.’” Guardian (London), 1 August 2013, A5. Newspapers.com.

"Right now we are dealing with something worse: a rightwing establishment and its lackeys who have managed to convince themselves they are mavericks and who are openly anti-feminist. From Toby Young to James Delingpole to Guido’s bloggers, their putrid offerings are not outside the establishment but part of it. They are just fagging for the Tories.

"They may do some childcare and fantasise about PJ O’Rourke, but they encourage the bottom-feeders of the “manosphere” who never seem to realise that feminists not only have relationships with men, but sons too."

Young, Cathy. “Neither Side Is Free of Gender Bias.” Newsday (New York), 19 November 2013, A33. ProQuest Newspapers. (Widely syndicated throughout the US.)

"The men's rights movement, which has gained new visibility in recent years thanks to the Internet, is often viewed as a lunatic fringe of women haters. Unfortunately, quite a few websites in the so-called "manosphere" do their best, or worst, to earn this reputation."

I'm done researching toxic masculinity terms for a while. I'm off to take a shower.

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