Moral Panic and the Manosphere
After the release of Adolescence, discussion of the Manosphere launched into the stratosphere.
The show has been an absolute phenomenon, and despite the Manosphere playing a relatively minor role within the actual series, it has dominated post-release analysis. As Celina Ribeiro says “The portrait of adolescent boys as angry, under-socialised and vulnerable to deeply misogynistic messages and influencers has unnerved and horrified Adolescence’s audience.”
Ribeiro points out that some have called Adolescence “a wake-up call for all of us”. But, as she asks, “have the alarm bells turned alarmist? When does a wake-up call become a moral panic, and how concerned should we be?” I want to ask similar questions to those Ribeiro considers in her excellent article, reflecting on responses to the show, but my aim here is to provide a different perspective on these questions.