Glocalizing the Manosphere: A Cross-Platform Analysis of Spanish Manfluencer Amadeo Llados

Over twenty years have passed since Raewyn Connell first proposed that transnational business masculinity was globally hegemonic. Despite the limitations of global masculinity theory — including Connell's own refinements — we propose that masculinity influencers are now seeking to rebuild masculine hegemony on a global scale. Despite the emergence of 'manfluencers' in Europe, India and South America, academic research on this phenomenon has focused almost exclusively on the Anglosphere. Similarly, Amadeo Llados has not yet been the subject of academic analysis in the Spanish-speaking digital ecosystem, despite his growing popularity in Spain and beyond (Daza Delgado, 2024). This absence is particularly striking given the extent of Llados’ content production, his symbolic impact on social media and his articulation of neo-masculinist discourses tailored to the Spanish-speaking world. Drawing on frameworks from masculinity studies, globalisation studies, and cultural translation (or 'glocalisation') studies, as well as mixed methods including netnography, thematic analysis, and multimodal content analysis, this proposal analyses Llados' role as a discursive agent in the 'glocalisation' of neo-masculinist male subjectivities in the Spanish-speaking world. This analysis is conducted through a cross-platform study of his short-format social media accounts. Spanish-language content emphasises economic precarity, low wages and limited job opportunities, reinforcing an aspirational narrative of escaping poverty through discipline and entrepreneurship. Conversely, English-language content focuses more on hyper-individualistic success narratives, appealing to Western anxieties about male empowerment, cancel culture and societal 'feminisation'. We conclude that the neo-manosphere exhibits significant aspirations to transnational hegemonic masculinity - albeit in uneven and culturally-specific ways - and that, in this ecosystem, understandings of male hegemony are cultural and political as well as economic. Ultimately, we argue that the rise of ‘manfluencers’ represents a shift in the manosphere’s communicative strategies, moving from explicit hostility toward feminism to a more covert integration into mainstream influencer culture. The study calls for further research into how digital platforms facilitate this shift and the implications for contemporary gender politics.