The Arabic-speaking Manosphere and the Rearticulation of Patriarchal Ideals on Gender, Sexuality, and Care

There’s a growing wealth of literature about the manosphere globally, analyzing its rise, discursive patterns, socioeconomic roots, and the role played by digital infrastructure in amplifying this type of misogynist content online. Additionally, increasing interest has emerged in framing the recent popularity of the manosphere among young men as a digital manifestation of anti-feminist backlash and an attempt at the restoration of patriarchal gender orders. This popularity of the manosphere can also be seen in the Southwest Asia and North Africa region, yet research on it remains quite limited, with a noticeable gap in both grassroots and academic literature addressing it. This may stem partly from an underestimation of how the manosphere differs from structural discrimination and already normalized misogynist cultural ideas, particularly in terms of its structured ideological messaging, monetized influencer economies, and algorithmic circulation across digital platforms. Anti-feminist and anti-gender backlash theoretical framing may also offer limited insight into contexts where women's rights and feminist gains have not followed a linear trajectory of wins and progress. Drawing on thematic analysis of fifteen Youtube videos by three manosphere content creators from Southwest Asia and North Africa, this paper will explore the repackaging of heteronormative ideals on gender, sexuality and care to appeal to younger Arabic-speaking audiences. It analyzes the normalization, legitimization and naturalization of misogyny and gender-based violence through anti-feminist narratives and moral panic. It also argues that manosphere content creators present their ideas as counter-cultural, rational and necessary against contemporary socioeconomic anxieties. Rather than treating this regional digital phenomenon as a Western cultural import, this study situates it within such local anxieties and sociopolitical shifts in need of an ideological reaffirmation of patriarchy.