In this episode, I reflect on Louis Theroux: Inside the Manosphere and what it reveals about the world of online masculinity influencers. As a therapist who works primarily with young men—and as the father of three teenage sons—I feel a responsibility to understand the ideas shaping how many young men think about identity, power, and relationships.
Drawing on the work of psychoanalytic philosopher Mari Ruti and her essay “The Portable Phallus,” I explore how the bravado of the manosphere can be understood as a performance of the phallus—the symbolic marker of power and authority in psychoanalytic theory—rather than genuine confidence. What looks like dominance on the surface often reveals a deeper insecurity and anxiety about masculinity underneath.
Along the way, I also reflect on how a claim made in the documentary—that men have no inherent value and must create it—echoes, but deeply distorts, themes found in the philosophy of Friedrich Nietzsche. Ultimately, the conversation turns toward a deeper question raised by Erich Fromm: the need for richer frames of orientation that help young men develop strength, responsibility, and intimacy without reducing masculinity to domination or status.