Inside the Manosphere, Louis Theroux’s newest documentary, landed on Netflix last week — and it has quickly become a major talking point online.
In the film, Theroux interviews social-media personalities and other influential figures to explore how so-called ‘toxic influence’ can shape the attitudes of young boys.
He meets a number of creators associated with the ‘manosphere’, in a project that one user on X labelled as ‘terrifying’.
A synopsis for the Netflix special reads: “With rare access and no holds barred, the acclaimed documentarian investigates a growing ultra-masculine network and its controversial influencers.”
Several of the people featured are prominent within the ‘alpha male’ content space, with critics arguing that consuming this kind of material can be harmful.
In response to the wider debate, Metro has highlighted a range of manosphere terms and catchphrases to watch out for — and says hearing them used at home could be a potential red flag.
Matrix: Borrowed from The Matrix films, this is used to suggest that ‘society is structured to suppress men and maintain existing power structures’, according to Metro.
Red pill, blue pill and black pill: In this context, a ‘red pill’ describes someone who believes men are the oppressed gender. A ‘blue pill’ refers to someone who rejects that idea entirely.
Meanwhile, Metro notes that ‘black pill’ is framed as an even more extreme version of ‘red pill’, associated with men who may resort to violence in pursuit of the change they want.
Simp: A slang insult typically aimed at someone seen as overly deferential to women, often implying excessive attention or submission.
Soy boy: A derogatory phrase used to mock a man as weak and/or lacking stereotypical masculine traits.
Cuck: Metro explains that this slur is used to belittle a man as weak or feminised.
Alpha male: A widely used label for a dominant male figure.
Beta male: Positioned as the opposite of ‘alpha’, describing a man portrayed as lacking traditional masculine traits.
Sigma male: Often grouped into the same hierarchy-based worldview, but used to describe a ‘lone wolf’ type, according to Metro.
Chad: Common in meme culture (and at times used in racist contexts), this refers to a hyper-confident, ‘sexually successful man’ — essentially another spin on the alpha stereotype.
Body count: Metro notes this phrase is frequently used to track someone’s number of sexual partners and can also be weaponised to judge a woman’s perceived worth.
Value exchange: Discussed in Inside the Manosphere, this describes relationships as ‘transactional’, framing dating as a trade of benefits between a man and a woman.
Prime:Within this belief system, women are wrongly said to be “in their prime” between 18 and 25, with claims that they are no longer in their prime once they reach 30.
Briffault’s Law: Metro describes this as a conspiracy-style idea suggesting women use men for personal gain and are inherently ‘selfish’.
Alpha f**** beta bucks: Metro warns this is an especially offensive phrase. It claims women seek ‘alpha’ men for sex, but then “settle” with a different type of partner for financial stability.
Sexual marketplace: A further term that treats dating like an economy, suggesting everyone has a “sexual market value” and ranking attractiveness from one to ten.
Metro also flags other manosphere-adjacent terms that may crop up online, including mewing, mogging, negging and hypergammy.