Where Are All The Healthy Masculine Leaders?

6 min readFeb 6, 2023

I hear this question a great deal of the time, and I never have an adequate answer. What I want to say is that anyone embracing their healthy masculine doesn’t have to brag or boast. They don’t have to market themselves as someone strong because they just are. This is a perfect example of this:

Meanwhile, every toxic masculine leader must tell you how much power they have at all times, incessantly screaming to anyone who will listen that they are strong men fully in control.

There seems to be a deliberate strategy, especially from many social media influencers pushing for the Alpha Male identity, as many men, especially the ones in their teens, 20s, and 30s making social media content, scramble to figure out their identity because the standards ways of impressing women are becoming obsolete.

Because of this massive level of loneliness and depression plaguing men, there is a growing group known as Incels, which you may have heard of. It stands for involuntarily celibate. It’s an online subculture of men who define themselves as unable to get a romantic or sexual partner despite desiring one. So, they channel their bitterness and anger toward women.

I think for us to understand toxic masculinity and how it impacts young men, we need to know what they are watching and who are the foremost thought leaders pushing this toxic masculine agenda. I have provided a few people, youtube channels, and organizations below pushing a toxic masculine agenda.

Men Going Their Own Way — MGTOW

MGTOW Man YouTube Channel — Shows videos of “Genius Men” putting women “in their own place.”
Paints a picture of women as gold diggers, cheaters, and using men for their wealth and status, which is ironic because studies have found that women are less in need of men, at least from a financial standpoint, than at any point in the US history
The Men Going Their Own Way “Movement” tells men to focus on their careers, get swoll, and use women, but don’t cower or become a “Simp” to them.
Being called a “Simp” to young men is considered incredibly insulting as you are at the beck and call of a woman, so there are now videos showing men how to not simp for women.
ARAKO TV
Another example of a popular Tik Toker and YouTuber who is pushing a MGTOW agenda

Andrew Tate

One of the foremost leaders of this “Alpha Male” movement, who has far reach even though he has been banned from a majority of social media platforms
Andrew has gained notoriety for trolling and providing outlandish, misogynistic quotes that many young men have repeated.
He created a Hustler University, targeting young men in high school, charging them $50/month to explain how to get rich.
Hustler University has been debunked as a scam, but some young men still are subscribing to it.

Jordan Peterson

Jordan Peterson is considered the elder of this MGTOW movement and provides many talking points that are being pushed nowadays.
Because he is a professor, when he speaks and out-argues with female counterparts, his quotes also go viral.
As you can see here, he defends Andrew Tate and other leaders in this movement.
A debate between Michael Eric Dyson and Jordan Peterson on political correctness

Joe Rogan

I’m sure you are quite familiar with Joe Rogan as a comedian, the host of Fear Factor in the early 2000’s, became well-known as a UFC commentator during its historic rise, and now runs the most popular podcast on the planet, receiving over 16 Million downloads per month.
Joe is libertarian-leaning, but he provides a massive platform for many toxic masculine thought leaders to share their views, even having white supremacists on his podcast.

Other conservative thought leaders pushing a similar agenda are as follows:

Stephen Crowder: Conservative Comedian and YouTuber who used to set up a table on a college campus with a sign that said change my mind and debate
Ben Shapiro, a Conservative Political Commentator whose videos of debating students at college campuses have made him a celebrity in the MGTOW movement
Louis Theroux’s Forbidden American Episode 1 outlines this extreme white supremacist movement.
Tomi Lahren, who famously debated Trevor Noah on the Daily Show

Other YouTube Channels pushing this agenda:

Hooman TV — Catching women pursuing men for their wealth.
Fresh and Fit Clips — Podcast where the hosts interview and challenge female social media influencers about how they “use” men.

As you can see, there is a massive rabbit hole you can go down once you start researching this, and, unfortunately, this only scratches the surface. For every one of these misogynistic influencers, there are thousands, if not more other creators making similar content to a smaller audience, exposing these views. The level of mansplaining is off the charts on this side of the room.

Now, on the flip side, trying to find healthy masculine role models and thought leaders who provide an alternative perspective is much harder and is difficult to find.

Healthy Masculine Alternatives

Justin Baldoni

A well-known actor who did the viral TED Talk: Why I’m done trying to be “man enough.”
Wrote the book: Man Enough, Undefining My Masculinity
Runs the Man Enough Podcast with Liz Plank

Liz Plank