BEGIN:VCALENDAR VERSION:2.0 CALSCALE:GREGORIAN PRODID:adamgibbons/ics METHOD:PUBLISH X-PUBLISHED-TTL:PT1H BEGIN:VEVENT UID:24437@offbeat.amsterdam SUMMARY:Talk: The Manosphere\, the Male Body\, and the Powers that Be DTSTAMP:20260701T210052Z DTSTART:20260710T153000Z DESCRIPTION:Join us for an early evening with a talk\, a video and cold dri nks!\nWith Merthe Voorhoeve and Jade van Doesburg\n\nWe live in precarious times. Political regression and technological acceleration\nare destabili sing society while right-wing populist politics reign. At the same\ntime\, large numbers of men feel threatened from another direction: they see\nfe minism and multiculturalism as the true evil forces of today. Patriarchy m ay\nbe one of the oldest systems of power\, but today hegemonic masculinit y often\nemerges in a specific context: the online realm\, where it has be en termed ‘the\nManosphere’. This online sphere revolves around misogyny\, a reactionary longing\nfor traditional gender roles\, an idealization of (hyper) masculinity\, and a\ncultus of the body.\n\nIn Julika Rudelius’ wo rk\, the (muscular) male body often takes central stage.\nThe body becomes a site for control\, discipline\, and power. This talk will\nexplore the body-politics of the Manosphere: from incels and gooners\,\ndisciplinary p ractices like fitness and looksmaxxing\, to meme characters like\n‘Giga Ch ad’. Some of these phenomena can be seen as a form of ‘body armour’\,\nthe orised by Klaus Theweleit as a psychological and physical defense structur e\,\na shield both emotional and muscular\, to protect the fragile male eg o against\nanything fluid and uncontrollable.\n\nWe will also look at the role of Big Tech when it comes to these discussions.\nThe world’s economic and political developments are increasingly driven by\ninvestment capital ists and a handful of Silicon Valley billionaires. Moreover\,\nnot only th e economy\, but also our most intimate inner worlds are at their\nservice. Big Tech wields almost complete control over the current means of\ninflue nce\, specifically through social media platforms. Does the Manosphere\, a s\ntroubling as it is\, not just distract from these techno overlords’ gro wing\npower?\n\nWe end the evening with a screening of Scanning (2020) by Jade van Doesburg\, a\nquietly intimate video portrait of young men speaki ng about\, and judging\, their\nown bodies and those of their friends. The ir conversations reveal moments of\nuncertainty\, vulnerability\, and open ness\, resulting in a disarmingly honest\nreflection on masculinity and se lf-image. URL:https://offbeat.amsterdam/event/talk-the-manosphere-the-male-body-and-t he-powers-that-be GEO:52.3727362;4.8811391 LOCATION:Rozenstraat - Rozenstraat 59\, 1016 NN Amsterdam STATUS:CONFIRMED CATEGORIES:amsterdam-centrum,discussion,event,feminism,gender,jordaan,live, patriarchy,talk,techno X-ALT-DESC;FMTTYPE=text/html:

Join us for an early evening with a talk, a video and cold drinks!
With Merthe Voorhoeve and Jade van Doesburg

We live in precarious times. Political regression and technological a cceleration are destabilising society while right-wing populist politics r eign. At the same time, large numbers of men feel threatened from another direction: they see feminism and multiculturalism as the true evil forces of today. Patriarchy may be one of the oldest systems of power, but today hegemonic masculinity often emerges in a specific context: the online real m, where it has been termed ‘the Manosphere’. This online sphere revolves around misogyny, a reactionary longing for traditional gender roles, an id ealization of (hyper) masculinity, and a cultus of the body.

In Jul ika Rudelius’ work, the (muscular) male body often takes central stage. Th e body becomes a site for control, discipline, and power. This talk will e xplore the body-politics of the Manosphere: from incels and gooners, disci plinary practices like fitness and looksmaxxing, to meme characters like ‘ Giga Chad’. Some of these phenomena can be seen as a form of ‘body armour’ , theorised by Klaus Theweleit as a psychological and physical defense str ucture, a shield both emotional and muscular, to protect the fragile male ego against anything fluid and uncontrollable.

We will also look at the role of Big Tech when it comes to these discussions. The world’s econ omic and political developments are increasingly driven by investment capi talists and a handful of Silicon Valley billionaires. Moreover, not only t he economy, but also our most intimate inner worlds are at their service. Big Tech wields almost complete control over the current means of influenc e, specifically through social media platforms. Does the Manosphere, as tr oubling as it is, not just distract from these techno overlords’ growing p ower?

We end the evening with a screening of Scanning (202 0) by Jade van Doesburg, a quietly intimate video portrait of young men sp eaking about, and judging, their own bodies and those of their friends. Th eir conversations reveal moments of uncertainty, vulnerability, and openne ss, resulting in a disarmingly honest reflection on masculinity and self-i mage.

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