Two new art exhibitions are tackling the aesthetics and ideology of the online "manosphere," a network of communities promoting hypermasculinity and often misogyny. The shows, 'The Manosphere: A New Hope?' at the New Museum and 'Soft Boys' at the Institute of Contemporary Art, Los Angeles, use video, sculpture, and installation to dissect this digital subculture and its visual language.
These exhibitions are significant because they move beyond simple condemnation to analyze the underlying anxieties about masculinity in the digital age. By reframing the conversation, they argue that sensitivity and vulnerability are also manly virtues, offering a critical and potentially redemptive perspective on a toxic online phenomenon through the lens of contemporary art.