Wolf in chef's clothing: how the manosphere weaponizes fake allyship for clout

If you’re a woman, you’ve probably seen his content.

A handsome, muscular man stands in a dimly lit kitchen, passionately chopping vegetables. Suddenly, he slams the knife into the cutting board in theatrical outrage. Emotional background music swells as text on the screen highlights a serious, viral women’s rights issue.

Maybe it's the mass rape and drugging trial of Dominique Pelicot. Or maybe it's the more recent global rape economy, in which 62 million men watched and participated in the sexual assault on their partners while sleeping.

In his bio, he claims to be creating a "safe space" for women.

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At first glance, he looks like the ultimate ally. In reality, he is using a highly calculated trap.

Recently, digital creator Barrett Pall highlighted this exact phenomenon on Instagram, using creator @bigggwinter as a prime example. Pall posed a question to his audience: Which video belongs to the manosphere? The obvious red-flag content advising men to secretly put pre-workout in a woman's drink? Or the kitchen-dwelling male feminist?

The answer is both.

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The traditional manosphere is obviously easy to spot.

It relies on overt misogyny, aggressive podcast bros, and dating gurus who view women as adversaries. Mainstream audiences have grown adept at spotting these red flags. So now, a dangerous new mutation has emerged: performative allyship.

Creators like the aforementioned have figured out the algorithm.

They know that women’s rights, safety, and emotional labour are highly engaging topics. By echoing progressive talking points and adopting a protective, outraged persona, they build a massive, loyal following of women who believe they have found a safe haven online.

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But the illusion of the safe space shatters the moment you look at the digital footprint behind the curtain.

A deeper dive into these creators often reveals a history of anti-LGBTQ+ stances and deeply misogynistic takes.

The ultimate giveaway is often hidden in plain sight: their following lists. In the case of creators like this, public data reveals they follow an incredibly narrow group of men, almost exclusively conservative, MAGA figures who actively campaign to roll back women's reproductive rights. The only outlier is often a family member or partner posting the exact same style of bait content.

They do not practice what they preach. They simply rely on the fact that the average scroller will not do the research or due diligence required to uncover their actual beliefs. THIS is why media literacy is so important today. “Don’t believe everything you see on the internet" has quite literally never rung truer.

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This new wave of content creators represents a deeply insidious form of digital manipulation.

Because they weaponise women's real fears, trauma, and systemic struggles as bait. Their motives generally fall into three categories:

• Algorithmic clout: women statistically drive high engagement through comments, shares, and saves.
• Financial monetisation: high views convert directly into brand deals, creator fund payouts, and merchandise sales.
• Interpersonal leverage: Positioning oneself as the "perfect man" online creates an easy pipeline for real-world trust, clout, and most likely hookups.

By pretending to care about the very people their political ideologies harm, they exploit the empathy of their audience for personal gain. Awesome. Love it here.

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This trend highlights why critical media literacy is no longer an optional skill. It's a vital tool for emotional and digital self-defence.

Particularly in the harms we face in this world.

True allyship is not a performative aesthetic set to trending audio in a kitchen. It requires consistency between online messaging and offline beliefs, political alignments, and personal actions. When a creator's entire persona feels perfectly engineered to trigger an emotional response, it is time to look past the chopping board.

Ladies, we must start investigating the creators we allow onto our feeds. Check their past content, look at who they support, and question their motives.

The next time a man online claims to be fighting for you, make sure he isn't just fishing for your engagement, or other things.

-Sophie Randell, Writer

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