Gareth Southgate added to BBC squad for doc on impact of the manosphere

Gareth Southgate: Changing the Game for Young Men will air on BBC One

The BBC is examining the ‘manosphere’ and its impact on young men and boys in multiple documentaries, including one fronted by former England football manager Gareth Southgate.

Gareth Southgate: Changing the Game for Young Men (1×60′) will air on June 8 on BBC One and iPlayer and will see Southgate travel across the UK to understand the challenges facing young men and boys.

It comes after Southgate has previously spoken about the need for more positive male role models and how many young men and boys feel isolated or find it hard to open up about how they’re feeling.

The doc seeks to move beyond the recent conversations around the ‘manosphere’ and look at the everyday issues many are dealing with around education, employment, identity, mental health and life at home.

Produced by Cardiff Productions for the BBC, the executive producer is Narinder Minhas and the director is Samuel Palmer. It was commissioned by Joanna Carr, head of BBC current affairs. The commissioning editor for the BBC is Gian Quaglieni.

Southgate said: “This is the next step in my purpose to get young men and boys moving in the right direction rather than falling behind. I wanted them to speak openly and without judgement about what’s really going on in their lives. Through these conversations, I’ve gained a better understanding of the challenges they face.

“It’s been a fascinating experience, and I am so grateful to everyone I met who were brave enough to share their stories. I hope this documentary will go some way towards changing the national conversation and encourage us all to support them in realising their potential.”

Quaglieni said: “Gareth Southgate is in a unique position to explore why so many boys feel like they’re falling behind and to think differently about what might help. This film steps away from polarised arguments and instead listens to how young people really feel and what they’re dealing with. These are important conversations – and not always easy – but they need to be heard.”

Meanwhile, the BBC World Service and BBC Eye are investigating the global spread of the manosphere in a two-part documentary titled Manosphere Messiahs, examining the rise of two of the most influential manosphere figures in Latin American and Africa: El Temach in Mexico and Andrew Kibe in Kenya.

Fronted by BBC Global Disinformation reporter Jacqui Wakefield, the docs seek to examine the global expansion of the manosphere and the social media algorithms driving young men towards increasingly extreme views on gender, relationships and masculinity.

Manosphere Messiahs: Mexico is available on iPlayer and the BBC World Service YouTube channel from today and Manosphere Messiahs: Kenya will launch tomorrow.

The podcast version will be available via BBC Sounds and will also air on BBC World Service radio.