Beyond the ‘Manosphere’

Men haven’t disappeared from literature - they’re just not the only voices anymore.

Judith Jamison once said the arts should help us “see the world through other eyes.” That line has stuck with me ever since I read David J. Morris’s New York Times essay, “The Disappearance of Literary Men Should Worry Everyone.” If literature helps us connect with perspectives beyond our own, I couldn’t help but wonder - what happens when men, who were once seen as the “default” storytellers, start to pull away from that shared experience?

At first, I wanted to dismiss the premise. After all, the rise of women in literature is something to celebrate.

For centuries, men dominated these spaces, so isn’t it only fair that women take their turn in the spotlight? But Morris wasn’t suggesting we turn back the clock. He was asking a deeper question: If men disengage from fiction, what does that mean for how we connect with one another?

I’ve always believed that stories help us understand each other, but Morris’s essay forced me to confront a harder truth: it’s not that simple.

That’s why it frustrates me when I hear people dismiss “women’s books” as being only for women or claim that men can’t relate to them.

For too long, cis, white, straight male stories were treated as the default - as if they spoke for everyone - while other perspectives were labelled niche. Now, women and authors of colour are telling incredible, diverse stories, but some men act like those books aren’t “for them.” I’ve even seen comments like, “Men write universal subjects; women write for women.” That kind of thinking keeps men from seeing themselves in any story that doesn’t centre them - and honestly, it’s exhausting.

Morris touches on this when he mentions young men drifting into the “manosphere” (an online network of communities focused on masculinity and men’s issues, spanning from self-improvement to toxic, misogynistic ideologies) instead of picking up novels.

He worries they’re missing out on emotional growth, and I think he’s right, but he overlooks an important point. Men of colour are writing brilliant, boundary-pushing fiction that redefines masculinity and identity. Australian authors like Tony Birch and Christos Tsiolkas prove that men are still part of the literary conversation, even if they’re telling different kinds of stories. Yet discussions about the “disappearance” of literary men often ignore these voices, framing the issue as a loss of white male centrality.

And here’s another thing: men wrote and read plenty in the past, but that didn’t magically make them better people. So no, literature alone won’t fix the world. But reading stories by and about women, or anyone outside your usual perspective, can help you see the world differently. Not as a lecture or a life lesson, but as a deeply human experience that resonates.

The truth is, men haven’t disappeared from literature - they’re just not the only voices anymore.

Women-led book clubs and social media communities are driving bestseller lists, and books by women and marginalised authors are finally getting the recognition they deserve. Women and marginalised readers have always read across gender, race, and class. Maybe it’s time for men to do the same if they aren’t already.

This isn’t about shaming men into reading more. That is not my intent. It’s about showing them what they’re missing. Literature grows richer when everyone participates! The question isn’t whether men will vanish from literature, but how they’ll rejoin it.