Poster of Netflix's Adolescence (2025).

Netflix’s Adolescence, directed by Stephen Graham, has stirred conversation not only for its gripping storytelling and single-take cinematography but also for its unflinching look at the toxic digital spaces that shape young men today. Through the tragic case of 13-year-old Jamie Miller (played by a brilliant debutant, Owen Cooper), the show dives into the murky waters of the manosphere—a loosely connected web of online communities steeped in misogyny, distorted masculinity, and radicalised gender ideologies.

For viewers unfamiliar with this corner of the internet, some of the language and references may feel disorienting. This glossary unpacks the key terms and ideologies portrayed in the show—offering insight into the real-world beliefs that fuel online radicalisation and gender-based hostility.

Also Read | Why Netflix’s Adolescence Is A Powerful Series

Manosphere

The “manosphere” is an umbrella term for a network of online communities that promote anti-feminist, hyper-masculine, and often misogynistic beliefs. While these spaces vary in tone and focus, they are united by a shared ideology that blames women—and feminism—for the challenges men face in modern society.

Figures like Andrew Tate have become infamous within the manosphere for promoting content that exploits the real fears, insecurities, and frustrations of boys and young men. Instead of offering supportive or constructive advice, these spaces redirect blame toward women, encouraging anger, entitlement, and resentment.

The manosphere thrives on social media platforms such as YouTube, Reddit, TikTok, and Instagram—though its ideologies are increasingly creeping into mainstream discourse as well.

It’s important to distinguish the manosphere from legitimate men’s rights advocacy. While the former is rooted in hostility and division, the latter seeks to address genuine issues like mental health, fatherhood, and workplace inequality without scapegoating women.

The Incel Culture

(image/GrokAI)

Short for “involuntary celibates”, incels are individuals—typically men—who feel unable to form romantic or sexual relationships despite wanting them. Rather than viewing this as a personal or social challenge, many in the incel community externalise blame, targeting women, feminism, and even genetics as the reasons for their perceived rejection.

This ideology often manifests as deep resentment toward women, whom incels accuse of being shallow or manipulative. In extreme cases, incel communities glorify violence or express hostility toward those they see as more socially or sexually successful.

The Anti-Defamation League defines incels as “heterosexual men who blame women and society for their lack of romantic success”.

80/20 Rule

In the manosphere, the 80/20 rule is a distorted interpretation of the Pareto Principle, which originally describes how a small percentage of causes often lead to a large percentage of outcomes. Applied to dating, and as explained in the show, this belief claims that 80% of women are only interested in the top 20% of men—usually defined by wealth, looks, or social status.

According to this logic, the remaining 80% of men are left competing over the “unwanted” 20% of women. This creates a narrative of scarcity and competition that fuels resentment, entitlement, and manipulation.

The 80/20 rule is often used to justify toxic behaviours like deception or emotional coercion under the idea that men need to “game the system” to stand a chance, reducing relationships to cold power dynamics, where empathy, communication, and compatibility are replaced by tactics and scoring.

Alphas, Betas, Omegas, Sigmas

A pseudo-scientific hierarchy system widely used in the manosphere to rank men based on perceived dominance, desirability, and social status. Borrowed loosely—and inaccurately—from animal behaviour studies, this hierarchy simplifies complex human dynamics into rigid categories:

• Alphas: Seen as dominant, confident, successful, and sexually desirable—the ideal masculine archetype.
• Betas: Portrayed as weak, submissive, and unattractive to women—often mocked as passive or overly nice.
• Omegas: Considered the lowest tier, seen as social outcasts or failures.
• Sigmas: Cast as “lone wolves”—men who reject the social hierarchy altogether but are still seen as desirable and mysterious.

Though these labels may seem like harmless internet jargon, they often reinforce harmful stereotypes and toxic expectations around masculinity, encouraging men to suppress vulnerability, view relationships as power struggles, and measure worth through dominance rather than character.

Also Read | Sudhir Mishra Ironically Questions ‘Adolescence’ Top Rank On Netflix India, Critiques Indian Scriptwriting

Chads, Stacys, and Beckys: Used to refer to attractive, masculine men that incels perceive as at the top of the male social hierarchy. Attractive women on top of the social hierarchy, considered to be both desired and scorned, are described as Stacys. Incel culture describes them as the reason for their sexual failures.

• Chads: Idealised as tall, muscular, and conventionally attractive men who are perceived to have effortless success with women. They represent the “top” of the male social hierarchy—and are often both admired and resented.
• Stacys: Their female counterparts: attractive, confident, and socially desirable women who are often portrayed as shallow or only interested in Chads.
• Beckys: Sometimes used to describe women who are perceived as less attractive or average compared to Stacys.

In incel forums, Stacys and Chads are often blamed for the romantic or sexual frustrations of others, reducing people to caricatures based solely on appearance and perceived sexual success.

Red Pill vs. Black Pill

A scene from “The Matrix” where Neo is offered a choice of a red or blue pill.

The term “red pill” originates from the 1999 film The Matrix, where taking the red pill means waking up to a harsh reality instead of living in comfortable illusion. In the manosphere, however, this concept has been co-opted to represent an “awakening” to what its adherents claim is the hidden truth about gender dynamics: that society has been corrupted by feminism, and men are now unfairly disadvantaged.

Being “red-pilled” suggests that someone believes they’ve seen through the supposed lies of modern equality, recognising women as the root of men’s struggles. It reframes gender relations as adversarial, often portraying women as manipulative and men as victims of a rigged system.

Most groups within the manosphere subscribe to red pill thinking to some extent. For example, incels interpret the red pill as a realisation that love and sex are rigged against them—that women deliberately withhold intimacy, turning dating into a zero-sum game.

Black Pill

The black pill is an even darker offshoot of red pill ideology, rooted in fatalism and nihilism. While red pill adherents believe men can “overcome” societal disadvantages through self-improvement or manipulation, black pill ideology rejects that possibility entirely.

According to black pill thinking, some men are biologically doomed to fail in love and life—especially if they don’t meet arbitrary physical standards like height and facial features. It pushes the belief that no amount of effort can change their social or romantic status, leading to a sense of hopelessness, despair, and, in some cases, violent resentment.

This worldview is common in the more extreme corners of incel communities, where appearance-based determinism becomes a justification for withdrawal, bitterness, or even hostility toward women and more “attractive” men.

White Knight

A derogatory term for a man who defends women—especially online—or speaks out against sexism and misogyny. The implication is that he’s not acting out of genuine respect or belief in equality but instead trying to win women’s approval or attention.

It is often used to shut down empathy and discourage men from challenging toxic behaviour, reinforcing the idea that supporting women somehow makes a man weak or insincere.

Friendzone

A concept that describes a situation where one person wants a romantic/sexual relationship while the other only sees them as a friend. In manosphere communities, it’s often framed as a kind of betrayal or manipulation—where women are accused of “using” men for emotional support while withholding sex or romance.

This view treats relationships as transactional and rooted in entitlement, suggesting that kindness or attention should be “rewarded” with intimacy. It ignores mutual consent and emotional compatibility, reinforcing toxic beliefs about how men and women “should” interact.

Also Read | What Is Femosphere: The Dark, Toxic Online Corner For Women

Men’s crisis of connection is the subject of countless headlines. With online spaces led by controversial influencers painting a picture of toxic masculinity as the solution, many boys and young men fall prey to radicalisation and ideas of distorted gender roles.

The language of “red pills”, “Chads”, and “friendzones” might seem like fringe internet slang, but these terms are part of a cultural pipeline that starts with memes and ends with real-world consequences.