While young people are often perceived as progressive and open-minded regarding gender equality, recent political shifts in the U.S. suggest otherwise. The 2024 U.S. presidential election showed that many young men contributed to Donald Trump’s victory, reflecting their radicalization against feminism and the widening gender gap. This trend is further exemplified by the rise of the manosphere, online communities that propagate anti-feminist and misogynistic ideologies, such as Men’s Rights Activists (MRAs), incels (involuntary celibates), and Men Going Their Own Way (MGTOW). However, this phenomenon is not confined to the U.S.; globally, many young me feel alienated by contemporary gender discourse, perceiving it as a source of their unfreedom.
In South Korea, the emergence of “idaenam” (men in their twenties) reflects a growing perception among young men that they are victims of gendered restrictions, further exacerbating anti-feminist sentiments. Although sexism and gender inequality have long been entrenched in Korean society, younger generations express aggrieved sexism differently from traditional patriarchal norms. As feminist discourse gains traction recently in this deeply patriarchal society, a growing faction of young Korean men experiences self-alienation, perceiving gender discourse as a limitation on their freedom. Despite extensive social analyses of this growing phenomenon, there remains a lack of theological engagement with their self-alienation as individuals and its impact on faith communities. While some Korean Christian communities acknowledge the presence of gender dynamics within and outside the church, they have largely failed to address young men’s struggles as a necessary part of achieving gender equality. There has been almost no theological examination of “idaenam” and certainly no exploration of ecclesial practice in response to young men’s struggles.
In response to these concerns, this paper seeks to address the following questions: What social anxieties contribute to the sense of unfreedom among young Korean men, even as they recognize the importance of gender equality? How does their growing tendency toward misogyny constrain freedom in their intrapsychic and interpersonal relationships? What pastoral theological interventions can help restore a healthy sense of self, repair fractured relationships, and promote gender equality within and beyond faith communities? By addressing these questions, this paper aims to mitigate young men’s self-alienation and expressions of misogyny, fostering healthier self-esteem that can lead to healing within and beyond faith communities.
This paper explores the intersection of digital ethnography, pastoral theology and ecclesial practice in the context of digitally mediated misogyny. With a focus on young Korean men, it examines how theology and religious communities can engage digital spaces to challenge harmful narratives and offer pastoral interventions that foster healing, reconciliation, and gender justice within and beyond ecclesial communities.
(1) Digital Ethnography in the Manosphere: This paper employs digital ethnography as its primary research method to critically examine online gender discourses. Given the complexities of an increasingly digitized cultural environment, it calls for broader methodological reflection and the development of digital ethnographic approaches in theology. Drawing on Paulo Freire’s pedagogical insights, it frames ethnography as a means of transformation, engaging marginalized voices, interrogating oppressive structures, and fostering gender-equitable dialogue. By demonstrating how digital ethnography can serve as both a critical and transformative tool in confronting gendered injustices, this paper contributes to ongoing discussions in pastoral theology on digitally mediated misogyny.
(2) Pastoral Theological Interventions for Individual and Communal Freedom: This study further proposes pastoral theological interventions that restore a healthy sense of self, repair fractured relationships, and promote gender equality within and beyond faith communities. While many liberation and feminist theological responses to misogyny have focused on challenging oppressive structures, supporting victims, and empowering women, pastoral interventions for young men in these spaces have been largely overlooked. This paper, therefore, develops pastoral theological strategies that not only challenge misogynistic attitudes among young men but also provide opportunities for self-reflection, identity reconstruction, and relational healing within faith communities.
(3) Ecclesial Practice to Transgress Boundaries: This paper highlights the necessity of ecclesial practices that create space for young men to reconcile their identities within a more just and inclusive vision of gender relations. Strengthening self-cohesion among young men can enable them not only to overcome rigid gender binaries and hostilities within themselves but also to transgress entrenched societal gender boundaries, fostering more inclusive relationships within faith communities. In this sense, this paper proposes an ecclesial practice of freedom that restore self-esteem, encourage young men to transgress societal gender boundaries in an embrace of self and others, and ultimately foster more inclusive and authentic relationships within the church and society. Additionally, the paper incorporates the postcolonial concept of liminality, reframing the negative experience of exclusion as the positive potentiality of creative transformation. Building theologically on liminality as a transitional space, this paper suggests concrete social practices that contribute not only to restoring self-esteem among alienated individuals but also to healing fractures within the community.
By integrating qualitative methodologies with pastoral theological inquiry, this paper enriches to pastoral theology, ecclesial practice, and the broader discourse on gender equality in faith communities. In doing so, it challenges and empowers churches to develop more inclusive pastoral approaches that address the alienation, anxieties, and harmful gender constructs that shape young men’s perceptions and behaviors. Ultimately, this paper contributes to the ongoing efforts to create faith communities that embody justice, healing, and freedom, where all individuals, regardless of gender, can flourish.
The growing prevalence of anti-feminist and misogynistic ideologies among young men, both in the U.S. and globally, reflects their perceived sense of unfreedom in contemporary gender discourse. In South Korea, the emergence of idaenam(men in their twenties) exemplifies this trend, as many perceive themselves as victims of gendered restrictions. Despite extensive sociological analysis, theological engagement with their self-alienation remains scarce, particularly within ecclesial contexts. This paper employs digital ethnography to examine online spaces that shape harmful gender narratives and explores how pastoral theology can provide interventions that foster self-reflection, relational healing, and gender justice. By integrating theological reflection with ecclesial practice, this study reimagines freedom as a path toward gender equality, challenges the unfreedom imposed by restrictive gender norms, and proposes concrete pastoral strategies to restore self-cohesion, promote gender equity, and cultivate inclusive faith communities where young men can engage in transformative relationships by transgressing entrenched gender boundaries.