“It’s no coincidence this is happening in a place like Marbella, where economic status and displays of power form the backbone of social relations,” said Spain-based social psychologist Jesús Moreno, who is head of social participation at Fundación Iniciativa Social in Seville, the capital of the Andalusia region which includes Marbella. The organization focuses on gender equality, among other social issues.

Moreno pointed out that while all-male social communities are nothing new, from hunting groups to sports clubs, the danger here is that they will embolden the manosphere’s already toxic views.  

“These interactions risk hardening into sect-like dynamics that continually reinforce their misogynistic and anti-feminist narratives,” he said. 

The Marbella manosphere figures promote self-improvement tenets including physical fitness and the importance of self-made financial success. But some also lapse into misogynistic references to women in their public content: “whore,” “pussy,” “thing.”  

Their move into Marbella comes against a backdrop of concern in Spain that misogyny has entered mainstream public discourse. 

Far-right Vox is now the third-largest party in Spain’s national parliament and Andalusia’s regional parliament. As part of its platform it has said that Spain’s pioneering gender violence law, which seeks to protect women from violence by partners or former partners, should be rolled back because it discriminates against men.

Andalusian feminist activist Pamela Palenciano pointed to gender-based violence as one of the key rallying cries shared by the online manosphere and the Spanish far right. 

“‘Violence has no gender,’ ‘women abuse too,’ ‘there are male victims nobody talks about,’ ‘the law is unfair,’ are some of the messages pushed by the far right,” she said. 

“All of that is echoed by YouTubers, who hype up their young fans, and those fans then repeat the same discourse in their schools.”

Of Glamour And Manfluencers

Set between the craggy slopes of the Sierra Blanca and long stretches of sandy Mediterranean coast, Marbella gained a reputation for glamour and celebrity in the 1950s and 60s, when Hollywood stars like Audrey Hepburn and Cary Grant sought out the iconic Marbella Club hotel.

Since then, movie stars, sports stars, and world-famous musicians have all reportedly snapped up properties there, although the city’s reputation as a crime hub has also grown. One former Spanish police officer who worked on international crime for more than 20 years described Marbella as “the Wall Street of organized crime” in an interview with Diario Sur earlier this year, saying that any self-respecting criminal organization needed an outpost there.

The Andalusia region abolished its wealth tax in 2022, easing the path for investors including foreigners. Marbella and its neighboring town Benahavís now claim six of the top 10 most expensive streets in Spain, according to Spanish real estate website Idealista. Multi-million-dollar homes have reportedly been snapped up off-plan at a new complex designed by Dolce & Gabbana in the hills overlooking Marbella’s coastal “Golden Mile.” 

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