In a time when the ‘male loneliness epidemic’ has red pill content becoming more and more prevalent, the outspoken voices Olivia Attwood, Vicky Pattinson and Charli XCX are what we need
As the Manosphere gets louder, I’ve never been more grateful for Olivia Attwood(Image: Getty Images for BFC)
Last year was apparently the “year the manosphere went mainstream”. From Nigel Farage saying it’s “utterly ludicrous” for women to be able to access abortions at 24 weeks to podcasts discussing whether or not incel culture is the fault of women, it’s getting harder to ignore the rise of misogynistic rhetoric. As the world seems to move further away from the #MeToo movement and closer to Gilead, how can we cope? My way involves rewatching videos of Olivia Attwood.
I was first introduced to the glorious world of Attwood during COVID, when my university flatmates and I decided to binge season three of Love Island. Over 43 episodes, her quick, unfiltered wit, unabashed messiness and enormous capacity to feel everything deeply made her one of my favourite people, not just on the dating show but in the entire celebrity world. And she has remained at the top. Whenever I’ve been on a bad date and need advice, a good laugh or to simply rage about society, there’s always a Liv Attwood clip that helps.
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Olivia Attwood was on Love Island in 2017(Image: Daily Record)
The one I’ve been watching on repeat for the past few days is from an episode of her podcast, Olivia’s House, where she and Grace Campbell discussed a Diary Of A CEO video in which host Steven Bartlett and his guest, Alok Kanojia, discussed incel ideology. In the video, which resurfaced recently and went viral, Kanojia seemed to suggest that the reason more men had started to go down misogynistic roots was because women were not having children with them and they were scared their DNA would die out.
Bartlett’s spokesperson told The Cut that he “does not adopt the opinion of his guests, nor is the format intended to pass judgement on personal viewpoints” and “to suggest that a host is responsible for every view expressed by a guest is a fundamental misunderstanding of the long-form interview format”. But he did not challenge the idea. Instead he asked whether systems should be put in place to “make sure” men would meet partners.
My initial reaction to this exchange was just to roll my eyes and turn the podcast off. There was a knotted and sick feeling in my stomach as well, but that’s almost always there. It has popped up each time I went out for a drink and noticed every single woman was holding her glass in way that made drinking from it hard but stopped someone slipping in rohypnol. And again, when I had to run off a train just before the doors closed because a man decided to follow me home.
It has been there since I was 11 and I realised the men staring at my newly grown boobs either didn’t notice or didn’t care that I was still wearing my school uniform. I’ve grown used to that feeling and I’m no longer surprised when men view women as little more than their sexual organs.
Steven Bartlett’s Diary of a CEO has come under fire following the resurfacing of an old episode(Image: Getty Images)
But after I let the conversation sit with me a little longer, it was hard to get past how disgusted I really was. Bartlett may not have out and out agreed with with Kanojia, but by engaging in the conversation, he gave his ideas a platform. He facilitated a discussion in which male dissatisfaction was pinned on women and the choices they made with their own bodies. In doing so, while he features guests from across the entire political and cultural spectrum, he gave this views legitimacy. He made it sound normal.
Attwood and Campbell’s reactions to the podcast were much better than mine. “We had that system,” Attwood said in an artful put down. “It’s called the 1960s.” Campbell added: “It’s called The Handmaid’s Tale.”
Their defence against the Diary Of A CEO episode stoked something inside of me. In two sentences, Attwood and Campbell had articulated that what happened on that podcast was not okay and a world in male loneliness is valued more than female bodily autonomy is a thing of either the past or a dystopian hellscape.
Or at least it should be. But it’s 2026, and men are continuing to give their opinions of women’s reproductive health. Nigel Farage is pushing for abortion laws to be restricted in the UK, which we’ve already seen happen in America. Charli XCX had one of the biggest albums last year, but in a recent interview, she was still asked about having children and told she would change her mind after she said no.
Charli XCX was asked about having children in a recent interview(Image: AFP via Getty Images)
Let’s not forget about Andrew Tate, who pushes the idea that a woman’s purpose is to have children. The era of #MeToo has morphed into one where nearly half of young men view Tate positively. An era in which Sarah Everard was murdered by a police officer and the Met’s response was not that more needs to be done to protect women but that women should flag down a bus if they feel unsafe.
It’s an era where women are still expected to be perfect if we are to be afforded sympathy or even to be listened to. If we were too drunk, it’s our fault we weren’t sober enough to say no. If we’re dressed too sexily, then what did we expect? If we’re too loud, too vocal, too independent, it’s our fault that men become incels.
And then there’s Olivia Attwood, who was always herself on Love Island and has gone on to have huge shows that champion women, like Getting Filthy Rich. There’s women like Kerry Katona, who rightfully point out that what she puts on OnlyFans isn’t any worse than what’s shown in TV dramas. Women like Charli XCX whose ‘brat’ album started a craze of fans embracing loud, unapologetic lifestyles.
I’m also reminded of Vicky Pattison something she said on a podcast last year. “If you’re worrying and putting your life on hold in some desperate attempt to look a certain way, you’re just going to regret it.
“Eat the pizza. Kiss the boy. Book the flight. Whatever it is, just do it, instead of trying to reach a goal that is unattainable, because they always move the goalposts.”
Vicky Pattison said women would regret trying to reach unattainable goals(Image: Newcastle Chronicle)
Pattison certainly lived this lifestyle when she was on Geordie Shore. The former reality TV star spoke about her time on the show briefly when she was on Strictly Come Dancing. After foxtrotting to Sam Fender, she said he felt like she hadn’t done much to “make the North East proud” in her career.
Well, she may not feel like she’s done Newcastle proud, but I will always be impressed by women like Pattison, Charli XCX and Attwood who had the bravery to be loud and rambunctious in the public eye.
Goalposts might shift. What counts as ‘high value’ may become more and more restrictive. The ‘Manosphere’ might continue to get louder everyday. But as long as there are modern day feminist icons like Olivia Attwood and Vicky Pattison, eating pizza, kissing boys and just living their lives the way they want to on TV, they continue to prove that you don’t need to be the ‘ideal woman’ to be lovable. You don’t have to be perfect to be respected.
A spokesperson for Diary Of A CEO said: “The Diary Of A CEO is a long-form, conversational podcast designed to explore the perspectives and experiences of its guests in their own words. Inviting a guest is an act of inquiry, not endorsement. Steven Bartlett does not adopt the opinions of his guests, nor is the format intended to pass judgment on personal viewpoints. To suggest that a host is responsible for every view expressed by a guest is a fundamental misunderstanding of the long-form interview format. DOAC features guests from across the entire political and cultural spectrum. In recent months alone, guests have included Michelle Obama, Kamala Harris, Gavin Newsom, and a yet to be published conversation with Zohran Mamdani. The podcast’s archive is a matter of public record and disproves this claim instantly.”
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