Journalist Alvaro Alvarez travels with former porn-star and men’s rights activist Philipp Tanzer to a Conference on Men’s Issues, shedding light on the controversial movement.

“I think as a men’s rights activist you are constantly being silenced”.

Philipp Tanzer is a former gay porn actor who now works as a hairdresser, artist and gallery owner in the Scottish Highlands.

He has been involved in the men’s rights movement for over 2 years, first attending the International Conference on Men’s Issues in London in 2018. It’s a summit where men and women who believe men are at a disadvantage in modern society convene to share their thoughts and a common ground.

Intrigued by the concept and the issues surrounding it, BBC journalist Alvaro Alvarez travelled with Philipp to the same Conference, this time in Chicago in August of last year, in an attempt to get under the skin of this movement and ultimately Philipp’s investment and fascination with it.

For Alvaro, confronted with a confusing setting where amongst other things domestic violence towards women is being downplayed by university professors; conversely Philipp is openly captivated, yet it soon emerges there is more to his own back story than meets the eye.

As part of his journey Philipp also meets with Graham Goulden, a retired police officer and Chief Investigator with over 30-years’ experience, who now works as a violence prevention trainer. Having had numerous heated exchanges on social media, Philipp and Graham agree to meet in person to talk through their alternate stances when it comes to men’s rights and their role in society.

We also hear from Tracie Farrell, a Research Associate with the Knowledge Media Institute, part of the Open University, who through her work has been delving into what has become known as the ‘manosphere’, a platform evolving within society where it is becoming easier to have a misogynistic opinion and vocalise it.

It goes against most logical thinking, but are we really starting to ‘flip the narrative’ so that women hold the power and men are subjugated by it?

Are we as a society designed to ignore men’s vulnerability? Has feminism gone too far?