Joshua Thorburn

• PhD Candidate, School of Social Sciences, Monash University

Recent PhD graduate in Social Sciences at Monash University. His PhD project used a digital ethnography approach to explore the construction of gender within online forums where singleness, involuntary celibacy and dating strategies are frequently discussed. Alongside manosphere forums relevant to this focus, this doctoral project also investigated 'femosphere' forums, along with subreddits less associated with these movements (e.g. r/ForeverAlone, r/Tinder). This project also explored r/ExRedPill and r/IncelExit, two forums that aim to help and support individuals leave the manosphere.

To date, his respective Honours and PhD research projects have led to the following publications:

Thorburn, J. (2023). Exiting the Manosphere. A Gendered Analysis of Radicalization, Diversion and Deradicalization Narratives from r/IncelExit and r/ExRedPill. Studies in Conflict & Terrorism, 1-25.

Thorburn, J. (2023). The (de-) radical (-ising) potential of r/IncelExit and r/ExRedPill. European Journal of Cultural Studies, 26(3), 464-471.

Thorburn, J., Powell, A., & Chambers, P. (2022). A world alone: Masculinities, humiliation and aggrieved entitlement on an incel forum. The British Journal of Criminology.

Joshua has also been interviewed about his research for BBC Radio 4, BBC Trending, ABC Radio National, The Age, Vice World News, Cosmopolitan, Irish Independent, DeVolkskrant [Netherlands], The New Daily and RRR. My research has also been cited in Forbes. A video by @Shanspeare on YouTube with over 1 million views also draws on his research.

He has also been part of projects researching political extremism (far-right and jihadist) and gender based violence.

• 2025–2025 Research Assistant, Monash University

• 2025 Monash University, PhD (Social Sciences)
• 2020 RMIT University, Bachelor of Justice and Criminology (Honours)

• 2023 Exiting the Manosphere. A Gendered Analysis of Radicalization, Diversion and Deradicalization Narratives from r/IncelExit and r/ExRedPill., Studies in Conflict & Terrorism
• 2023 A world alone: Masculinities, humiliation and aggrieved entitlement on an incel forum., The British Journal of Criminology
• 2023 The (de-) radical (-ising) potential of r/IncelExit and r/ExRedPill., European Journal of Cultural Studies

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