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About the Author
Neil Shenvi has an AB in chemistry from Princeton and a PhD in theoretical chemistry from UC Berkeley. He is the author of Why Believe?: A Reasoned Approach to Christianity and Post Woke: Asserting a Biblical Vision of Race, Gender, and Sexuality. His writing on critical theory can be found in journals like Themelios, Eikon, The Journal of Christian Legal Thought, and The Liberty University Law Review.
Last week, a clip from Alex Cooper’s podcast Call Her Daddy went viral. In it, Cooper worries that too many women are hesitant to dump their husbands. She describes women asking themselves, “Maybe I shouldn’t leave this marriage because, can I even get better? And the answer is always yes.” Actress Sophia Bush responds enthusiastically, “Yes. The answer is always yes. And this idea that it’s too late or you’re too old or ‘who are you to want more?’ That’s patriarchy.”
The video sparked outrage on Twitter/X, where it racked up over 10 million views. Many people recognized that Cooper’s and Bush’s advice was terrible, but the exchange also raises several important questions about the coherence of progressive culture when it comes to sex, marriage, relationships, and morality. It also reveals a curious similarity between the sexual politics of contemporary feminism and those of the supposedly opposing manosphere: both have a remarkably self-centered view of relationships.
What is Call Her Daddy?
Alex Cooper founded Call Her Daddy in 2018 with co-host Sofia Franklyn. Franklyn left the show in 2020 following a conflict with Barstool Sports, which syndicated the podcast. After Franklyn’s departure, the show continued its meteoric rise in popularity, culminating in Cooper signing a $125 million deal with SiriusXM in 2024.
The show itself is a mixture of gossipy interviews and candid sex and relationship advice. Cooper’s guest list reads like a Who’s Who of celebrities and even politicians. Katie Couric, Paris Hilton, Kevin Hart, Hilary Duff, Elizabeth Banks, Michelle Obama, John Mayer, Miley Cyrus, and Kamala Harris are just a handful of the A-listers who have appeared on the show.
Call Her Daddy is occasionally cast as the feminine counterpart to the “manosphere,” a loose collection of blogs, podcasts, and motivational speakers that adopt a pro-male, “red-pilled” approach to sexual politics. However, one noteworthy contrast is that Cooper’s views are considered mainstream and acceptable, while those of the manosphere are generally regarded as fringe and repugnant.
For example, Call Her Daddy boasts sponsorships from Macy’s, Pandora, Uber, Airbnb, T-Mobile, Ross, and dozens of other major corporations scrambling for airtime. It’s jarring to hear Cooper interrupt her discussions of drunken hookups and prescription drug abuse to encourage listeners to “level up [their] clean routine with Scotch-Brite sponges” (not a joke).
In contrast, manosphere podcasts tend to be funded by listener subscriptions and promote products from companies like “Gorilla Mind” or “1775 Coffee” (also not a joke).
Yet beneath these differences in tone, audience, and corporate respectability, Cooper and manosphere influencers have more in common than either side might care to admit. To understand why, we first need to examine the peculiar brand of feminism promoted on Call Her Daddy.
Barstool Feminism
Cooper’s self-identification as a feminist is front and center in nearly every episode of the show. Since the definition of feminism is contested, I’ll simply highlight two recurring themes.
