Manosphere

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The manosphere is a diverse collection of websites, blogs, and online forums promoting

red pill", a metaphor borrowed from the film The Matrix.[8]

The manosphere overlaps with the

GamerGate.[12]

History

The roots of the manosphere lie in the

Blogspot in 2009.[16] It was subsequently popularized by Ian Ironwood, a pornography marketer who collected a variety of blogs and forums in book form as The Manosphere: A New Hope For Masculinity.[17] The term entered the popular lexicon when news media began to use it in stories about men who had committed acts of misogynist violence, sexual assault, and online harassment.[18]

GamerGate controversy in 2014, and misogynistic language such as graphic rape threats against women had entered mainstream discourse, being deployed by men not necessarily identified with any specific manosphere group.[19]

Themes and ideology

The manosphere is a

heterogeneous group of online communities[20] that includes men's-rights activists (MRAs),[2] incels (involuntary celibates),[3] Men Going Their Own Way (MGTOW),[4] pick-up artists (PUAs),[5] and fathers' rights groups.[6]
Some groups within the manosphere have adversarial relationships with one another.[21] Ging writes that subgroups such as MRAs and PUAs "exaggerate their differences in displays of infight posturing, in spite of the fact that their philosophies are almost identical".[22]

While the specifics of each group's beliefs sometimes conflict, the general ideology of manosphere groups centers on the promotion of

hyper-masculine role and forcing women to submit to them.[25] Criminologist Lisa Sugiura writes that disparate groups within the manosphere are "united by the central belief that feminine values, propelled by feminism, dominate society and promote a 'misandrist' ideology that needs to be overthrown".[17]

Jargon

The manosphere has its own distinct jargon.[26] The idea of misandry (hatred of or prejudice against men) is commonly invoked, both as an equivalent to misogyny and a way to deny the existence of institutionalized sexism.[27] However, Sugiura writes that "there is little evidence to show that misandry is an issue affecting men's lives".[28] Both male and female homicide victims are more likely to have been killed by a man, rather than by a woman. Although feminism is described within the manosphere as a misandrist movement, there are no significant feminist groups dedicated to espousing hatred of men or encouraging female violence against men.[28]

A central tenet of the manosphere is the concept of the

red pill, a metaphor borrowed from the film The Matrix. It concerns awakening men to the supposed reality that society is dominated by feminism and biased against men.[29] Manospherians believe that feminists and political correctness obscure this reality, and that men are victims who must fight to protect themselves.[30] Accepting the manosphere's ideology is equated with "taking the red pill", and those who do not are seen as "blue pilled" or as having "taken the blue pill".[31] Such terminology originated on the antifeminist subreddit /r/TheRedPill and was later taken up by men's rights and MGTOW sites.[32] Donna Zuckerberg writes, "The Red Pill represents a new phase in online misogyny. Its members not only mock and belittle women; they also believe that in our society, men are oppressed by women."[33]

Men are commonly divided into

evolutionary-psychology framework, where "alphas" are seen as sexually dominant and attractive to women, who are hardwired to want sex with alphas but will pair with "beta" males for financial benefits. Among MRAs and PUAs this argument is known as "alpha fux beta bux".[35]

Associated movements

The manosphere overlaps with

white-nationalist alt-right movement.[9] Zuckerberg writes that many alt-right members are either pick-up artists or MGTOW, and "the policing of white female sexuality is a major concern" of the alt-right.[36] The severity of the antifeminism espoused within these communities varies, with some espousing fairly mild sexism and others glorifying extreme misogyny.[37] Racism and xenophobia are also common among groups in the manosphere, and perceived threats against Western civilization are a popular topic.[38]
systemic racism that extends to beauty ideals and status".[39]

Radicalization and violence

The manosphere has been associated with

mass shootings motivated by misogyny.[11] Robin Mamié of École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne and colleagues associate radicalization into far-right ideologies via the manosphere with the idea of the alt-right pipeline.[40]

Websites

The manosphere comprises various websites, blogs, and online forums.

Return of Kings, and A Voice for Men, as well as (the now-defunct) PUAHate and SlutHate.[41]

/r/MGTOW (banned in August 2021[43]); other subreddits such as /r/TheRedPill have been "quarantined", meaning that a warning is displayed to users about the content of the subreddit and users must sign in before they're allowed to enter.[44] As a result, some of these communities have found new homes on websites that are more welcoming of extreme content, such as Gab.[45]

Public perception

The manosphere has received significant coverage in the media from its association with high-profile violent attacks including the

Elliot Rodger was found to have been an active participant on the PUAHate manosphere forum.[47] Following the attack, Dewey wrote that, while the manosphere was not to blame for Rodger's attack, "Rodger's misogynistic rhetoric seems undeniably influenced by the manosphere".[48] The sociologist Michael Kimmel argued "it would be facile to argue the manosphere ... urged [Rodger] to do this. I think those places are kind of a solace ... They provide a kind of locker room, a place where guys can gripe about all the bad things that are being done to them by women".[49]

Arthur Goldwag described the manosphere in the Spring 2012 edition of the Southern Poverty Law Center's

male supremacy as a category they track on their list of hate groups.[52] The British anti-extremism group Hope not Hate included the manosphere in its 2019 State of Hate report.[37]

See also

Notes

  1. ^ Hodapp (2017), p. xv; Lumsden (2019), pp. 98–99; Jane (2017), p. 662; Marwick & Lewis (2017), pp. 9, 13
  2. ^ a b Hodapp (2017), p. xv; Sugiura (2021), p. 23; Nagle (2017), pp. 86–87; Jones, Trott & Wright (2020), p. 2; Ging (2019), pp. 639, 644; Van Valkenburgh (2018), pp. 1–2
  3. ^ a b Sugiura (2021), p. 23; Nagle (2017), pp. 92–93; Jones, Trott & Wright (2020), p. 2; Zuckerberg (2018), p. 15
  4. ^ a b Sugiura (2021), p. 23; Jones, Trott & Wright (2020), p. 2; Nagle (2017), p. 93; Ging (2019), p. 644; Zuckerberg (2018), p. 19
  5. ^ a b Hodapp (2017), p. xv; Sugiura (2021), p. 23; Nagle (2017), pp. 92–93; Jones, Trott & Wright (2020), p. 2; Ging (2019), p. 644; Van Valkenburgh (2018), pp. 1–2; Zuckerberg (2018), p. 17
  6. ^ a b Hodapp (2017), p. xv; Sugiura (2021), p. 23; Marwick & Caplan (2018), p. 546; Jones, Trott & Wright (2020), p. 2; Nicholas & Agius (2018), pp. 30, 34
  7. ^ Sugiura (2021), p. 23; Winter (2019), pp. 51–54; Lumsden (2019), p. 99; Ging (2019), p. 640; Marche (2016)
  8. ^ Winter (2019), pp. 51–54; Lumsden (2019), p. 99; Ging (2019), p. 640; Marche (2016)
  9. ^ a b Nicholas & Agius (2018), p. 36; Zuckerberg (2018), pp. 11, 19–20; Nagle (2017), pp. 86–87
  10. ^ a b Farrell et al. (2019), p. 87; Jones, Trott & Wright (2020), p. 2; Van Valkenburgh (2018), pp. 1–2; Ging (2019), p. 640; Marwick & Lewis (2017), p. 29
  11. ^ a b Lewis (2019); Dewey (2014); Tye (2021)
  12. ^ Ging (2019), p. 640; Jones, Trott & Wright (2020), pp. 1–2; Zuckerberg (2018), p. 21
  13. ^ Ging (2019), p. 639; Jones, Trott & Wright (2020), p. 14; Ribeiro et al. (2021), pp. 197–198
  14. ^ a b c Ribeiro et al. (2021), pp. 197–198.
  15. ^ Messner (1998).
  16. ^ Ribeiro et al. (2021), pp. 197–198; Nagle (2017), p. 15; Ging (2019), pp. 639–640
  17. ^ a b c Sugiura (2021), p. 23.
  18. ^ Ging (2019), p. 640.
  19. ^ Jane (2017), p. 667.
  20. ^ Marwick & Caplan (2018), p. 553.
  21. ^ Zuckerberg (2018), pp. 13–16; Nagle (2017), pp. 15–19
  22. ^ Ging (2019), p. 644.
  23. ^ Hodapp (2017), p. 8; Jane (2017), p. 662; Marwick & Lewis (2017), pp. 9, 13
  24. ^ Marwick & Caplan (2018), p. 546.
  25. ^ Dewey (2014), quoted in Hodapp (2017, p. xv)
  26. ^ a b Hodapp (2017), p. xv.
  27. ^ Marwick & Caplan (2018), pp. 553–554.
  28. ^ a b Sugiura (2021), p. 21.
  29. ^ Winter (2019), pp. 51–54; Lumsden (2019), p. 99; Ging (2019), p. 640; Marche (2016)
  30. ^ Marwick & Caplan (2018), p. 546; Lumsden (2019), p. 99; Lewis (2019)
  31. ^ Zuckerberg (2018), pp. 1–2, 12–13; Nagle (2017), pp. 93–94; Friedland (2018), pp. 126–127; Ging (2019), p. 640
  32. ^ Ging (2019), p. 645.
  33. ^ Zuckerberg (2018), p. 15.
  34. ^ Ging (2019), pp. 650–651; Zuckerberg (2018), pp. 109–110; Nagle (2017), pp. 88–89
  35. ^ Ging (2019), p. 650.
  36. ^ Zuckerberg (2018), p. 20.
  37. ^ a b Lewis (2019).
  38. ^ Lewis (2019); Zuckerberg (2018), pp. 2–9, 46; Nicholas & Agius (2018), p. 52
  39. ^ Farrell et al. (2020), p. 229.
  40. ^ Mamié, Ribeiro & West (2021).
  41. ^ Hodapp (2017), p. xv; Zuckerberg (2018), pp. 2, 16, 140; Nagle (2017), pp. 88–100; Ging (2019)
  42. ^ Jones, Trott & Wright (2020), pp. 2–3; Ging (2019), pp. 645–646
  43. ^ Thalen (2021).
  44. ^ Jones, Trott & Wright (2020), p. 2; Van Valkenburgh (2018), pp. 17–18; Farrell et al. (2019), p. 92; Basu (2020)
  45. ^ Basu (2020).
  46. ^ Ging (2019), p. 640; Jones, Trott & Wright (2020), pp. 1–2; Zuckerberg (2018), p. 21
  47. ^ Zuckerberg (2018), pp. 139–140; Nagle (2017), pp. 99–100
  48. ^ Dewey (2014).
  49. ^ Nelson (2014).
  50. ^ Goldwag (2012a).
  51. ^ Goldwag (2012b).
  52. ^ Janik (2018).

References

Further reading
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