By Anastasia Black
Increasingly, Australian men are adopting misogynistic ideologies from online sources apart of the ‘manosphere’ (Camilo Jimenez/Unsplash)
A Google search for “male empowerment” results in a black-and-white image of the actor, and alleged sex offender, Kevin Spacey, overlaid with the words “Putting yourself first isn’t selfish. It’s necessary.” Headlines like Implementing Zeta Masculinity and Psychology for Men in a Gynocentric World circulate on men’s rights blogs. On Reddit, male users share tips for “sexmaxxing” and proclaim that “to understand narcissists is to understand women”. All this just scratches the surface of the ‘manosphere’.
The ‘manosphere’ refers to a collection of online communities that have emerged in opposition to feminism and other progressive gender movements. From incels to influencers like Andrew Tate, these communities – although with some varying beliefs – operate on the basis that feminism is biased against men and that a return to traditional gender norms would be beneficial to greater society.
The far-right movement quickly adopted digital communication technologies in the 1990s, allowing propaganda, misinformation, and recruitment to transcend national borders. In today’s hyper-techno-social culture, as research from Michigan State University reveals, online radicalisation is inadvertently linked to technological affordances and their role in constructing our collective identities.
QUT Senior Lecturer in Digital Media Dr Ehsan Dehghan explains that identity narratives “play a very large part” in alt-right online groups. Using the infamous and permanently banned r/incel subreddit – wherein users resorted to misogynistic rhetoric to explain their lack of romantic success – Dr Dehghan said, “The core identity of that group was people who would see themselves as someone so weak that they couldn’t really find a partner. They were not alpha. They were the weakest link in the food chain.”
Within these communities, identity narratives are either reinforced or evolved further. It’s how, in the words of Dr Dehghan, “…incels have different levels.” Initially, there is the ordinary incel. This can progress to the ‘red-piller,’ who believes they must dominate the social hierarchy. Finally, there is the ‘black-piller,’ “who is willing to commit acts of violence and disregard societal rules”.
“These movements are very identitarian,” he said.
“Red pill” ideology – a concept borrowed from the film ‘The Matrix’ – was founded on the /TheRedPill subreddit, where users discuss the uncomfortable truths of men and women (Hector Garcia/Flickr)
In the 2022 book Identity in a Hyperconnected Society, researchers found that for adolescents in the 21st century, online social networks are imperative to identity formation. Social media is not only a neutral tool for self-expression and building interpersonal relationships but directly defines a person’s sense of self through their use. As such, the online spaces people occupy do not merely reflect their identities, they actively construct them.
QUT Associate Professor in Digital Media Dr Tim Graham puts forward the idea that digital identity, as it pertains to radicalisation, is linked to the concept of subjectivation. This Foucauldian idea involves shaping individual identity through various mechanisms, including institutions, technologies, and societal norms.
“Technologies are, in a way, constructing us. The spaces that people occupy online, both the designs of the spaces but also the way that other people address them, offers ways that people can experience themselves…The way they see themselves as subjects is targeted by these communities,” Dr Graham explained.
Dr Graham also emphasised that platform design aids in shaping ideologies and behaviours. He said spaces that can form “highly community-moderated” networks are most popular among the ‘manosphere’. Using Reddit as an example, he explained, “it is the perfect storm…pseudonymous accounts allow users to say things they wouldn’t say in other contexts; strict moderators exclude other points of view from coming in and its voting feature algorithmically ranks content …all these elements come together in a troubling way.”
“If a man has spent all day in really problematic spaces where numerous people are joking about women and violence, then, clearly, that’s going to shape how they understand themselves and their relationship with women,” he said.
Dr Dehghan also acknowledged the role platforms have in radicalisation and notes platforms are capital-driven entities “designed to keep our attention” and don’t care “if they reinforce our ideologies.”
“Algorithmically platforms either feed us things we agree with…or because they want to keep us on the platform, may serve us content that is exactly the opposite of what we believe. A much easier way of getting someone to say something is by showing them things that they don’t agree with. Now, every time we disagree with something, we are reinforcing our own identity,” he said.
The combination of platform design and use of technologies has resulted in people becoming tethered to their identity and identity groups. “Now, identity is a set menu…If you identify with one thing you are obliged to accept everything in that package,” Dr Dehghan explained.
“Once you convince someone to accept item in your menu…they are much less likely to then resist the other norms in your community… If this formula works for the left, the right can easily hijack the same formula and apply it to their own movements,” he added.
Despite growing awareness of this online radicalisation, a 2023 survey from Victoria University revealed Australian men are increasingly adopting anti-feminist and right-wing ideologies to make sense of their feelings of alienation, resentment, and economic insecurity.
QUT Digital Communication professor, Dan Angus, said ‘manosphere’ actors are incredibly adept at identifying and weaponising young men’s ideas of themselves, standards of masculinity, and their relationship with women. He noted that even issues such as male suicide rates are subjected to malformation and “are consistently weaponised by the manosphere to embolden their argument that men aren’t getting respect.”
“People approach the idea of equality as a zero-sum game… Men find themselves threatened by feminism and they’re [the manosphere] is giving easy answers,” he added.
Dr Dehghan said young people are particularly targeted, “if someone is still understanding who they are and how to change, they are vulnerable to these influences…the far-right comes in and says ‘Hey, I know you’re confused, but you shouldn’t change…You should be stronger in your resistance.’”
He said both left and right-leaning political actors leverage identity politics and lay the groundwork for radicalisation, noting that “anti-feminist groups are low-hanging fruit for far-right movements…it’s an entry point for other radical right-leaning ideologies such as fascism”.
Dr Dehghan also cautions that political fragmentation, in which different ideologies are isolated from one another, results in diminishing democratic dialogue.
“Democracy relies on informed decisions, meaning you have to talk and disagree…For a confused young person who may be in the middle of the political spectrum, if they are in a space where they see both arguments, at least we can be hopeful they may go from the right to more progressive values.”
Anastasia is a second-year Creative Industries student (majoring in Entertainment). Enjoyer of all corners of pop culture, concerts are Anastasia’s home away from home, and her Letterboxd account is a serious commitment at this point in her life. Interested in non-fiction writing and media analysis, she is often found dissecting cultural phenomena, from the latest Taylor Swift album to gender norms. Find her on Instagram @stasiablack_
