Aggrieved misogynists, Violent Terrorists, or Both: Analysing the Manosphere to Understand Acts of Extremist Violence by Men's Rights Activists

Abstract

In May 2020, a violent attack in Canada was labelled for the first time as incel terrorism; however, this attack is not the first time incels have been linked to acts of mass violence. Incels are just one subgroup of many amidst the manosphere; an online extension of the contemporary men's rights movement rife with anti-feminism, misogyny, and male supremacy. Increasingly we are witnessing real-world violent attacks by individuals affiliated with subgroups of the manosphere or those who have followed the ideas put forth there. This dissertation aimed to identify how the manosphere can aid us in better understanding of the threat posed by extremist men's rights activists. Therefore, the researcher analysed prominent manosphere websites and subsections of the website Reddit.com to uncover the ideologies and the behaviours driving the contemporary men's rights movement, and if these were reflective of the motives and writings of men's rights activists who had committed acts of mass violence. Key words: anti-feminism, misogyny, men's rights movement, male supremacy, gender- based violence, gender, feminism.