From sexism to misogyny: can online echo chambers stay quarantined?

Krendel, Alexandra (2021) From sexism to misogyny: can online echo chambers stay quarantined? In, Zempi, Irene and Smith, Jo (eds.) Misogyny as Hate Crime. 1 ed. Routledge. (doi:10.4324/9781003023722-5).

Abstract

This chapter focuses on the sexist beliefs which can lead to misogynist acts such as discrimination or violence offline. I utilise Manne’s distinction between sexism (the discriminatory beliefs that individuals hold about women) and misogyny (the enforcement of sexist beliefs using tactics which aim to silence its victims) to discuss the sexist beliefs that are cemented in communities such as the manosphere, a loose network of anti-feminist websites united in the belief that men are a disadvantaged group in society on both a personal and societal level. As past literature details, sub-communities of the manosphere apply these beliefs differently. For instance, pick-up artists use formulaic tactics to convince women to sleep with them whereas incels (involuntary celibates) are upset that women do not want to sleep with them. One notable incel is Elliot Rodger who murdered six people and injured 14 in Isla Vista, California, after publishing an online manifesto in which he argued that women rejecting him caused his attack. Other incels such as Alek Minassian in Canada have since committed similar attacks in his name. I will use examples from my research on Reddit’s Red Pill community, a forum in which multiple sub-communities of the manosphere are present, to demonstrate that sexist beliefs are central to the manosphere community, as members believe that women are inherently incapable of monogamy, and that women are dehumanised as both animals and objects. I will then discuss how Reddit’s community guidelines are applied to the Red Pill community, as it was quarantined in October 2018, meaning that it does not come up on search engines, and the community can only be viewed after clicking through a content warning page, but the subreddit is not banned. On the other hand, the community which held the same beliefs as Elliot Rodger (r/incels) was banned in November 2017, following an online petition. I will conclude by showing that although online hate speech legislation would not consider the language of the Red Pill to be hate speech (as it occurs in an echo chamber), it can be argued that these beliefs are being applied to women offline.

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Contributors

Author: Alexandra Krendel

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