Challenging online misogyny: the application of corpus linguistics in the MANTRaP project

McGlashan, Mark, Aiston, Jessica, Koller, Veronika and Krendel, Alexandra (2026) Challenging online misogyny: the application of corpus linguistics in the MANTRaP project. In, Brookes, Gavin, Curry, Niall and Krendel, Alexandra (eds.) Applications of Corpus Linguistics: Established and Emergent Contexts. Cambridge University Press, pp. 233-253. (doi:10.1017/9781009382007.011).

Abstract

This chapter details the potential applications of corpus linguistic research in the study and mitigation of misogyny. The chapter begins by introducing the MANTRaP (Misogyny ANd The Red Pill) project and the work done in this project to examine language used across the online manosphere – a ‘loose online network’ of communities united by a shared anti-feminist ideology (Marwick and Caplan, 2018: 543). This chapter discusses findings from various studies conducted by project team members on corpora collected from online manosphere communities to examine, among other things, anti-feminist discourse and representations of gendered social actors. Following an overview of the academic work done by project team members, we then discuss practical applications and impacts of this research for the purposes of safeguarding children and young people from potential online harms. This discussion centres on various aspects of our work with a number of organisations involved in such safeguarding. In particular, our discussion centres on our contributions to the safeguarding efforts of these organisations through raising awareness with relevant stakeholders, producing and delivering safeguarding materials and training, and consultancy work for software companies providing safeguarding and monitoring solutions to schools. In the discussion, we also reflect on the formative work with non-academic stakeholders that leads to tangible impacts as well as the real-life implications of the applications emerging from this work. These include an increased public and academic focus on the communities researched and the language used in those communities and the use of research findings in safeguarding software designed for the online surveillance of children in schools.

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Contributors

Author: Alexandra Krendel

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