Men Who Hate Women: From Incels to Pickup Artists: The Truth about Extreme Misogyny and How it Affects Us All

Content Warning: This section of the guide includes discussion of gender discrimination, racism, bullying, sexual violence and harassment, cursing, and emotional abuse.

Bates states that it is important to pay attention to the manosphere’s most prominent figures to understand how their ideals have infiltrated the mainstream. She says they are responsible for presenting this ideology in a more sanitized and acceptable form for public consumption. A “buffer of plausible deniability” (216) is required, as many of these figureheads publicly disavow the different facets of the manosphere even while promoting its ideals and profiting from the manosphere’s support. 

Bates reveals the extent to which the manosphere’s most prominent voices—from infamous pickup artist Daryush Valizadeh (“Roosh V”) to men’s rights activist Paul Elam—are more concerned with their own profits than with their followers or the causes they claim to support. As Men Who Hate Women has previously outlined, manosphere communities frequently attract struggling men, and Bates criticizes these figureheads for exploiting vulnerable men for financial gain. Paul Elam, for instance, has berated his male followers for not donating enough and tells his troubled audience to “go f*cking bother someone else with [their] problems” (219). He, and others like him, benefit from the idea that the world is unfairly and irreparably stacked against men. They push already vulnerable and hopeless men deeper into the manosphere and encourage them to continue supporting manosphere figures with their attention and money.

Bates also says that many proponents of manosphere ideology are careful to distance themselves from the movements themselves. They cloak their beliefs in irony or humor, which is a calculated device that allows these beliefs to enter the mainstream by drawing in curious readers. 

However, politicians have been the most successful at bringing this ideology into the mainstream and normalizing it. Bates cites Donald Trump in particular for having “emboldened” the manosphere and alt-right, with men across the manosphere celebrating his presidential win in 2020. His own past actions and current statements validated and justified the beliefs of the manosphere. Trump’s presidency, Bates argues, made sexism more socially acceptable and is an example of how the extreme ideals of the manosphere infiltrate the mainstream and become normalized. His chief strategist, Steve Bannon, was a prolific alt-right commenter with known ties to alt-right and white nationalist communities, thus giving Trump a direct connection to these groups without having to affiliate himself with the movements directly. British Prime Minster Boris Johnson was reportedly influenced by Bannon’s messaging as well. Politicians such as Trump and Johnson are aware of the support and votes they stand to gain from the alt-right and manosphere communities and thus double down on their harmful messages. When people at the highest level of government support the manosphere and alt-right, however implicitly, it gives these groups power to directly impact legislation and policy.

In addition to politics, academia is another realm that lends an air of respectability and normalization to manosphere ideas. A prominent figure in this regard is Jordan Peterson, a Canadian psychology professor who rose to fame in 2016 when he protested a Canadian bill banning discrimination based on gender identity and expression. His work draws upon religion, biological essentialism, mythic tropes, and symbolism to argue for traditional gender stereotypes. Peterson, like other mainstream manosphere figures, presents a “sanitized version” of common manosphere talking points. He leverages his academic credentials to lend credibility to his misogynistic claims, such as the idea that the cure for male violence and incel-motivated mass murders is enforced monogamy. Despite his outward rejection of manosphere communities and his claims that he helps to draw young men away from extremism, he nonetheless maintains a strong fanbase within extremist online communities.

Next, Bates criticizes the media and how commentators like Piers Morgan capitalize on controversy, manufactured internet outrage, and clickbait, specifically targeting feminists whom he calls “feminazis.” She concludes by stating that leaders of online extremist communities understand how to filter their ideas into the mainstream and how powerful people higher up the “chain” are essential to pushing these ideas. They victimize vulnerable men for their own personal or financial gain by promoting rigid stereotypes and fueling the continued vitriol toward women.