The Construction of Enemies, Threats and Conspiracy Theories in the Manosphere

The manosphere clearly demonstrates how contemporary political life is shaped by the interaction between structural variables, cultural processes and emotional dynamics. In order to understand and address the gender backlash we are witnessing, its political implications and the risks of democratic regression entailed, it is essential to take these multiple dimensions into account. The misogynistic and anti-feminist discourse that proliferates in the manosphere is based on the idea of a crisis of masculinity caused by the emergence of new models of femininity supported by feminist struggles and movements (Vingelli 2019). Within the masculinist perspective, by inverting the reality of gender power dynamics, men are portrayed as the victims of a society dominated by women due to the rise of feminism. Psychological distress and the feeling of suffering an injustice give rise to anger and resentment, fuelling processes of radicalisation which, in some cases, have resulted in shocking acts of violence. Women, and feminists in particular, are seen as an enemy to be countered, and feminism as a threat to the male privileges that masculinists believe they have lost and which they intend to defend and restore (Blais, Dupuis-Déri 2012). Within the manosphere, there is a widespread belief in a “gynocentric liberal conspiracy”, to which most people are said to be blind because ‘feminism and other social justice movements have succeeded in infiltrating western democracies” (Ging 2023, p. 221). It is necessary to acknowledge the economic and social transformations underlying the dynamics of emotional and symbolic mobilisation that occur in the manosphere, fuelling misogynistic and anti-feminist discourse and conspiracy theories. According to Ging (2023), many men, experiencing the deprivation of certain key aspects of masculinity due to the worsening and precariousness of their socio-economic situation, do not recognise the neoliberal roots of this change and blame women and feminists for making sense of their new condition, which determines a sense of aggrieved entitlement. Furthermore, we should consider the impact of post-feminism, which has fueled the myth that gender equality has been achieved and that feminism is anachronistic. This contribution aims to examine how feminism is constructed as a threat, and women—and feminists in particular—as an enemy within the manosphere. For this purpose, we intend to explore the framing and counterframing strategies employed in online misogynistic and anti-feminist discourse, as described in its main trends by the literature on the manosphere, using interpretative keys drawn from the literature on social movement framing processes (Benford, Snow 2000; McCaffrey, Keys 2000) and providing some concrete examples of the application of these strategies, which are also frequently used by extremist groups and right-wing populist parties.