Anti-Feminism and Self-Improvement: Hegemonic Femininity in the Manosphere

Abstract

The Red Pill adherents believe “feminist doctrines” in society deprive men and women of being their natural selves, disrupting heterosexual relationships in consequence. Research on manosphere groups generally focuses on men’s involvement, but women participate in these movements too. One such form of participation is the RedPillWomen subreddit (“r/RPW” in reddit jargon). Hegemonic femininity remains an understudied component of the manosphere. Using a qualitative critical thematic analysis, 127 texts are analyzed to establish what constitutes hegemonic femininity on the r/RPW according to moderators and how this is enacted and maintained by Subreddit members. It is found that moderator texts use discourses of evolutionary psychology, neoliberalism, and anti-feminism to construct a local postfeminist femininity that is both subordinate to men as well as highly entrepreneurial. Subreddit-member posts showed how this femininity is enacted and maintained, demonstrating the responsibility women feel in transforming both the physical and psychological. Peer-surveillance served to reach consent on group norms, correct those who deviate from these norms, and create boundaries between RedPillWomen and other women. This research demonstrated how postfeminist sensibilities in the manosphere shape the articulation of various local hegemonic femininities that both contrast and parallel each other.