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SPRING/SUMMER 2021
The Public Eye
The Mainstream Pill: How Media and Academia Help Incels Rebrand • Why Are Gen Z Girls Attracted to the Tradwives Lifestyle?
A Storm Is Coming: Horror and Hope in QAnon Apocalypticism • Excerpt: “Prisons Make Us Safer”
Book Review: Global White Nationalism: From Apartheid to Trump • Author Q&A: Red Pill, Blue Pill
editor’s letter
As this issue was going to print, a young Ohio man was charged with a federal hate
crime for plotting to carry out a mass shooting of women, inspired by an earlier mi-
sogynist massacre in 2014 that left six dead and 14 injured. As M. Kelly writes in “The THE PUBLIC EYE
Mainstream Pill” (page 3), the Ohio man was quickly identified as a member of the QUARTERLY
largest online forum for the misogynist incel, or “involuntary celibate” movement—a
PUBLISHER
vile corner of the internet where men stoke each other’s rage, revel in stories of wom- Tarso Luís Ramos
en murdered by male partners, and glorify mass killers. And yet, over the last two EDITOR
years, the founder of the very same forum has been elevated by media and academic Kathryn Joyce
institutions in the name of understanding, aiding the movement’s larger effort to re- COVER ART
brand its toxic ideology for the mainstream. Eva Redamonti
PRINTING
Park Press Printers
In our next feature, Mariel Cooksey investigates how young women and girls are
being drawn into another online anti-feminist movement: tradwifery (page 10). Part
aesthetic, part ideology, “trad life” encourages women to trade empowerment for The Public Eye is published by
a patriarchal vision of gender norms. Since its debut around the 2016 election, the Political Research Associates
movement has appealed to—and targeted—increasingly younger women, lured by
Tarso Luís Ramos, Executive Director
promises of domestic bliss as well as one of the only accessible roles for women in the
White nationalist Right. Just as young men have been recruited into far-right politics Frederick Clarkson, Senior Research Analyst
by edgy meme culture and red pill rhetoric, “trad girls” are crafting their own wing of Cloee Cooper, Research Analyst
the movement, one like at a time.
Ethan Fauré, Research Analyst
Over the last several years, the conspiracist QAnon movement has grown increas- Steven Gardiner, Assistant Research Director
ingly bizarre, even as it’s become so widely embraced that numerous politicians now
Heron Greenesmith, Senior Research Analyst
echo its false claims at the state and federal levels. But as Damon Berry writes (page
15), the enduring appeal of QAnon is how it taps into not just religious feeling, but an- Amanda Hukanovic, HR & Operations Manager
cient apocalyptic narratives of horror and hope, where visions of atrocities only serve Olivia Lawrence-Weilmann, Program Coordinator
to enhance the promise of a glorious new world to come. As Berry warns, nonbelievers
must not underestimate the power of these narratives. Isabelle H. Leighton, Development Director
Ben Lorber, Research Analyst
The specter of private prisons amassing billions of dollars by incarcerating people in
Koki Mendis, Communications Manager
for-profit detention facilities has inspired significant and successful divestment cam-
paigns. But as Victoria Law writes (page 22), in an exclusive excerpt from her new Anne Murphy, Finance Director
book Prisons Make Us Safer, private prisons are only a small part of mass incarceration
Greeley O’Connor, Managing Director
in the U.S. Tackling the larger problem requires confronting the financial incentives
driving public prisons and their workers’ unions, which have lobbied for years against Aidan Orly, Donor Program Manager
bills that would make a saner, fairer legal system, but which could harm their bottom Harini Rajagopalan, Communications Coordinator
line.
Fellows
Felicia Arriaga • Zoé Samudzi • Tina Vasquez
We also look at two recent books in this issue. Shane Burley reviews the recent an-
thology Global White Nationalism: From Apartheid to Trump (page 24), considering Interns
Emma Cohn • Asia Korkmaz
how, in the years after World War II, a new transnational fascist movement emerged, Yasmeen Mir
united by demographic panic about the end of a “pure” White race. And Deyanira
Board of Directors
Marte speaks with David Neiwert (page 26) about his new book Red Pill, Blue Pill, a Jeyn Levison, Chair
sharply perceived guide through the origins and implications of the growing world of Fatema Ahmad • Cathy Albisa • Saqib Bhatti
right-wing conspiracy theories. Ginna Green • Ellen Gurzinsky
Orson Moon • Mandisa Moore-O’Neal
Charles Orcitti • Mohan Sikka
In between our print issues, PRA is publishing frequently online, so be sure to visit Carla Wallace • Susan Wefald
us at politicalresearch.org. Founder
Jean V. Hardisty, Ph.D.
Kathryn Joyce
1310 Broadway, Suite 201
Somerville, MA 02144-1837
Tel: 617.666.5300
contact@politicalresearch.org
© Political Research Associates, 2021
All rights reserved. ISN 0275-9322
ISSUE 105
www.politicalresearch.org
2 • The Public Eye FALL 2020
BY M. KELLY
The Mainstream Pill
How Media and Academia Help Incels Rebrand
An image of Pink Clouds. #PinkCloudsForBianca was used to share original artwork and photos of pink clouds to combat the spread of the images containing Bianca Devins’ corpse. (Credit: Arjun/Wikimedia commons)
O
n July 13, 2019, in Utica, New The day after the murder, on the larg- and top five most commented-on threads
York, 17-year-old Bianca Devins est online forum for the misogynist incel, in the forum’s main discussion section.
was murdered. Her alleged killer, or “involuntary celibate” movement,* the While this thread is now closed to further
a 21-year-old man named Brandon Clark, picture of Devins’ dead body was posted replies, others discussing Bianca Devins
was charged with second-degree murder on a thread titled “E-girl beheaded by her continue to draw degrading new com-
after he posted a photo of her body and boyfriend.” Two years later, this thread is ments today. While a few forum mem-
nearly decapitated head on Discord and still in the top five most-viewed threads bers express disgust at the image, many
Instagram. The photo later circulated on * I distinguish between individuals of all genders who per- others cheered: “cunts get exactly what
sonally identify with the term “incel” and do not hold world-
Twitter, 4chan, 8chan and other platforms.1 views that are rooted in misogyny, and misogynist incels:
they deserve for choosing wrong,” “good
According to a report from Rolling Stone,2 those who participate in misogynist, male-only incel spaces riddance to another dirty hypergamous
and adhere to a male supremacist ideology marked by de-
one of Clark’s likely motives was that “he humanizing women and glorifying violence against them.
whore who drove the wrong guy crazy,”
was incensed [Devins] would not agree to a More information on this distinction can be found here: “Thot Status: Patrolled. Rest in shit, foid.”
https://www.malesupremacism.org/tips-for-media/. For the
monogamous relationship with him.” purposes of this article, when I refer to incel, it is referring to Horrifying as these conversations are,
the misogynist incel movement unless otherwise noted.
SPRING/SUMMER 2021 Political Research Associates • 3
they’re not an anomaly for the misogy- the main root of their violence, and ar- argued in a recent public panel (echoing,
nist incel movement, which is defined by guing that at least one of them “wouldn’t not so incidentally, the justification used
a sense of entitlement to women’s bodies, be considered unattractive by most stan- by former President Donald Trump to ex-
justification of violence against them,3 dards,” as though to suggest he couldn’t cuse his own clear misogyny).
and reverence for both self-proclaimed be a real incel after all. That a movement best known for pro-
incel men and other misogynist killers And yet just this July, an Ohio man who moting violence against women wants to
who perpetrate mass violence as “saints” appears to have been an active member overhaul its image is unsurprising. But
and “heroes.”4 Within these forums, con- of Ash’s forum was charged with a fed- recently, incels’ attempts to reframe their
versations about murdered women and eral hate crime for plotting to carry out a identity have also been helped along by
girls are a regular topic, usually framed as mass shooting targeting women. On July researchers, journalists, and “counter-vi-
violence women brought on themselves 21, a 21-year-old man in Ohio was charged olent extremism” experts, who, in their
for choosing “the wrong guy.” Mean- with a federal hate crime for an attempt- attempts to investigate and understand
while, the women’s killers are celebrated ed mass shooting of women. From July incels, have given them larger, more
for “sav[ing] many men the trouble” and 2019 through his arrest in the spring of mainstream platforms. These new plat-
preventing “decades of thotdom” (a refer- 2020, the would-be attacker had been “a forms have allowed incels to reframe the
ence to the misogynist online slur “thot,” frequent poster” on “a popular incel web- public narrative about them; minimize
or “that ho over there”). site,” according to a statement from the the threat their community poses; and
But what was more unusual is that Department of Justice.7 The day the hate have amplified—or even endorsed—
These new platforms have allowed incels to reframe the public narrative about them;
minimize the threat their community poses; and have amplified—or even endorsed—
their hate-laced grievances, centering their self-perceived victimhood at the hands of
women who deny them sex.
several months before Devins’ brutal crime charges were announced, people their hate-laced grievances, centering
murder became fodder for the incel on Ash’s forum identified the would-be their self-perceived victimhood at the
commenters, the forum’s founder and attacker as a fellow member, matching hands of women who deny them sex.
administrator, who uses the pseudonym descriptions of his posts in the indict-
Alexander Ash,5 penned an appeal for ment with those posted on the site. The
greater public understanding of what posts in question detailed the attempted FROM SUPPORT GROUP TO HATE GROUP
he said was a frequently misunderstood attacker emulating actions of the Santa Today’s misogynist incels are a radical
community.6 In his essay, “Incels,” pub- Barbara attacker prior to his 2014 attack, evolution of where the term and com-
lished in February 2019, Ash argues that including spraying women and couples munity came from 24 years ago, when a
inceldom is neither a movement nor a with orange juice through a water gun. bisexual Canadian woman named Alana
political subculture but merely “a [life] And like the Santa Barbara attacker, the created an online mailing list and web-
situation,” and sets out to create an “ob- thwarted attacker also seemed intent on site to serve as a peer-support network
jective” and “realistic portrayal” of incels targeting sororities.8 for people who “had difficulty starting
by addressing what he perceives as the Ash’s essay, with all its misrepresen- relationships or finding partners.”12 In
“often sensationalist overtones” in media tations, was one of the first of several the early 2000s, “involuntary celibate”
coverage of incels. He tries to distance recent attempts to rebrand the misogy- was used as an academic survey term, but
incels from the violent and misogynistic nist incel movement and present a more the name “incel” was coined on Alana’s
ideology its most prominent members palatable version of their online forums, forum and quickly adapted as a self-iden-
have expressed. And he attempts to ab- where—as ample documentation has tity. Unlike contemporary misogynist in-
solve the community of any connection shown—dehumanizing misogyny and cel forums—which only allow cis-gender
to “incel criminals,” like the perpetrators glorification of violence are the norm.9 In heterosexual men to join,13 and are united
of mass casualty attacks that took place this new narrative, incels aren’t violent in their adherence to a male supremacist
in 2014 in Santa Barbara and in 2018 in misogynists so much as misunderstood, ideology14—early incel and shyness fo-
Toronto, which together left 16 people lonely men being persecuted because of rums such as Alana’s welcomed both men
dead. He did this by misrepresenting the their lack of sexual contact with wom- and women, and people of varied sexual
perpetrators’ involvement in online incel en. The hateful rhetoric they’ve become orientations and histories. On these early
spaces prior to their attacks, suggesting known for online is recast as just “con- forums, being an incel was not presented
mental health or autism diagnoses were troversial”10 “locker room talk,”11 as Ash as a permanent, unchangeable identity,
4 • The Public Eye SPRING/SUMMER 2021
but rather a situation that could be expe- In May 2014, a member of PUAHate, the New World Order.26 The core red pill
rienced by anyone. Although they were who identified as an incel on the forum, for male supremacists is the belief that
not devoid of negativity, they offered killed six people and injured 14 more men do not, in fact, hold systemic power
emotional support, and according to a before killing himself in Santa Barbara, and privilege in the world, but rather they
former member, also “dating advice and California. The perpetrator left behind are socially, economically, and sexually at
coping strategies.”15 The fatalistic and a manifesto and several YouTube vid- the mercy of women’s power and desires.
misogynist sensibility that defines incel eos describing his hatred of women he And the architects of this oppression are
spaces today was kept in check by atten- thought should be attracted to him and feminists, whose advocacy for gender
tive moderators.16 his desire to seek revenge.23 (Specifically, equality has led to men becoming the
But over time, some incel forums be- the perpetrator fixated on White, blonde sole victims of sexist discrimination.27
came increasingly toxic and insular. sorority women, reflecting the broader The red pill also awakens men to the
Members banned from highly moderated incel movement’s emphasis on gaining notion that they exist within a “sexu-
forums for sharing misogynistic content sexual access to attractive White wom- al marketplace” where everyone has a
flocked to forums where it was allowed.17 en.) In short order, the manifesto and vid- “sexual market value” determined by
Those forums then started to change, be- eos became an inspiration to incels,24 and various characteristics, from physical
coming, as a 2020 study found, “increas- the perpetrator became a martyr celebrat- features and status to their wealth and
ingly militant and hostile to women, ed on new forums that were popping up charm. And within this marketplace,
argue members of the “manosphere”—
an online network of male supremacist
They began to believe that their personal issues were groups—women always seek out men
systemic, and so women’s “hypergamous nature,” who have a higher sexual market val-
ue than their own. This concept, often
and the society that supports it, must be addressed referred to as “female hypergamy,” was
systemically—either through the reinstitution of social popularized among the manosphere by
White supremacist and men’s right activ-
norms that limit women’s choices, or through mass ist Roger Devlin in his 2006 essay “Sexu-
violence and suicide. al Utopia in Power.”28 Devlin argues that
hypergamy “is an irrational instinct” that
“implies the rejection of most males”;
expressing offensive biologically deter- across the web—on Reddit, 4chan, and that the feminist-driven “sexual revolu-
ministic memes and openly advocating elsewhere. It was also around this time tion in America was an attempt by women
violence.”18 Today, the most prominent in- that a new facet of misogynist incel ide- to realize their own utopia”; and that this
cel forums are defined more by shared mi- ology, the black pill, began to take form. utopia is a consequence of women’s “nat-
sogyny than by celibacy, allowing as mem- ural” hypergamous instinct. Marriage,
bers men who don’t fit any definition of Devlin asserts, is a way to “[channel] fe-
“incel” but who do echo the forums’ viru- FROM RED PILL TO BLACK male hypergamy in a socially useful way”
lent misogyny. Eventually, the forums that Since the early 2000s male suprema- as “sex is too important a matter to be left
had emphasized support and moderation cist movements, namely pick-up artists, to the independent judgment of young
dissolved, leaving only the increasingly Men Going Their Own Way, men’s rights women, because young women rarely
militant misogynist forums, which then, activists, and members of the r/TheRed- possess good judgment.” “Heterosexual
according to Vox journalist Zack Beau- Pill subreddit,25 have embraced what they monogamy,” he argues, “is incompatible
champ, “cross-pollinated with members call the “red pill.” The term—now ubiq- with equality of the sexes” and therefore
of other, similar online subcultures.”19 uitous across the Far Right—comes from a “husband’s leadership” is “necessary to
One of them was the “anti-PUA” com- the 1999 film The Matrix, where the pro- accommodate female hypergamy.”
munity, composed of men angry that the tagonist Neo is given the choice to take a Within the worldview of the red pill,
dating and seduction techniques suggest- blue pill or a red pill, representing the de- some adherents feel they must increase
ed by so-called pick-up artists—a booming cision to remain in a comfortable illusion their marketplace “value”—a desire pick-
online industry in the mid-2000s that gave or confront the hidden reality of how up artists responded to with books and
men dubious advice on how to “pick up” the world truly operates. Today far-right tutorials on strategies for “picking-up”
women20—had failed to get them either groups use the term to describe how they women or becoming the kind of man
girlfriends or sex.21 Although anti-PUA learned and accepted their various ide- they believe women want. But some red
communities, like the PUAHate forum, ologies. For White supremacists and the pill adherents, like members of PUA-
claimed to hate PUA gurus and their ad- Alt Right, the red pill denotes accepting Hate, came to distrust these promises as
vice, they shared a common perspective a variety of beliefs, ranging from White a “blue pill” illusion, and argue that there
on women—as a target or prize22 that some genocide and Great Replacement theory exist no individual strategies that can
men could win while others were denied. to antisemitic conspiracism and fears of help them improve enough to have sex-
SPRING/SUMMER 2021 Political Research Associates • 5
ual relationships with the women they by fellow forum members33—or they can forum, where Ash is the administrator,
desire. Rather they began to believe that try to change society, through policy or officially defines incels as any “Person
their personal issues were systemic, and violence. In some cases, forum mem- who desires a romantic relationship but
so women’s “hypergamous nature,” and bers who express suicidal ideation are is unable to enter one,”41 in reality fo-
the society that supports it, must be ad- encouraged to commit mass murder be- rum members are frequently challenged
dressed systemically—either through the fore they kill themselves, emulating per- about their legitimacy as incels. Until
reinstitution of social norms that limit petrators of other incel massacres34 and sometime in late 2018 the forum grant-
women’s choices, or through mass vio- thus drawing attention to incels’ plight.35 ed “conditional” membership to people
lence and suicide.29 Others advocate for changes to the legal who weren’t incels but who did express
These ideas became the cornerstone system, ranging from re-establishing a “blackpilled mentality,”42 suggesting
of the “black pill” ideology: a term that “patriarchy,” to removing women’s rights, that the acceptance of a political ideolo-
seems to have been coined by anti-fem- or compulsory monogamy and “state-is- gy, and not one’s relationship status, was
inist bloggers in the early 2010s to de- sued girlfriends.”36 the actual uniting factor for membership.
scribe incels’ fatalistic embrace of a bio- These solutions are just the tip of the Further, members who post content that
logical determinism30 under which they iceberg when it comes to normalizing vio- doesn’t align with the black pill are often
are destined to always remain alone, and lence against women. Self-identified incels labeled “LARPers,” fakecels, noncels, or
wherein their isolation and lack of access who have committed mass murder, oth- volcels (voluntary celibates). And while
to women renders them—in their own er mass murderers, and violence against content that expresses “blue pill” ideolo-
words—“subhuman.” Since blackpillers women are regularly memorialized or cel- gy is no longer explicitly banned from the
believe women choose sexual partners ebrated in the forums. Dehumanization of forum,43 members seen as offering “blue
based almost solely on physical charac- women is so deeply embedded in misog- pill” advice—such as “take a shower,”
teristics, they also believe that means ynist incel communities that women are “work on your personality,” or “don’t be
misogynist”—are still likely to be banned
or ostracized by other members.
While leaders like Ash have tried to publicly distance While both Ash’s essay and the incels
wiki note that some women identify as
themselves from overtly misogynistic rhetoric, the incels, or “femcels,” most forum members
misogyny of their arguments and terminology is so don’t accept them,44 and women are barred
deeply rooted that it can only be understood as a from most incel forums, including Ash’s.
For the most part, femcels are only ac-
fundamental feature of incel identity. knowledged insofar as they can serve as a
defense against accusations of misogyny.45
And while leaders like Ash have tried to
some men are doomed by their geneti- frequently referred to with both animal- publicly distance themselves from overt-
cally predetermined looks to never find istic slurs—such as beasts, holes, or roast- ly misogynistic rhetoric—even as their
a mate. Under this philosophy, incels are ie—and mechanistic37 ones, like femoid or forums remain as misogynistic as ever—
seen as intensely victimized—by wom- foid (which are abbreviations for “Female the core arguments remain the same. In
en, by society at large, and particularly Humanoid Organism”).38 Ash’s case, his “Incels” essay still blames
by feminism, since they blame women’s “social behavior” like “hypergamy” and
increased agency for their situation.31 feminism for “oppress[ing]” and “dis-
And what follows from this sense of vic- REFRAMING MISOGYNY advantaging men.”46 It may come with
timhood is an escalation of the misogyny Over the last two years, incels have fewer explicit threats, but the misogyny
common among most incels, graduating tried to reframe and normalize their be- of these arguments and terminology is so
from considering women targets or re- liefs by disavowing—on blogs, wikis,39 deeply rooted that it can only be under-
wards to dehumanizing and glorifying and articles—the most obvious or overt stood as a fundamental feature of incels
violence against them.32 expressions of misogyny and emphasiz- and other male supremacist identities.
Accepting the black pill leaves incels ing the heterogeneity of their members.
with limited options on how to proceed. Part of the reframing involves casting
While some still aim for “ascension”— inceldom as a “situation,” rather than A FRIENDLY EAR
the movement term for leaving inceldom a movement or subculture, which is In 2018, a man drove a rented van into a
by having sex with a woman—it has shared by many, whether or not they crowd of people in Toronto, killing 10 and
many caveats and is rarely viewed as a re- claim the incel label.40 But this effort to injuring 16 others. Shortly before his at-
alistic possibility. Therefore, most argue rhetorically draw the movement under a tack, the perpetrator posted on Facebook
they can either resign themselves to their larger, more mainstream tent is at odds that the “Incel Rebellion has already be-
fate—which, for many, leads to a suicidal with how the community identifies and gun,” paying homage to the Santa Bar-
ideation that is sometimes encouraged regulates itself. While the largest incel bara perpetrator in his post. After the
6 • The Public Eye SPRING/SUMMER 2021
attack, The New York Times published an the normies, the listeners would actually that reject and object, that taunt and be-
article by Ross Douthat titled “The Re- be open to engaging in an empathetic dia- tray, that exploit both the beta males and
distribution of Sex,” arguing that “recent logue with them.”51 And, as she hopefully their own sexuality for profit.” And she
Western history” teaches us that “some- notes in the podcast’s first episode, “when goes on to compare such “femoids” with
times the extremists and radicals and people feel heard, they stop hating.”52 what she calls “actual women,” whom
weirdos see the world more clearly than But giving a platform to people who she says “represent something good or
the respectable and moderate and sane.” participate in a bigoted and misogynis- at least neutral” for incels in that they are
In this case, the extremists and radicals tic community also risks validating that “coveted, as is actual intimacy.”
Douthat meant were incels, and he used rhetoric and spreading it to new audienc- Incels’ use of the term “femoid,” and
the massacre as a springboard to consider es, particularly given the podcast’s for- Kates’ interpretation of the term as ap-
a question subsequently posed by econo- mat, wherein Kates rarely pushes back or plying only to “imposter” women with-
out “soul[s] or humanity,” is textbook de-
humanization, and such a categorization
Giving a platform to people who participate in a bigoted can have dangerous consequences. The
Dangerous Speech Project, a U.S. organi-
and misogynistic community also risks validating that zation that monitors the effects of violent
rhetoric and spreading it to new audiences. and bigoted rhetoric, explains that lan-
guage casting people as subhuman is not
metaphorical or harmless,59 but rather is
mist Robin Hanson: “If we are concerned challenges the beliefs of the incel forum often a preparatory step to condition au-
about the just distribution of property members she interviews.53 While Kates diences “to condone or commit violence,
and money, why do we assume that the sometimes voices her disagreement, she by making their targets’ death and suf-
desire for some sort of sexual redistribu- rarely offers a different perspective or fering seem less significant.” That’s ex-
tion is inherently ridiculous?”47 Douthat fact checks her guests as they describe actly how it’s used by incels, as terms like
ultimately concluded that society may themselves, their beliefs, and commu- “femoid” and “foid” are commonly in-
soon “address the unhappiness of incels” nities in palatable, whitewashed terms. terspersed with celebrations of violence
through the “logic of commerce and tech- In an episode where Kates addresses against women on incel forums: “Thot
nology,” likely in the form of sex workers criticism that she is platforming and le- Status: Patrolled. Rest in shit, foid.”
or robots. But Douthat completely failed gitimizing a violent male supremacist Shocking as it is for Kates to justify
to recognize or challenge the misogynist community, she asserts that she is a “free- incels’ dehumanizing rhetoric, she also
rhetoric underlying Hanson’s question, speech person” who doesn’t “believe that seems to defend black pill ideology as
and instead he helped legitimize some of censorship works as well as compassion, being, “like most philosophy, a broad
the “solutions” incels suggest. As several and listening and engagement.”54 critique of modern society.” In April, she
published critiques of the article pointed In this regard, Kates seems to have re- even described a woman interviewee,
out, Douthat ignored the impact a “redis- capitulated a now-common pattern in confoundingly, as a “fellow femoid black-
tribution of sex” would have on women,48 initially defending racist, misogynist, pill-adjacent content creator.”60
and equated incels with marginalized or other bigoted speech out of professed While Kates began her podcast claim-
groups instead of addressing the violent concern about censorship, but in time, ing she was just trying to hold the door
misogyny they have unleashed.49 repeating and spreading that speech her- open for incels to rejoin society—argu-
More recently, incels have been given self. On both her own and the podcast’s ing that an empathetic ear could defuse
several direct platforms, allowing them Twitter accounts, she has occasionally incels’ combustible rage—it increasing-
to reframe their image as unhappy but shared tweets from the largest incel fo- ly seems that Kates has instead walked
not hateful. rums55 as well as blog posts that promote through that door herself, no longer just
In August 2019, The New York Times black pill ideology.56 In 2020, she contrib- reporting on incels’ misogyny, but justi-
named a new podcast, “The Incel Project” uted an article to the incel blog “The Mi- fying and sharing it with the world.
(often shorted to just “Incel”), as one of its sogynist Spectrum,”57 in which she down-
summer recommendations.50 The show’s plays the dehumanizing terms that incels
host, Naama Kates, presents her podcast call women, namely “femoid” or “foid.”58 AN ACADEMIC WELCOME
as a journey of empathy and listening, Specifically, she tries to reframe the In 2021, incels’ quest for mainstream
giving incels “a chance to tell their own terms’ meaning, claiming they are “not representation received another boost
story in their own words,” as she put it in an indictment of women themselves, but from the International Center for Study of
a 2020 video from the “counter-violent rather of these women, these cheap im- Violent Extremism (ICSVE), a Washing-
extremism” organization Light Upon itations, these imposters, that look and ton, D.C.-based research center known
Light. She hypothesizes that doing so act like the real deal but lack any soul for providing research, training, and
might impact the incel community “by or humanity.” She identifies these “fem- counsel to government and intelligence
making them realize that the outsiders, oids” as “Modern women, the women leaders around the world.61 The group,
SPRING/SUMMER 2021 Political Research Associates • 7
founded in 2015, has another center in have the administrator of an incel forum than 200 people from North America,
Brussels, partially funded by the Euro- be listed as a co-author. While previous Europe, and Southeast Asia registered. It
pean Union,62 which has focused on ISIS, ICSVE reports have drawn from primary seems to be the first time that ICSVE has
“militant jihadis,” and more recently on data, including interviews and surveys included a panelist still actively involved
“those considered domestic extremists.” with members of the community being in the community under study.
In January 2021, ICSVE’s Washington studied, this seems to be the first time— In his comments, Ash spoke about
branch hosted a panel with Jeff Schoep, at ICSVE or in academic research more supposed “misconceptions”69 about in-
a purportedly former neonazi63 current- broadly—that someone actively involved cels, mirroring the claims he made in
ly being sued over his involvement in in a community that regularly expresses his 2019 “Incels” essay. But this time his
the deadly Unite the Right rally in 2017.64 bigoted or violent ideology has co-au- arguments were made to a public audi-
This year, ICSVE also began to focus on thored the resulting study. ence, and backed up by other panelists.
incels, hosting a panel discussion this While ICSVE and the similar “count- One panelist affirmed Ash’s framing of
January and publishing five reports on er-violent extremism” group Light Upon the community as a life “situation” not
the movement since January.† Light seem to be the first two organiza- a movement by arguing that, compared
The first of ICSVE’s two full-length tions to actively include someone still in- to other violent groups, “the most fun-
“research reports” was published on Jan- volved in communities organized around damental difference that we have found
uary 21 and focuses on how or wheth- bigotry or promotion of violence, some is that for incels it’s a circumstance, and
er Covid-19 quarantine measures and past reporting and research66 on incels as the name says it, it is an involuntary
the Canadian government’s terrorism has expressed sympathy for their sup- state of being.”70 But this claim fails to
charges against a man allegedly inspired posed plight and offered solutions to ad- accurately portray the group ICSVE had
by “incel ideology” had increased incels’ dressing incel violence that do not fully actually studied: not anyone who is tem-
isolation and resentment. The second re- consider the misogynist beliefs that bind porarily celibate, but rather people who
port, released on February 3, was titled, the misogynist incel movement together. chose to join and associate themselves
“Involuntary Celibates’ Experiences of But these aren’t the only concerns. In with misogynist incel forums.
and Grievance over Sexual Exclusion and one of ICSVE’s brief reports, the authors The panel also addressed incel forums’
Some mainstream researchers have dismissed incel forums’ misogyny and glorification of
violence as mere “locker room talk” or “venting.”
the Potential Threat of Violence Among argue that “incels seek understanding; misogyny and glorification of violence
Those Active in an Online Incel Forum.” they are willing to engage and interact as another “misconception”—or what
Both reports use survey data procured with nonjudgmental researchers, they Ash framed as “locker room talk”71 and
from Ash’s forum. The group also pub- are willing to convey their grievances to “venting.”72 Kates agreed, claiming that
lished three shorter “brief reports” on the broader society and most importantly when “incels sort of worship or celebrate
movement, which were cross-published they feel the threat of terrorist violence the mass killers or... incel killers...usual-
by the national security website Home- coming from their community is exag- ly that stuff is said in irony or just vent-
land Security Today. gerated.” A few things about this depart ing.”73 The initial research report from
One obvious problem with this schol- from normal social science practices: the ICSVE takes this argument one step fur-
arly work though is that Ash is listed as sympathy extended to incels who don’t ther by suggesting such “venting” might
a co-author on four of the five reports want to be judged; the presumption that serve a positive purpose, by deterring
and Naama Kates is similarly credited incels publicly conveying misogynis- individuals from committing violence.
on three.65 Though Ash’s role in writing tic grievances is a productive endeavor; The authors posit that if the 2018 Toron-
the reports is unclear, it’s concerning to and allowing incels to assess whether to perpetrator had “engaged in incel dis-
† The panel with Schoep as well as the panels and reports concerns about violence from their com- cussions online, as opposed to passively
on incels have involved one of the co-founders, Jesse Mor-
ton, of the “counter-violent extremist” organization Light munity are warranted. In terms of the reading them, he may have found the in-
Upon Light. On their website, Light Upon Light lists several last point,67 it doesn’t seem that ICSVE teractions to be a kind of venting and the
“Shape Shifters,” whom they define as “those that can shift
the paradigm and shape the Light Upon Light movement researchers usually ask groups they are community a psychosocial support that
so that it can elevate consciousness and attack the problem
of extremism at its root.” Light Upon Light’s Shape Shifters
studying whether they agree with public prevented his turn to terrorism.”74
are composed of at least one CVE practitioner and several concern over the threat they may pose,68 But there’s no reason to believe those
“former extremists”; on their website, they include Schoep
and Kates among their official “Shape Shifters.” Until late
which begs the question: Why are incels arguments are accurate. First, it’s unlike-
June 2021, Ash was also listed among them, and he seems seen as an exception? ly that misogynist incel forums, where
to be the only Light Upon Light Shape Shifter who was still
actively involved in a community that regularly expresses
On January 27, ICSVE hosted a Zoom members encourage other people to com-
bigotry and violence. (“Shape Shifters,” Light Upon Light, panel discussion to launch the first report, mit suicide, can really be seen as a form
archived page on June 23, 2021, https://web.archive.org/
web/20210623160903/https://www.lightuponlight.online/ with Ash and Kates as panelists and more of psychosocial support. Although incels
shape-shifters/.)
8 • The Public Eye SPRING/SUMMER 2021
might call the forums a “second...or even value of violence,”81 leading to a thresh- the narratives they want heard, spread-
a first home,” as Ash put it,75 that doesn’t old wherein “people no longer feel satis- ing the message of male victimhood,
mean they aren’t violent and radicalizing fied and begin to redefine venting as ‘in- obscuring that narrative’s foundation in
spaces. Similar language has been used action’ or not enough action.”82 male sexual entitlement and misogyny,
by White supremacists to describe their Exactly that sentiment is clear in the and erasing the very real violence and
online forums,76 but we don’t call those manifesto of the 2014 Santa Barbara mass dehumanization women suffer because
of incels’ ideology.88 As a landmark study
in 2020 found, comments that affirm this
While incels’ numbers may be limited, their misogyny “feeling of ‘victimhood’ or persecution
and the violence they have committed is not among men not only undermine any po-
litical action on gendered violence, they
exceptional. It’s simply not possible to separate incels actually encourage those who feel ‘perse-
from the wider spectrum of misogyny, which can be cuted’ towards violence.”89
While it’s important to understand big-
witnessed in femicide, rape, domestic violence, and oted and violent ideologies, especially
other violence against women. those that have led to violence, it’s also im-
portant to consider how that’s done. Mass
media and researchers can play a critical
role in whether and how far-right groups
support groups. Second, as studies of the killer. In a section about fellow members and other violent or bigoted actors spread
rise of the Alt Right made clear, irony of the forum PUAHate, he writes, “many their message.90 As Joan Donovan, direc-
has been deftly used by far-right groups of them share my hatred of women, tor of the Technology and Social Change
to spread and normalize bigoted views; though unlike me they would be too cow- Project, has pointed out, when journalists
far from negating potential harm, it ardly to act on it.”83 cover White supremacists and other vio-
has often served as a recruitment tool.77 lent or bigoted actors, it’s critical to avoid
Third, this “venting” and irony frame- allowing them to “use their own terms to
work echoes incels’ existing efforts to THE PROBLEM WITH PLATFORMING describe themselves,” as doing so can aid
distance themselves from accusations of In his 2019 essay, Alexander Ash set in the “soften[ing]” or “re-branding”91 of
promoting violence and misogyny, and out to reframe misogynist incels as mis- these movements. In some cases, research
so in platforming this rebranding effort, understood men venting online. Clearly, has shown,92 it’s helpful to include the in-
it also helps normalize the dehumaniza- his efforts weren’t in vain, as the exam- sights of current and former members of
tion of women. ples above show, of mainstream figures these groups, in order to have a full under-
But perhaps most concerning is the supporting this rebranding, and help- standing of how the ideology and group
threat that this sort of “venting” can eas- ing an active member of a misogynist dynamics function.
ily lead to far more concrete action. In community re-center incels’ narrative of But that’s a far cry from simply hand-
2021, a report from the Dangerous Speech male victimhood. ing people involved in bigoted and vi-
Project found that dehumanization is a It’s hard to imagine the editor of the olent ideologies a megaphone, so their
“hallmark” of speech that can “increase Daily Stormer sitting on a panel along- voices can travel farther.
the risk that its audience will condone or side researchers on far-right White su-
commit violence against members of an- premacy. So why was it done here? Is this
other group.”78 Dehumanizing rhetoric is an example of what philosopher Kate M. Kelly is a PhD candidate and researcher.
widely recognized as a necessary precur- Manne calls “himpathy”84—situations
sor to genocide. Notably, in his manifes- where men’s feelings are centered even
to, the Santa Barbara perpetrator called after they have perpetrated violence or
for all women to be put in concentration harm? Self-identified incels have surely
camps where “the vast majority of the caused harm, and not just mass violence,
female population will be deliberately but also revenge porn,85 cyberstalking,86
starved to death.” and harassment.87 While incels’ num-
Dehumanizing language might also bers may be limited, their misogyny and
be understood as what sociologist Pete the violence they have committed is not
Simi and co-author criminologist Ste- exceptional. It’s simply not possible to
ven Windisch call “violent talk.”79 While separate incels from the wider spectrum
sometimes, they note, such “violent talk” of misogyny, which can be witnessed in
can be a substitute for “overt acts of vio- femicide, rape, domestic violence, and
lence,”80 other times, it’s the spark. Vio- other violence against women.
lent talk, they write, can “reinforce the Providing incels a platform amplifies
SPRING/SUMMER 2021 Political Research Associates • 9
BY MARIEL COOKSEY
Why Are Gen Z Girls Attracted to the
Tradwives Lifestyle?
An advertisement from Ladies Home Journal in 1948, showing a woman with an apron and a refrigerator full of food. (Credit: Wikimedia Commons)
A
t first glance, Sarah (not her real name) is your average, social-media-savvy, Generation Z girl.1 Her Instagram account is
typical of a “Zoomer” feminine aesthetic: inspired by the alternative, colorful style of late 1990s/early 2000s countercul-
ture fashion, her page is full of sparkles, Hello Kitties, black-painted nails, and a photo of her Nike Airs.
What you wouldn’t be able to discern at first glance is Sarah’s far-right political leanings. Supported by a follower count of over
17,000, her TikTok account provides her a substantial platform to spread her gospel of right-wing, anti-feminist, and anti–LGBTQ
10 • The Public Eye SPRING/SUMMER 2021rhetoric. Mixed in with her lip-syncing of followers on Instagram and YouTube.5 tion Z—those born after 199616 and collo-
videos about boys and her favorite bands, These influencers use their platforms quially known as “Zoomers”17—is a cohort
she comments frequently on the degen- to guide “red pilled”6 women, teaching of internet natives. Scarcely aware of a
eracy of feminism, repeats racist stereo- them how to cast off the chains of modern pre-internet reality, they were raised in
types about Black men, jokes about kill- feminism and embrace traditionalism.7 the “Lean In” era of feminism and are im-
ing liberals, and shames White people While traditionalist, gender restrictive mersed in a constant stream of web infor-
who criticize their own race. roles for women have been prevalent in mation. They also statistically skew more
Sarah isn’t alone. She’s part of a grow- right-wing religious groups for centuries,8 progressive, are less intent on fixed gender
ing group of teenage girls and young the tradwife movement is a uniquely so- roles,18 and are more ethnically diverse19
women who fully embrace the misogy- cial-media-based movement, defined by and queerer20 than most generations be-
fore them. But amid this overall trend of
greater progressivism, a subsection of far-
Mixed in with her lip-syncing videos about boys and right Gen Z women is mounting its own
her favorite bands, she comments frequently on the social media backlash. Within this world,
women and girls, sometimes as young
degeneracy of feminism, repeats racist stereotypes about as 16, are amassing tens of thousands of
Black men, jokes about killing liberals, and shames views on TikTok by presenting themselves
White people who criticize their own race. as aspiring tradwives, lip-syncing or danc-
ing to trending rap or pop music as they
disparage women’s rights, quote the Bible,
nistic talking points of the Far Right. On contemporary marketing strategies and and muse about the modest outfits they’ll
any given day you’ll find them on TikTok social clout. Popular influencers will of- wear and the meals they’ll cook once
preaching a “hip-to-be-square” lifestyle: ten post YouTube videos giving advice on they’ve married.21
modest, often zealously religious, and how to make your husband happy,9 how to Zoomers’ foray into tradwifery sig-
purposefully restricted. In their videos express femininity in a “God Honoring” nals a massive change in the movement.
and on their Twitter accounts, between way,10 and general criticisms of feminism Not only is this ideology becoming more
posting fashion inspiration and memes, to their numerous subscribers.11 mainstream with younger, Right-leaning
they fantasize explicitly about the myth- While not all tradwives associate with female audiences, it’s becoming integrat-
ical post-war Americana of the mid-20th White supremacist politics—and not ed into Gen Z internet culture, taking on
century, which they envision as full of all are Christian fundamentalists—the timely cultural trends, political views,
Aryan nuclear families and blonde, Tup- movement offers an elegant solution for and concepts of gender. Tradwifery is a
perware-touting women who are submis- women seeking acceptance in White na- complicated movement, entangled in a
sive to their husbands. tionalist factions. Some popular tradwife difficult history of patriarchal religiosity,
The online trend Sarah is part of is influencers are explicit in their connection racism, and misogyny, but aspiring Zoom-
known as “tradwifery”: a movement to far-right ideas, using their platforms to er tradwives are actively simplifying it,
that’s part aesthetic and part ideology, disseminate White supremacist propa- transforming tradwife ideology into fun,
encouraging women to embrace sup- ganda. Social media personalities Ayla musical video bites, easily digested by
posedly feminine characteristics like Stewart (aka “Wife With A Purpose”)12 and their followers in 30 seconds or less.
chastity and submissiveness, and trade Caitlin Huber (aka “Mrs. Midwest”)13 both While much research into the Far Right
feminist empowerment for a patriarchal follow and interact with White national- has focused on young men’s radicaliza-
vision of gender norms.2 In some circles, ist accounts online. Stewart in particular tion into White supremacist and White
being a tradwife—short for “traditional has spread White supremacist ideas such nationalist groups, considerably less at-
wife”—also means being a fundamental- as “replacement theory,” the conspira- tention has been paid to the radicaliza-
ist Christian, and accepting that women torial belief that White people are being tion process of modern-day teenage girls.
shouldn’t work, shouldn’t have the right systematically replaced by non-White im- But just as young men have been lured
to vote, and should fully submit to their migrants.14 More prominent influencers, into the far-right pipeline by edgy meme
husbands and their faith to live a happy including Huber, are more circumspect culture and red pill rhetoric, trad girls
life of homemaking.3 in their political associations, following may be crafting their own domestic wing
Emerging as an online movement White supremacist and neonazi accounts of the movement, one like at a time.
around the 2016 election and the rise of on Instagram but not explicitly repeating
the Alt Right, the first generation of trad- pro-White propaganda.15
wives, dominated by Millennial house- But with the rise of new social platforms THE GENERATIONAL BACKLASH TO FEMINISM
wives and mothers,4 is older than Sarah. like TikTok, which generally appeal to a Understanding the draw of tradwifery
The most popular tradwife influencers younger demographic, the movement is requires first understanding the histor-
have a large audience, with the largest poised to spread as a new generation of ical and cultural context in which Gen-
10-15 accounts having tens of thousands girls are introduced to #tradlife. Genera- eration Z has come of age, particularly in
SPRING/SUMMER 2021 Political Research Associates • 11regard to feminism and gender roles. tives,” day-care centers, community kitch- inism, warning that working women em-
A certain strand of third wave femi- ens, and dining halls that would be run by powered by feminism are stunting their
nism, which took hold in the U.S. in the paid female domestic workers.26 In theory, children’s growth and tearing the tradi-
early 2010s, popularized “individualis- employing collective or communal moth- tional family structure apart.29 As aca-
tic careerism feminism”22 or what we’ve ering in order to give women working in demic Angela Nagle explains in her book
come to know as corporate feminism other fields a chance to progress in their Kill All Normies, this argument debuted
or #girlboss culture.23 This version of careers was a good idea. In practice, these at the height of second wave feminism
feminism was epitomized by works like ideas were implemented in a system of in the late 1960s and early '70s, when
Facebook COO Sheryl Sandberg’s 2013 racial capitalism, leading to the contra- conservative anti-feminists like Phyllis
book, Lean In, which focused more on dictions of this ideology being resolved Schlafly battled the Equal Rights Amend-
individual women pursuing corporate by employing (and underpaying) working ment on the grounds that women’s equal-
success over systemic critiques of gen- class and poor women of color.27 ity would “destroy the US family, moral
der bias at work.24 This style of corpo- We are now in the fourth wave of U.S. restraints and tradition.”30 Backlash lead-
rate feminism was criticized for pri- feminism—a movement progressively ers in Schlafly’s era celebrated traditional
oritizing capitalistic success for elite, more focused on diversity, intersection- gender roles for women as the backbone
primarily White women intent on com- alism, queerness, and openness about of the nation, honoring domestic labor
peting with male colleagues at the ex- sexual violence and assault than earlier and childbearing as vital work in the ser-
pense of broader group solidarity, inter- waves. But for all these positive steps, vice of preserving tradition and a conser-
sectionalism, and racial justice.25 many women have been failed by the vative status quo. Fifty years later, the Far
Corporate feminism also paid little compromises of modern feminism and Right has reaffirmed that message and
attention to the first wave dream of do- late-stage capitalism, unable to find make explicit its racial agenda as well:
mestic revolution. In pursuit of financial a workable solution for the quandary that White women embracing #tradlife is
independence and social equality, mate- of work-life balance. Gen Z girls have the key to saving the “White race.”31
rial feminist leaders in the 19th and ear- watched their working mothers lean into And so, today, young women trying to
ly 20th centuries believed that women unequal workplaces only to earn less gain access to male-dominated far-right
would need to socialize housework and money in a capitalist system that also de- circles encounter an endless stream of
childcare in order to manage both work values their domestic workload.28 anti-feminist rhetoric, and often proudly
and domestic life and thus campaigned At the same time, the Far Right has re- embrace the label. On female-exclusive
for the creation of “housewife coopera- newed its old backlash fight against fem- right-wing Reddit forums like r/Red-
PillWomen, they echo far-right talking
points about women’s sexual value or bio-
logical duties, and how feminism doesn’t
liberate women but diverts them from
their true calling as mothers and wives.32
In the mid-2010s, Alt Right social media
influencers Lauren Southern and Lana
Lokteff recruited women by framing their
choice to reject feminism and join the Far
Right as an act of empowerment, leaving
behind the “false consciousness” of liber-
alism, equal rights, and anti-racism.33
Perhaps affected by their own expe-
rience with working mothers or simply
influenced by far-right talking points,
aspiring Gen Z tradwives often echo
the same anti-feminist, anti-work, and
pro-family sentiments. Yet, despite these
claims, aspiring tradwives on TikTok
also unknowingly repeat feminist rhet-
oric: openly promoting gender equal-
ity in relationship decision-making;
pushing back against objectification
and over-sexualization of women, par-
ticularly of under-age girls; and criticiz-
ing the porn industry for normalizing
A meme from the tradwife reddit forum on the differences between feminists and tradwives. Recreated by PRA. sexual violence and aggression against
12 • The Public Eye SPRING/SUMMER 2021women.34 Much like Schlafly in the '70s, sitting around the fire, eating dinner, or attitude toward women can be summed
today’s anti-feminist tradwives use the attending church. As Christou surmises, up by America First leader Nick Fuentes’
victories of feminism to undermine the these mythical portrayals also serve as unofficial mantra: “no e-girls, never!”42
very movement that fought for them to “coded language on demographic panics,” (E-girls is a slang term for teenage girl
have such agency. And as young, mostly harkening back to a time when the Amer- influencers with a cute, anime-inspired
unmarried people in middle-class Amer- ican identity was primarily White, conser- aesthetic.43) Young far-right groups like
ica—where many aspects of basic gender vative, and heterosexual, and making an Fuentes’ base—commonly known as
equality are taken for granted—their ad- implicit call to restore that status quo.37 Groypers44—typically exclude women
vocacy is mostly risk-free, allowing them These videos paint a clear picture: tra- and girls.45 Fuentes has also openly ar-
to push back against liberal convention ditionalist Gen Z women are dreaming of gued that “women cannot be red pilled,”46
and modernity without much threat of a perfect marriage in a culturally conser- and thus cannot be part of the move-
facing danger or oppression themselves. vative world, untouched by queerness, ment47; or, as he more succinctly put it,
Tradwifery, as the technologized, aesthet- immigration, and progressivism. In these “my ideology is fuck women.”48
icized movement it has become, offers a fantasies they are adored homemakers, While Fuentes’ sentiment cannot be
perfect gateway for teenage women to ex- respected and cared for, financially and applied to all young paleoconservatives,
periment with anti-feminist right-wing emotionally, by traditionally mascu- his viewpoint (and his popularity among
and far-right politics from the safety of line men—men who are wealthy, fertile, Gen Z White nationalists) could be indic-
their parents’ homes. handsome, and strong, but also tender, ative of the Far Right’s evolving gender
kind, and cognizant of their needs.38 relations. If women are no longer able to
In reality, gender dynamics are shifting participate in the Far Right—even in gen-
INCREASINGLY COMPLICATED GENDER quickly for Generation Z; particularly in der segregated spheres like the r/RedPill-
ROLES AND RELATIONSHIPS liberal-leaning groups, more Gen Z men Women forum—the traditional symbiot-
Another important factor for aspir- are ditching traditional notions of manli- ic relationship between men and women
ing Gen Z tradwives is the promise of ness in favor of a more empathetic vision in White nationalist movements could
a fulfilling, traditionalist relationship. of their gender identity,39 with about half be changing. As Kathleen Belew, author
In response to their generational peers’ of the Gen Z population agreeing that tra- of Bring the War Home, recounts in her
widespread acceptance of queerness and ditional gender norms and gender labels chapter “Race War and White Women,”
gender non-conformity, tradwife influ- are outdated.40 This is in tandem with a women’s activism has always been cru-
encers often conspicuously push back by noticeable uptick in self-identified fluidi- cial to the success of White supremacist
aggressively romanticizing heterosexu- ty, with 41 percent of polled Zoomers from groups, strengthening social and familial
ality and heteronormative gender roles.35 Western countries identifying as “neutral” bonds within the movements and pro-
viding more attractive spokespeople for
White supremacist positions on female
These mythical portrayals also serve as “coded language sexuality, “race-mixing,” and abortion.49
on demographic panics,” harkening back to a time But if the Groypers’ female-exclusionary
trend continues or spreads, it may repre-
when the American identity was primarily White, sent a pattern where both far-right men
conservative, and heterosexual, and making an implicit and women share the same desire for a
call to restore that status quo. traditionalist, heteronormative relation-
ship, but have diametrically opposed ex-
pectations for what that looks like, leav-
As Miranda Christou, a senior fellow at in terms of their position “on the spectrum ing them unable to relate to one another.
the Centre for Analysis of the Radical of masculinity and femininity.”41
Right, details in her article “#TradWives: This evolving vision of masculinity has
Sexism as Gateway to White Supremacy,” caused intense backlash among far-right THE FEAR OF COLLAPSE
words like “tradition” and “traditional” Gen Z men. Young male White national- The last, and often underrepresented,
invoke notions of heritage and national- ists have begun putting enormous stock factor drawing Gen Z women to trad-
ism, even if, as she adds, these traditions in supporting and identifying with male wifery is the fear of imminent collapse.
are merely “frozen moments in history chauvinism and aggressive heterosexu- Collapse, as an all-encompassing term,
arbitrarily chosen from the cultural rep- ality, attempting to distance themselves includes mass displacement, economic
ertoire as ‘the’ authentic expression of from what they perceive to be their gen- depression, food scarcity as agricultur-
the national collective.”36 For tradwives, eration’s degeneracy. Women-bashing al production fails, political upheaval,
that means their depiction of tradition in and slut-shaming as a way to assert dom- the end of non-renewable resources,
TikTok videos tends to glamorize a myth- inance is nearly ubiquitous in Zoomer disease, war, and irremediable climate
ical post-war 1950s Americana, populated Christian paleoconservative and White change.50 Eco-anxiety in particular is
by White, often blonde, nuclear families nationalist circles. There, the general common, with many Zoomers and Mil-
SPRING/SUMMER 2021 Political Research Associates • 13You can also read
