Diving into the online “manosphere” is not for the faint of heart. These online communities have been recognized by many worldwide organizations as extremist and potentially dangerous for the propagation of online gender-based hate and violence. The network of online hate subcultures ranges from groups arguing against gender equality to blatant white supremacy. A connection that is closer than some may initially assume.
what is Redpilling?
The terms “redpilling” and “red pill” typically refer to a political awakening and are strongly tied to the 1999 film The Matrix. In an iconic scene from the film, Neo, played by Keanu Reaves, takes a red pill to show him the reality of the world. This has been picked up in conversations on politics. As an analogy for learning more about the state of politics or to represent the Democratic and Republican parties, the colors are associated with their respective parties.
The Anti-Defamation League the leading anti-hate organization in the world, specializing in researching hate speech, found that the use of “redpilling” is not always associated with extremism, but is occasionally used by far-right movements.
In the manosphere, the act of taking the red pill may be associated with viewing women in a negative light, often as someone seeking money from a man who is pacified by sex. Red pill culture also comes with a vocabulary, however, even though not all online red pill groups associate with these terms they appear often enough to generally be considered part of the subculture.
Terms like “alpha,” a sexually dominant male, “sexual market value (SMV),” what someone brings to a relationship, and “Alpha F*cks/Beta Bucks (AF/BB),” a shorthand way of saying that women categorize men into two categories. Men they seek to have sexual relationships with and “beta males” they look to financially and emotionally benefit from in exchange for sex.
Redpilling is also associated with male supremacy, misogyny, and men’s activism. Forbes acknowledged that men in the red pill subculture often heavily subscribe to anti-feminist ideology hanging onto gender stereotypes. These men are also cited to be highly manipulative. A 2024 study found that men within the subculture exhibited Dark Triad (DT) traits a set of personality traits consisting of subclinical psychopathy, narcissism, and Machiavellianism.
Moreover, the study found that men involved with red pill groups online “consistently displayed self-interest and willingness to use manipulation to meet their needs, portraying themselves to their partners and the world as successful while callously disregarding partners’ emotions in their pursuit of sex or social desirability.”
Where the red Pill Resides
The red pill ideology is often found in online groups. An example of this is the infamous Reddit page The Red Pill published in October 2012. Claiming to be a forum to discuss men’s identity, sexual strategy, and ways to navigate the current state of the world for the benefit of men, the page has since been quarantined and age-restricted. As per the page rules, questions and conversations about morality are strictly banned. Consequently, TRP attracts a large number of extremists.
TRP is an example of how online groups can spiral out of control and move into these subcultures. Some posts express a desire to go back to the original intent of The Red Pill and others lean into the misogynistic aspects of the culture. A post on the thread titled “Committing to a woman will never take you to your dream” exhibits some of the thoughts associated with anti-feminist ideology. This post, like many others, discusses relationships with women as if they are an exchange for sex.
User Ill_Will7 wrote, “Do you really want to serve a woman in exchange for sex? What happens when the sex starts to diminish, will you be happy being with her still? If you don’t have a vision for something greater, you will become her tool, to fuel her dream. The same basic dream every girl has. Get married have children and control her man.”
Outside of online forums, some of this ideology is also found in notorious podcasts, like The Dick Show hosted by Dick Masterson, author of Men Are Better Than Women. Slightly different from TRP, Masterson’s work focuses explicitly on how men are, in his view, better than women in what is described as “dangerous satire.” Similarly, one of the most famous figures in the alpha-male world, Andrew Tate, has contributed to the podcast world. His general online presence has made a lasting impact on some of these online groups. On social media, Tate expresses his views regarding women with one instance that resulted in his restriction on X where he claimed that women should bear responsibility for their sexual assault. If it weren’t for the rise of these groups, it could be assumed that these figures are anomalies, but unfortunately, it isn’t that simple.
how did we get here?
The internet is a breeding ground for subcultures as the unfortunate backbone of the involuntary celibate (incel) and men’s rights activist movements. Even with variations of these groups being around for hundreds of years, the rise of the internet has made them significantly more organized.
Despite explicit politics often sitting outside red pill conversation the subculture crosses over into conversations of white supremacy. While not all misogynists are white supremacists and not all white supremacists are misogynists there is a strong link between the two concepts. The incel, MRA, red pill, and similar movements stand hand in hand with white supremacy as partners in hate with a high amount of cross-contamination that can ultimately lead to radicalization.
The ADL cites the similarities between the alt-right and online hate groups, stating that “The alt-right is defined by its white supremacist and anti-Semitic ideology, but when alt-righters talk about the women who are standing between them and their ‘rightful’ position, their language is virtually indistinguishable from what you can find on misogynistic MRA or incel message boards.”
While it’s possible those involved in these groups do not personally share the misogynistic beliefs of their prominent figures participation could make these ideologies seem normal. When desensitized to groups like incels or red pill misogynists it can lead to a deeper dive into more blatant hate like white supremacist groups, or even in extreme cases, the possibility of full radicalization. Even if just acting as a spectator, contributing to these groups inadvertently spreads these ideologies and hate. To take the red pill on the red pill internet, it all goes much deeper than just dating advice and locker room talk.