And the next speaker in this session at the Social Media & Society conference in Glasgow is Catherine Baker, whose focus is on scientific claims in the (Neo-)Manosphere. The far right is often described as anti-science, but this is too simplistic; instead, they are more selective in their engagement with scientific information.
The Manosphere is now well-established as an amalgamation of misogynist and anti-feminist groups, traditionally based in online fora and communities but increasingly also mainstreamed into generic social media and especially also streaming media sites. This has led to the rise of the term Neo-Manosphere to describe these new formats.
Manosphere content often draws on scientific claims, with emphasis on ‘gender science’ amongst manfluencers and the phenomenon of ‘evidence-based misogyny’. This content adopts a scientific veneer in order to support its claims.
This project engaged in a cross-platform digital ethnography, examining Manosphere content from a range of streaming and social media platforms identified through integrative cross-platform searches. A particular focus here was on how ideas travel between these spaces, communities, and actors, too.
There are several key scientific domains being mobilised here: evolutionary psychology, which frames gender roles as immutable biological facts and translates this into dating scripts and relationship strategies; neuroscience, which emphasises the impact of neurochemicals on personal attainment and presents masculinity as a neoliberal self-optimisation project; and endocrinology, which utilises scientific findings to create a crisis narrative for declining masculinity.
This is a rhetorical repertoire of ‘bro-science’ which selectively draws on academic research and concepts to legitimise masculinist gender norms and hierarchies – and of course to sell courses, supplements, and other money-making grift. The problem in addressing this is that the underlying research may well be legitimate, but is decontextualised out of all proportion.
