Abstract

This doctoral research examines women’s involvement in the manosphere, an online network of antifeminist communities. In the wake of recent violent attacks against women and other groups, these communities and their activities are receiving increasing media attention across the Western world. Heeding the call for more in-depth investigation, many masculinity scholars have begun to study organized antifeminism online. But while the men who participate in online antifeminist networks are now receiving attention, with few exceptions, no scholars have examined women’s participation in these same networks. Through a netnographic approach, the project presents a comprehensive case study of four women's groups within the manosphere, aiming to explore the motivations that drive individuals to participate in these antifeminist communities. The research goes beyond the prevailing focus on masculinity by examining how gender conceptions and lived experiences intersect with broader power structures, influencing women's participation in these online spaces. By centering women's perspectives within a predominantly male-dominated and often misogynistic discourse, the research contributes to the emerging scholarship on women and femininities within the field of men and masculinity studies, and complicates the way that these women are framed in the mass media. The findings reveal that women actively contribute to the perpetuation of dominant masculinities in local contexts, cooperating with and perpetuating discourses and practices associated with the hegemonic gender order. Simultaneously, these women carve out spaces for themselves, creating their own discourses to navigate the hegemonic gender order. This doctoral thesis contributes significantly to the understanding of women’s participation in the manosphere, expanding the scholarship on men and masculinity studies and enriching our comprehension of gender dynamics in online communities and broader socio-cultural systems.