Transient Formation and Reconfiguration of the Manosphere: A Case Study of Anti-Feminist Consumer Boycotts in South Korea

This paper transports readers to South Korea, a nation with one of the world's highest internet access rates and widest gender gaps. Amidst this paradox, recent years have seen a rise in online communities and movements that promote male-centric grievances and hostility towards women. Scholarship on this phenomenon invokes concepts such as 'incel ideology' and the 'manosphere'. The former refers to a belief that women, especially feminists, exploit men financially and emotionally. The latter refers to a loose network of male-dominated platforms, applications, and websites where such beliefs are shared, echoed, and reinforced.

Drawing upon the author's multi-year digital ethnography of misogyny and gender-based violence in South Korea, this paper offers a contextualised analysis of high-profile anti-feminist mobilisations between 2021 and 2023. It examines campaigns that male users have launched against female creators, alleging that these creators have embedded covert misandry symbols in their artwork and social media posts. Collectives have emerged and dispersed around rallying points, such as the 'pinching hand emoji' (or images that resemble it), which is interpreted as a disparaging symbol for small male genitalia. Numerous female illustrators accused of incorporating such symbols have been dismissed from their jobs, often in violation of labour protection laws, and have been forced to issue public apologies for their past social media activities and renounce feminism.

Coordinated harassment against women in the gaming and creative industries is not unique to South Korea. However, the significant contribution of this study lies in its focus on how Korean manosphere users enact incel ideology through a blending of conspiracy theorist behaviours with capitalist consumer identities. The study challenges the prevailing characterisation of the manosphere as a cluster of clearly contained online communities. Instead, it reveals that these communities are fluid, driven by specific issues, and have real-world consequences.