Digital Interactions, Non-Digital Consequences: Racism, Misogyny and Lgbtphobia in the Core of the Manosphere

The internet works as an environment for the construction of online ecosystems and communities where masculinist ideals are discussed and spread, being known as the “manosphere.” The inhabitants of these digital environments interact on platforms to share ideas, practices, opinions and experiences from their daily lives. From the premise that a continuum between the online and offline dimensions exists, we analyzed the discourses produced in “manosphere” environments, considering general and contextual aspects of debates on gender and the construction of masculinities. We followed the interactions of the largest and most active Brazilian in this research. Chan forums are image and text-based platforms, where users interact anonymously. They are characterized by misogynistic, racist and LGBTphobic content, with right-wing and far-right political ideals. We discuss the movement of discussions held by “manosphere” inhabitants to “non-digital” contexts, considering the unprecedented growth in expressions of violence, misogyny and LGBTphobia. The content found in these environments include frequent reports that villainize women, expressions of frustration and resentment, calls to violence and retaliation, and models of masculinity to be followed or rejected. We argue that this type of social network, made possible by the connections promoted, is both a form of expression and a way of producing a rupture with the modern civilizational pact based on human rights. Digital environments connect these men, mostly cisgender, white and heterosexual, who find in them a place of mutual support and freedom to disseminate hate speech. There is a strong appreciation for the colonization process, expressed, for example, in the terms and symbols used on the forum. The strengthening and spread of this ideology are increasingly invading the public arena, with political candidates and representatives who adhere to this type of worldview in fragile representative democracies, as is the case in Brazil and other Latin American countries.