Online misogyny and the manosphere: Defending discourses of ‘free speech’ within the alt-right and beyond

Online misogyny and the manosphere: Defending discourses of 'free speech' within the alt-right and beyond 2Popular discourse within the US and the UK on the topic of free speech suggests that free speech is under severe threat from liberal or left-leaning sensitivities.The view from the right tends to be that so called 'cancel culture' prevails and the 'woke mob' is intent on closing down debate and curbing sensible discussion in the name of 'right-on' cultural sensibilities (Steel 2024).These claims are often fuelled by an array of right-wing and libertarian sentiments that purport to defend free speech as a social good and guard against the erosion of wider freedoms and the slide towards conformity and authoritarianism.Yet these same sentiments, while purporting to advocate freedom of speech, also act to limit the voice of women, the marginalised and the oppressed.This paper examines how discourses within the 'manosphere' -the specifically misogynistic arm of the alt-right -reflect the prioritisation of certain free speech privileges whilst at the same time actively limiting and silencing voices of women online.The paper focuses on the language of free speech within these online spaces and in contemporary discourse which acts at the same time to both protect the free speech rights of misogynists and attack and undermine women.