The Kavanaugh Hearings and the #MeToo Movement Through the Distorted Mirror of The Red Pill and Incel Message Boards

Abstract The “manosphere” is a collection of internet communities across message boards, blogs, and websites where men openly voice their hatred of feminism and veneration of hegemonic masculinity. We explored how two of these communities (Red Pill and Incel) understood and responded to the U.S. Senate hearings on Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh, as well as the recently culturally relevant #MeToo movement. Through a reflexive thematic analysis of 98 posts (266,435 words) from Red Pill and Incel, we found that men in these communities tended to construct sexual assault and larger cultural conversations through a worldview that endorses rape myths as true. Victims of sexual assault were viewed as hungry for power. Men (including Kavanaugh) were understood as the real victims of the #MeToo movement. Responses to these constructions of the Kavanaugh hearing and the #MeToo movement included antipathy toward women, hopelessness (Incel), protecting oneself from supposed false sexual assault allegations (Red Pill), and political mobilization attempts. Although both communities expressed a desire for regressive, anti-woman policies, the incel community specifically expressed a desire for Kavanaugh to be confirmed so that he would help overturn Roe v. Wade to punish women for their sexuality. We discuss these understandings and responses in relation to theories of sexual aggression. For anti-rape activists, this research shows extreme rape-supportive beliefs that connect to a broader rape culture. For clinicians and parents, this research explores anti-relational stances on sexuality in manosphere communities that can only be avoided or addressed once they are thoroughly understood.