What two things do most mass shooters, terrorists, or violent extremists have in common? Most of us know the first: they are almost always men or boys. But the second? They are almost always virulent misogynists, homophobes, or transphobes—even if they are also motivated by racism, antisemitism, or xenophobia. The antigovernment militiamen charged with plotting to kidnap and execute Michigan governor Gretchen Whitmer used language saturated with misogyny, with one telling an FBI informant, “Just grab the bitch.” The men who killed scores at Virginia Tech, the Pulse nightclub, and a Maryland newsroom all had prior reports of stalking, domestic violence, or harassment of women. And in dozens of other incidents—from North America to Norway to New Zealand—an increasing number of misogynist incel (involuntary celibate) and male supremacist attackers have explicitly targeted and killed women, blaming feminism or sexual frustration with women as motivation for their attacks.
Yet, despite all evidence, the bright red thread of misogyny running through these attacks is barely acknowledged by the media or even experts—and this failing leaves us powerless to stop the violence. In Man Up, Cynthia Miller-Idriss, a leading expert on extremism, addresses this crucial oversight head-on, revealing how an epidemic of misogyny—both online and off—and a patriarchal backlash are driving an exponential rise in mass and far-right violence. She also offers essential strategies that all of us—including parents, teachers, and counselors—can use to fight the rising tide of violence, beginning with recognizing the misogyny that pervades our everyday lives.
Cynthia Miller-Idriss is a sociologist and professor in the School of Public Affairs and the School of Education at American University, where she is the founding director of the Polarization and Extremism Research and Innovation Lab (PERIL). An MSNBC columnist and a regular commentator in US and international media, Miller-Idriss is the author of Hate in the Homeland: The New Global Far Right (91ĚŇÉ«), The Extreme Gone Mainstream: Commercialization and Far Right Youth Culture in Germany (91ĚŇÉ«), and Blood and Culture: Youth, Right-Wing Extremism, and National Belonging in Contemporary Germany.
“Women-hating is a central feature of far-right culture. Miller-Idriss guides us on how this happened and what it means for how gender operates today.”—Kathleen M. Blee, coauthor of Out of Hiding: Extremist White Supremacy and How It Can Be Stopped
“Man Up helps us understand the explicit connections between misogyny, homophobia, and violence. Incredibly compelling.”—C. J. Pascoe, author of Nice Is Not Enough: Inequality and the Limits of Kindness at American High
“In Man Up, Cynthia Miller-Idriss provides a luminous and disturbing account of the misogyny at the heart of far-right movements. By connecting everyday sexism to spectacular gender-based violence, she convincingly argues that our collective failure to address seemingly mundane forms of gendered discrimination allows it to fester and eventually explode. This book comes at exactly the right time.”—Victor Ray, author of On Critical Race Theory: Why It Matters and Why You Should Care
“A deeply researched, thoughtful book on a topic that we must grapple with fully: the manosphere, in all its particulars, its threats, and its false promises to boys and men. Every parent, teacher, and school administrator should read it. This book is a flare in the darkness.”—Rachel Louise Snyder, author of No Visible Bruises and Women We Buried, Women We Burned
“Man Up is a highly original and engrossing exploration of the symbiosis between misogyny, gendered violence, and political extremism. Parents and government officials alike will find Cynthia Miller-Idriss’s in-depth research, compelling analysis, and strong recommendations both timely and insightful.”—Bruce Hoffman, coauthor of God, Guns, and Sedition: Far-Right Terrorism in America
“Man Up is a crucial addition to our framework of understanding misogyny, the lifeblood of hate-fueled violence, as a generational phenomenon that is quickly becoming a national emergency. Miller-Idriss is, through her forward-thinking approach toward social health, charting a new discipline that could not be more urgent.”—Ryan Greer, president of Bedrock, a nonprofit that works to prevent hate-fueled violence in America
“In Man Up, Cynthia Miller-Idriss offers a powerful reckoning with the gendered foundations of rising violent extremism. Drawing on case studies, data, and firsthand experiences, she shows how misogyny is a central force driving radicalization, hate, and political violence. With urgency and precision, Miller-Idriss argues that we cannot understand or interrupt extremism without grappling with the patriarchal systems and cultural norms that sustain it.”—Tristan Bridges, University of California, Santa Barbara
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