From Moron to Misogyny Master: Social Media and the Conflation of Entertainment and Education in the Radicalisation of Young Boys into Anti-Women Ideology. Author: Marie Guthrie

TikTok, Instagram, Reddit: it is seldom that one will meet a young person that does not have any involvement with social media apps just like these, with 95% of 13–15-year-olds in the UK owning a mobile phone and 95% of them using social media (Ofcom, 2025). The way in which young people consume and engage with online content has significantly shifted – social media is no longer seen solely as a space for entertainment but as a source of news and education too. The risk lies in the lines between the two beginning to blur, with it being increasingly difficult for young impressionable viewers to have discernment over the validity of the content being consumed due to the way in which content creators speak in absolutes without having to have any factual backing. I aim to bring awareness to the growing danger of the radicalisation of young boys into anti-women ideology on social media from the proliferation of misogynistic and ‘Red Pill’ content and how such radicalisation is detrimental in the fight against violence against women. It is of utmost importance to preface that the following is in no way an attempt to relieve individuals of personal responsibility for having hateful views or perpetuating violence but is an aid in understanding how messages of violence against women are propagated in society through social media and are effectively instilled in young boys.

The Red Pill (TRP) is a Reddit forum of men that believe feminism is an “illusion” from which they have freed themselves that seeks to exploit under the guise of female oppression (Valkenburgh, 2021: 89). (It is important to note that since the 14^{th of} July 2025 Reddit has put in place measures to age restrict mature content in the forms of uploading ID or facial recognition, however prior Reddit did not have forms of age verification.) The forum distinguishes itself against others alike by “claiming that its seduction strategies are uniquely founded on such “scientific”… theories” (Valkenburgh, 2021: 85) whilst placing merit on Evolutionary Psychology (EP), a heavily contested branch of science which “often relies on retroactive evolutionary deduction” to explain “sexual differences in behaviour” (Valkenburgh, 2021: 92). Male content creators who attach themselves to TRP ideology, such as Andrew Tate, are able to spout extremely charged rhetoric regarding women that aim to uphold hegemonic masculinity, a “gender practice that…supports gender inequality” (Pascoe, 2011: 7) and believes in male dominance over women. By placing an importance on being scientific the forum portrays itself as an enlightened source of information about the ways men should feel towards and conduct themselves around women, despite having little empirical evidence.

This becomes increasingly concerning when looking at specific theories that EP claim to be true, such as a woman will feign disinterest because she’s “testing…for persistence” (Valkenburgh, 2024: 93) and that women will “disingenuously” decline sex at the last minute to “save face” but will actually (secretly) still want to (Valkenburgh, 2024: 93-94). Theories like these demonise women to portray them as duplicitous and self-serving. Simultaneously, hegemonic masculinity is characterised by engaging in sexualised discussions of and experiences with girls (Pascoe, 2011: 5). Impressionable boys are being told girls value persistence even if they resist and that they are more of a man if they have sexual encounters with girls. It is obvious how these messages together promote violence against women, with men feeling as if they can decide what a woman really means, even if that contrasts with what she’s directly said. TRP ideology has informed cases of violence against women, such as mass shooter Elliot Roger who wrote that theories as such reified to him “how wicked and degenerate women really are” (Roger, quoted in Valkenburgh, 2024: 85). These opinions, masked as ‘theories’, are drivers of hate and violence that seek to prey on the insecurities of male youth by painting women as the enemy that are out to humiliate them. An aspect of hegemonic masculinity includes a hierarchy of men, with those who follow ideals of aggression and dominance at the top and are preceded by “complicit masculinity” or “subordinated masculinity” (Pascoe, 2011: 7). Already navigating their position in the world and amongst their peers, young boys are told that they must be aggressive and dominant over the women in their lives else they face the possibility of being humiliated and less than other men around them.

The hit TV series Adolescence 2025 spearheaded much discussion on the issue of TRP radicalisation in male youth, as it depicts a young boy murdering a girl because she had rejected his advances and mocked him for it. This seems like a clear cautionary tale for the dangers of unchecked social media use for young boys, yet I observed much backlash on social media from men who claim the show to be anti-men propaganda. Violence against women at the hands of men will never be taken seriously as long as men only feel the need to get defensive when these cases are brought up, obscuring the genuine fears of women and putting men’s feelings at the forefront.

There must be much reform around the way violence against women is presented in society — it can no longer be looked at solely as an individual issue and must be shown as being propagated through the messages individuals, especially at a young age, are being fed, particularly through social media. There must be a much bigger awareness to parents and educators about the dangers of unchecked social media usage for children, as well as awareness to children about the ways in which they may get manipulated into harmful ideologies online. I argue that social media apps should follow Reddit in requiring age verification for content that is deemed mature and unfit for impressionable minds, and to even go a step further and verify the content that they are allowing to live on their platform. Those spreading misinformation for the purpose of inciting hate and violence cannot be allowed to continue at the expense of those they choose to target.

References

Adolescence. 2025. Netflix, 13 March.

Haslop, C., Ringrose, J., Cambazoglu, I. and Milne, B. 2024. Mainstreaming the Manosphere’s Misogyny Through Affective Homosocial Currencies: Exploring How Teen Boys Navigate the Andrew Tate Effect. Social Media + Society 10(1). doi: 10.1177/20563051241228811

Ofcom. 2025. Children and Parents: Media Use and Attitudes Report. Available at: https://www.ofcom.org.uk/ . [Accessed: 29 November 2025]

Pascoe, C. J. 2011. Dude, You’re a Fag: Masculinity and Sexuality in High School (2nd ed.). University of California Press. E-book. (Pp: 1-15) Available at: https://r4.vlereader.com/Reader?ean=9780520950696  [Accessed 29 November 2025]

Valkenburgh, S. P. V. 2021. Digesting the Red Pill: Masculinity and Neoliberalism in the Manosphere. Men and Masculinities 24(1), pp. 84-103. doi: 10.1177/1097184X18816118