The emotional dynamics of the red pill: whiteness and masculinity in the online debate about gender-based violence in Brazil

Following the anti-gender campaigns that were part of the right-wing populist turn in Brazil, several actors, including influencers, online platforms, online social movements, blogs, and forums, have taken over the task of seeking to deconstruct feminism and the agenda for gender equality that has been consolidated. These actors compose the so-called manosphere. They are inspired by global trends, such as the red pill and the men going their own way (MGTOW) movements, and seek, as part of their agenda, to revert the criticism posed by feminist activists and scholars to gender inequality and patriarchy. A particularly contentious point in the Brazilian manosphere agenda is the deconstruction of the theme of gender-based violence. These actors have produced contents (videos, podcasts and documentaries) that not only seek to provide the anti-gender movement with “arguments” and “knowledge” about ‘gender ideology’, but also challenge the veracity of well-known cases of gender violence in Brazil. For instance, Brazil Paralelo, a well consolidated right-wing platform, recently published a series of documentaries contesting the violence suffered by Maria da Penha, a survivor whose activism contributed to found the first comprehensive law against domestic violence in Brazil. Firstly, the manosphere contest the validity of the argument that feminicide and all forms of gender-based violence are urgent problems in Brazil. Secondly, these actors seek to put the legitimacy of the recent laws and public policies that address the problem into question, by accusing these laws of favoring the ideological agenda of the left whereas promoting privileges based on gender and constructing a negative image of cis men. As I argue in this paper, the manosphere is particularly successful in bridging individual and collective emotions and providing men and women with a channel to seek to avoid shaming whereas regaining control over discourses on masculinity and femininity. In this paper, I analyze the emotional strategies and claims to found a discursive space to reclaim power over discourses on gender-based violence as well as produce a shield against painful feelings produced by feminist criticism.