Dating-Coaches, TradWives and Co. – A Typology of women anti-feminist influencers on TikTok and Instagram

Whether through red-pill conspiracy narratives or hashtags such as #FemininityNotFeminism, antifeminism is widespread on social media platforms. This paper contributes to the research on women anti-feminist influencers within digital public spheres. While previous studies have identified various actors within the so-called 'manosphere', such as Incels or Pick-up-Artists, we still know little about women's involvement in (online) anti-feminism (but see Di Sabato and Hughes 2021; Mattheis 2021). This qualitative study aims to shed light on the global phenomenon of women anti-feminist influencers on visual social media platforms by developing a typology of women anti-feminist influencers on TikTok and Instagram. Grounded in ethnographic data the study uncovers that women anti-feminist influencers adopt different roles such as political commentators, dating-coaches, and TradWives, among others, to disseminate their beliefs. The findings point to the unique role that women play as influencers within contemporary (online) anti-feminism, contributing to our understanding of this occurrence.