Men Who Hate Women: From Incels to Pickup Artists: The Truth about Extreme Misogyny and How it Affects Us All

by Laura Bates

Overview

The first comprehensive undercover look at the terrorist movement no one is talking about.

Men Who Hate Women examines the rise of secretive extremist communities who despise women and traces the roots of misogyny across a complex spider web of groups. It includes eye-opening interviews with former members of these communities, the academics studying this movement, and the men fighting back.

Women's rights activist Laura Bates wrote this book as someone who has been the target of many hate-fueled misogynistic attacks online. At first, the vitriol seemed to be the work of a small handful of individual men... but over time, the volume and consistency of the attacks hinted at something bigger and more ominous. As Bates went undercover into the corners of the internet, she found an unseen, organized movement of thousands of anonymous men wishing violence (and worse) upon women.

In the book, Bates explores:

• Extreme communities like incels, pick-up artists, MGTOW, Men's Rights Activists and more
• The hateful, toxic rhetoric used by these groups
• How this movement connects to other extremist movements like white supremacy
• How young boys are targeted and slowly drawn in
• Where this ideology shows up in our everyday lives in mainstream media, our playgrounds, and our government

By turns fascinating and horrifying, Men Who Hate Women is a broad, unflinching account of the deep current of loathing toward women and anti-feminism that underpins our society and is a must-read for parents, educators, and anyone who believes in equality for women.

Praise for Men Who Hate Women:

"Laura Bates is showing us the path to both intimate and global survival."—Gloria Steinem

"Well-researched and meticulously documented, Bates's book on the power and danger of masculinity should be required reading for us all."—Library Journal

"Men Who Hate Women has the power to spark social change."—Sunday Times

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781728236247
Publisher:	Sourcebooks
Publication date:	03/02/2021
Pages:	416
Product dimensions:	6.00(w) x 9.20(h) x 1.60(d)

Table of Contents

Introduction xiii

1 Men Who Hate Women 1

2 Men Who Prey on Women 54

3 Men Who Avoid Women 87

4 Men Who Blame Women 108

5 Men Who Hound Women 137

6 Men Who Hurt Women 176

7 Men Who Exploit Other Men 194

8 Men Who Are Afraid of Women 236

9 Men Who Don't Know They Hate Women 260

10 Men Who Hate Men Who Hate Women 298

Reading Group Guide 344

Notes 347

Index 372

Acknowledgments 386

About the Author 389

Editorial Reviews

11/16/2020

Bates (The Burning), founder of the Everyday Sexism Project, examines “women-hating” online communities and their impact on real-world sexism and sexual violence in this distressing yet familiar exposé. According to Bates, the “manosphere” includes “incels” (members of online “involuntary celibate” communities), pickup artists, men who avoid women in order to prevent themselves from being manipulated by them, and men’s rights activists who believe that men are the truly oppressed gender. Their ideologies are linked, she contends, by the belief that “all women are the same.” Bates infiltrates misogynistic forums to reveal how they foster a sense of belonging in order to indoctrinate alienated young men, and discusses recent examples of how the manosphere manifests itself in the real world, including the Gamergate controversy, which “introduced the idea of troll armies to the mainstream”; Elliot Rodger’s 2014 killing spree at the University of California, Santa Barbara, which has inspired other acts of incel violence; and characterizations of the #MeToo movement as a witch hunt. Though Bates offers little new information about who these groups are and how they operate, her argument that extreme misogynistic ideas are entering the mainstream is well-documented and persuasive. Readers will come away from this viewing the manosphere as a more serious threat. (Mar.)

Publishers Weekly

"A leading women’s rights activist explores online misogynistic communities and how they are increasingly infiltrating the real world...an astute, shocking exposé that also offers practical solutions." — Kirkus Reviews

"Well-researched and meticulously documented, Bates’s book on the power and danger of masculinity should be required reading for us all." — Library Journal

"The threat of online misogyny must be treated as a terrorist threat, she argues in this sobering read that is both illuminating and necessary." — Booklist

"The killing of women because we are women is not only the most common crime in the world, it is also the single biggest indicator of whether a nation is violent in its streets and will use violence against another nation. Laura Bates is showing us the path to both intimate and global survival." — Gloria Steinem

From the Publisher

01/01/2021

As the creator of the Everyday Sexism Project and author of books such as Everyday Sexism and Girl Up, Bates has taken on the thankless role of exposing sexism in its everyday microaggressions. Her latest book dives deeper into deliberate, radical terrorist acts of gender-based violence against women. She tells the social history of pickup artists, including how this history long predates the internet. From there, she describes how pickup artists, incels, and men's rights activists have always had a close relationship with misogyny. Pivotal movements in popular culture are interspersed throughout, as mainstream media offers either a window into, or a mirror of, misogyny. In her examination of message boards within the men's rights movement, Bates reveals how anti-Semitism is common, as are racial and homophobic slurs. This isn't an easy read, and it shouldn't be. It is instead a timely account that exposes sexism in its basest, most explicit iterations while simultaneously showing how these practices are part of a systemic form of hate built into culture and perpetuated through microaggressions. VERDICT Well-researched and meticulously documented, Bates's book on the power and danger of masculinity should be required reading for us all.—Emily Bowles, Lawrence Univ., WI

Library Journal

2020-12-25
A leading women’s rights activist explores online misogynistic communities and how they are increasingly infiltrating the real world.

For nearly a decade since founding the Everyday Sexism Project, an online platform where individuals can share their experiences with sexism and inequality, Bates has endured daily messages from men “outlining their hatred of me, fantasizing about my brutal rape and murder, detailing which weapons they would use to slice my body open and disembowel me, describing me as a dripping poison.” In order to better understand this violent hate, Bates infiltrated the “manosphere” under the guise of “Alex” for more than a year. Here, the author exposes the disgusting online world of incels, pickup artists, and other hate-filled groups that have become misogynistic training grounds for young, vulnerable males. Although each group is slightly different in its approach, Bates rightly contends that they all share a basic ideology: that “a feminist conspiracy has created a world stacked against men” and that “men are the true victims of inequality and abuse.” At first, her claims may seem exaggerated, but as she reveals her research and often uncomfortable evidence, the true extent and ramifications of this disturbing behavior become apparent. In addition to psychological damage, individuals adhering to these principles are causing career disruptions, contributing misinformation that influences public policy, and creating barriers to free speech for both women and men. In response to these threats, Bates advocates for better education of children by parents and teachers, including challenging gender stereotypes and discussing the potential dangers and misinformation presented by online communities; increased moderation of social media outlets; continued public support from feminist males; and “the adoption of misogyny as a hate crime category.” However, she warns, “none of these interventions will work unless we see the problem for what it really is and take it seriously.”

An astute, shocking exposé that also offers practical solutions.

Kirkus Reviews