This week’s guest, YouTuber Philion, traces the roots of today’s online misogyny to the pick-up artists of the 2000s and beyond, looking at how alpha male culture has made its way into almost every corner of the internet, from finance to fitness. Movements like #MeToo have changed public discourse so that today’s equivalents of the pick-up artist can’t get away with expressing themselves the way they might have done twenty years ago. But even without descending to the manosphere’s hidden, rotten core, it is (as any woman online knows) sadly too easy to see that that it’s alive, well, and a massive influence on modern culture. The internet has become a place where men of all ages can become radicalized around a hatred and distrust of women, and a dangerous, unfulfilling idea of masculinity. How will it be possible for the left to confront this? And what, exactly, are we up against?
We dive into these questions and more with Philion, this week’s guest, and we’re grateful to you for joining us. Remember that you can listen to this episode as a podcast on Spotify, Pandora, Apple Podcasts, and more.
Episode 107 Audio: Philion