A shadowy figure stands in front of a red fog. Why are some of the "red-pilled" commentators of the "manosphere" women?

Avanie Hiranandani

Welcome to the “manosphere”: a digital cesspit of misogyny, carved out by men, for men. Think less Mojo Dojo Casa House, more international boys’ locker room — a seething cauldron of animosity towards women and feminism.

However, a handful of ordained women have been granted a voice. Content creators like Pearl Davis and Megha Lillywhite are the so-called “red-pilled” women who rally against their own interests to support misogyny and the manosphere.

What Is The Manosphere?

“The women of the manosphere rely on men for profitable audience engagement…”

The manosphere is a wide network of both digital and offline men’s communities, where misogynists can unleash their most vile thoughts without restraint. It is designed as an unironic “safe space” for male violence, in which women are relentlessly degraded and dehumanised. Validation runs rampant, morphing what might have begun as innocent curiosity into extremist ideologies. Extremism watchdog groups call this set of ideas “male supremacy.”

Manosphere influencers often claim that women are no longer marriage material. We are not meek enough — or, indeed, scarce enough. The mere thought of us seems to take up too much space. We are expected to be nothing while simultaneously fulfilling every role imaginable.

It could simply be that the women who contribute to this network seek camaraderie from the very men they champion. But, arguably, they could just crave the niche of an untapped audience. In the end, a codependent relationship emerges: the women of the manosphere rely on men for profitable audience engagement, and the men exploit their content to influence scores of young minds.

Who Is Pearl Davis?

Pearl Davis has long been a prominent figure in the “men’s rights movement.” But her prominence surged significantly following an interview with Michael J. Knowles, another prominent online conservative voice. Her influence transcends mere female denigration. The manosphere clings to figures like Pearl to shield them from the reality that their reprehensible views on women are tantamount to male supremacy.

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Among the litany of her anti-feminist views, Davis has publicly claimed divorce should be “illegal” and that women should no longer have the right to vote.

“I think feminism overall was a bad thing,” she said on Ethan Klein’s podcast. “I think women are happier when we have a family and kids over a career in the long run.” Davis has also remarked on how colleges are like “indoctrination camps” for young women, despite having herself studied at Elmhurst University. Her mother, Jennifer Davis, held a directorial position on the board for UN Women, in addition to being an entrepreneur.

Despite her criticisms of feminism, without it, she wouldn’t be able to enjoy the platform she spouts her anti-feminism from. For Davis, building an audience is worth biting the hand that feeds her; some might call that cognitive dissonance.

Who Is Megha Lillywhite?

In the same arena, we encounter Megha Lillywhite. Unlike Pearl, Megha embodies the archetype of the conservative traditional wife — she epitomises the community’s supposed values, acting as well as commentating. As a firm proponent of traditional gender norms, Megha has even come out against men changing diapers, which she claims highlights underlying issues within the family structure.

In these instances, the patriarchy perpetuates harm not only towards women, but also men. By instructing fathers to refrain from caring for their children, it paves the way for family rifts and potential neglect. How have we reached a point where these commentators can feasibly claim it’s harmful to support your wife and children? 

I do feel for the women who contribute to their own oppression in this way. However, Megha, Pearl and their band of anti-feminists glide through their harmful commentary on women with relative ease, thanks to their privileged trifecta of education, wealth and (most often) whiteness. But in the end, they’re just footnotes in a male-dominated narrative — a narrative they’re directly holding up.

Whether they uphold this narrative because they genuinely believe in it, or  they’re just using it as a cynical platform to build an audience, one thing is for sure: the women they denigrate won’t have their backs when the manosphere inevitably turns on them as well. I know I won’t.

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Featured image courtesy of Elti Meshau via Unsplash. No changes were made to this image. License available here.

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