The revelatory and urgent story of how an explosion of misogyny is driving a surge of mass and far-right violence throughout the Westfrom an internationally recognized extremism expert and media commentator
What two things do most mass shooters, terrorists, or violent extremists have in common? Most of us know the first: they are almost always men or boys. But the second? They are almost always virulent misogynists, homophobes, or transphobeseven if they are also motivated by racism, antisemitism, or xenophobia. The antigovernment militiamen charged with plotting to kidnap and execute Michigan governor Gretchen Whitmer used language saturated with misogyny, with one telling an FBI informant, Just grab the bitch. The men who killed scores at Virginia Tech, the Pulse nightclub, and a Maryland newsroom all had prior reports of stalking, domestic violence, or harassment of women. And in dozens of other incidentsfrom North America to Norway to New Zealandan increasing number of misogynist incel (involuntary celibate) and male supremacist attackers have explicitly targeted and killed women, blaming feminism or sexual frustration with women as motivation for their attacks.
Yet, despite all evidence, the bright red thread of misogyny running through these attacks is barely acknowledged by the media or even expertsand this failing leaves us powerless to stop the violence. In Man Up, Cynthia Miller-Idriss, a leading expert on extremism, addresses this crucial oversight head-on, revealing how an epidemic of misogynyboth online and offand a patriarchal backlash are driving an exponential rise in mass and far-right violence. She also offers essential strategies that all of usincluding parents, teachers, and counselorscan use to fight the rising tide of violence, beginning with recognizing the misogyny that pervades our everyday lives.
