Routledge Fantasy, Online Misogyny and the Manosphere: Male Bodies of Dis/Inhibition (The Psychoanalysis and Popular Culture Series)

This book presents the first in-depth study of online misogyny and the manosphere from a psychoanalytic perspective. The author argues that the men of the manosphere present contradictory thoughts, desires and fantasies about women which include but also go beyond misogyny. They are in a state of dis/inhibition: torn between (un)conscious forces and fantasies which erupt and are defended against. Dis/inhibition shows itself in self-victimization and defensive apathy as well as toxic agency and symbolic power and expresses itself in desire for and hatred of other bodies. The text draws on the psychoanalytic thinkers Klaus Theweleit, Elisabeth Young-Bruehl, Jessica Benjamin and Wilhelm Reich to present detailed analyses of the communities within the so-called manosphere, including incels, Men Going Their Own Way (MGTOW), alt-right YouTubers and NoFap users. Drawing on wider discussions about the status of sexuality in contemporary neoliberal technoculture since the sexual revolution of the late 1960s, it illuminates how sexuality, racism and images of the white male body shape the fantasies and affects of many men on the internet and beyond. Integrating a unique theoretical framework to help understand how today’s increase in online misogyny relates to the alt-right and fascism, Online Misogyny and the Manosphere is an important resource for academics in a variety of fields including psychoanalysis, media and communication studies, internet studies, masculinity research and more. Review "Jacob Johanssen examines today's relevant 'fascist' men and their murderous actions in the light of the older as well as the newer research literature; thinks further newer psycho-analytic concepts and brings them in relation to the changed technological nature of today's world―greatest thanks for this gigantic work." From the Preface by Klaus Theweleit, author of Male Fantasies "Jacob Johanssen’s Fantasy, Online Misogyny and the Manosphere: Male Bodies of Dis/Inhibition is a timely and welcome addition to the growing body of scholarship on anti-feminist formations online. This vibrant psychosocial study explores the psychodynamics of anti-feminist groups and their members, but always within a broader sociological context. Such an approach is especially important for understanding radicalisation processes, which are shaped by complex experiences, fantasies and expressions, as well as by the socio-political factors that enable and amplify misogyny. Johanssen’s study neither defuses nor excuses their misogyny, but rather demonstrates how personal contradictions, incoherencies and ambivalences become channelled into extreme and hateful forms of political dogma. Always attendant to the contextual complexities of neoliberal capitalism, data-driven politics and the dynamics of the alt-right, Fantasy, Online Misogyny and the Manosphere enriches our understanding of white male supremacism by adding new lenses and perspectives through which to view the fantasies that drive this increasingly sinister political reality." – Debbie Ging, Associate Professor of Media Studies, Dublin City University "In a time of political polarisation and multiplying hatreds in the ‘real’ and ‘virtual’ worlds – a division that now holds little value – Jacob Johanssen’s book is an important guide to some of the most disturbing elements of the ‘manosphere’. Addressing the startling rhetoric of incels, MGTOWs, NoFaps and others, Johanssen offers historical context, social and political insight and, most of all, a thorough psychoanalytic reading of this significant and dangerous contemporary arena for the expression of toxic masculinities." – Stephen Frosh, Professor of Psychology, Department of Psychosocial Studies, Birkbeck (University of London) "Jacob Johanssen’s Fantasy, Online Misogyny and the Manosphere could hardly be a more timely intervention in debates around contemporary masculinities and misogyny in the digital sphere. In this b