Inside the ‘machosphere’, where men debate reaction to feminism and seduction techniques

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Men dissatisfied with social transformations resort to virtual groups to share tips on relationships and a new attitude towards women; The theme opens the 2nd season of the Brasil Partido podcast. Male virtual groups are the theme of the episode that opens the second season of the Brasil Partido podcast GETTY IMAGES/Via BBC In recent decades, women have gained rights and advanced in the job market. Several countries have passed laws to curb gender-based harassment and violence, and social networks have given women the possibility to speak openly about abuse. These changes were welcomed by a large part of society. But, for a group of men, the transformations harmed them and generated distortions. The male malaise generated a counter-offensive. Men who felt out of place or wronged turned to internet forums to share tips on how to respond to these changes and how to behave in relationships with women. This is how the so-called machosphere emerged. This is the theme of the episode that opens the second season of Brasil Partido, a BBC News Brasil podcast, which will be broadcast this Friday (12/05) on the BBC website and on audio platforms such as Spotify, Apple Podcasts and Deezer . Presented by reporter João Fellet, the podcast dealt, in the first season, with conflicts that Brazil experienced in the election year. Now, in the second, disputes that have been emerging or gaining steam after the change in government will be addressed. Episodes will be released every Friday. The Matrix’s red pill Men resorted to a metaphor from the movie The Matrix (1999) to baptize one of the main currents of the macho sphere: the “red pill”. The main character of The Matrix is ​​the hacker Neo, who is invited to join a movement. The leader of the movement offers Neo two pills, one blue and one red. He says that if Neo took the blue one, he would continue to live in the illusion. But if he chose the red one, the hacker would have access to the truth. Neo swallows the red pill and discovers that humanity has been enslaved by machines, and that people are all trapped in a computer program that simulates reality. The idea behind the malesphere’s “red pill” is that by taking this pill — which men would symbolically do by attending these forums and absorbing their teachings — they would be able to get out of the world of illusions and see reality as it is. A reality that, according to them, is hostile to men. Thiago Schutz: who is the coach who changed his name and is accused by the actress of making death threats? Thiago Schutz becomes defendant for threats and psychological violence against Lívia La Gatto and Bruna Volpi to women For Téo, the virtual codename of a man from Rio de Janeiro who has been a part of male groups for several years and asked not to be identified, the “red pill” is not a movement, but a space where men exchange experiences and guidance on relationships. “We pass on to the other, to the unwary, to the one who has no experience, how does this situation develop and what is the consequence of this situation in which that individual will be involved, how much he may be putting himself in danger. So it’s about self-preservation,” he says in an interview with the Brasil Partido podcast. Téo says he got married twice, but that neither marriage lasted more than six months. “Unfortunately, the people I married weren’t the people I dated.” He says that the negative experiences made him immerse himself in another philosophy that he knew in the male virtual groups: the MGTOW (acronym for the expression in English “Men Going Their Own Way”, or men following their own path). There are several similarities between MGTOW and the “red pill”. But, while in the “red pill” forums some men are only interested in exchanging tips on bodybuilding or on how to seduce women, Téo says that the main focus of MGTOW is to adapt men to the changing world. Both MGTOW and the “red pill” are associated with the alt-right — the alt-right that was in the spotlight after Donald Trump’s victory in the US presidential election in 2016. But the groups have expanded and are now present in several countries, including Brazil. The Southern Poverty Law Center — an American organization that is a reference in monitoring extremist movements — defines MGTOW and the “red pill” as male supremacy groups that want to subjugate women. MGTOW is further described as a group of separatist men who decided to completely isolate themselves from the influence of women. But Téo disputes this definition. “This story that MGTOW marginalizes women… No, no, it’s not like that.” “He does not accept to condition himself to certain, in quotes, validations that the woman wants. He does not submit to shaming”, he says. Shaming is the act of criticizing someone in public, especially on the internet. Téo says that avoiding exposure is one of the main guidelines of MGTOW. In a way, this position is a response to feminist movements like MeToo — which encourage women to use the internet to denounce violence they have suffered and to expose their abusers. Feminism, by the way, is the target of several criticisms by Téo. He says that, despite the feminists’ discourse in favor of equality between men and women, the movement does not want to give up what he calls “benefits”. “All that feminism, the modern and toxic modern woman, doesn’t want is to lose the benefits: the man who pays, the man who is a gentleman, the man who is protective, that whole thing. from that.” Virtual market But the time when the malesphere was formed only by virtual groups and forums is long gone. Today this universe has also become a source of money for those who offer courses on how to seduce women or on how men should behave in the world. “Testosterone, without control, it is wild. A man who is a man, healthy, he is dangerous. Because masculinity, by essence, has to be dangerous”, says a popular masculinity coach on social networks. Discourses with an alleged biological bias are common in this universe and that value male characteristics associated with a remote past, when men hunted, fought and protected their offspring. “The masculine was made to lead. Either you are a leader, or you are led. Either you are dominant, or you are submissive”, says another influencer. For Bruna Camilo, feminist activist and PhD in Social Sciences from PUC (Pontifical Catholic University) in Minas Gerais, the malesphere market promotes a “monetization of misogyny”. Bruna researches gender, the extreme right and masculinism — which is the ideology that defends men’s rights. She says that, contrary to what this ideology preaches, feminism does not want men to keep paying the bills. “Feminism is a movement that seeks equality among all people and makes sure that we all get equal pay, equal access to politics, equal power to walk on the street and not be afraid of being violated”, she says. In March, Bruna defended a doctoral thesis on masculinism. To do the research, she infiltrated virtual groups of these movements. Bruna says that complaints about laws aimed at protecting women were common in these groups — such as the opinion that these laws harm men and only take into account the words of the victims. She claims, however, that the criticism is not supported by reality – and that many women use these laws to protect themselves. “Unfortunately, women have died a lot at the hands of their so-called partners,” she says. But Bruna agrees with a type of complaint that some men share in these spaces: that, in our society, men are required to be masculine, virile, rational, providing, assertive and successful. For Bruna, these charges are real and cause great harm to men — but she says that masculinists miss the mark by attributing these charges to feminism. “That’s machismo, that’s misogyny, that’s patriarchy,” she says. “As a feminist, I can tell you that feminism even fights for us to deconstruct this hegemonic masculinity.” “So, I think it’s legitimate to criticize these standards, men are victims. However, instead of this criticism becoming a healthy debate, for masculinists, it becomes violence. They see themselves as having the right to be agents of violence to achieve break that logic.” ALSO READ: Understand what ‘machosphere’ is and learn how women can prevent themselves from aggressive behavior How ‘redpill’ coaches attract fans in the wake of the masculinity crisis

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