General Registration OPEN for 2025 Male Supremacism Studies Conference
Male Supremacism Studies Conference 2025 (MSSC)
Registration to attend The Institute for Research on Male Supremacism’s 2025 Male Supremacism Studies Conference is now open!
Register here.
Our interdisciplinary virtual conference is held April 24-26, 2025, with panels and discussions from researchers, policy-makers, and activists working at the intersections of supremacist studies, with attendee Q&As for every panel. We also have a special pre-conference on 23rd April featuring roundtable discussions from the field. Our keynote panel, “"Resistance and Thriving: Confronting Male Supremacism and Authoritarianism" will feature speakers Melissa Gira Grant, Soraya Chemaly, and Alia Dastagir, chaired by Kylie Cheung.
Attendees will have access to panels from a global community of presenters, with presentations running in all time zones across the conference. Live panels will include an opportunity for attendees to ask questions of the panelists.
Registration remains open until the start of the full conference on 24th April.
Once registration is complete, replays of session recordings will be accessible at different times during the conference period and afterwards for 2 weeks.
Our conference includes social hours for attendees and panelists to connect and network on each day of the conference. Attempting to mimic the benefits of coming together at in-person convenings, participants will have the opportunity to have an informal discussion with one another, and to enter “tables” (breakout rooms) for small group conversation.
Day 1 - Virtual Reception: Timing is most accessible to participants in Australia and the Pacific Islands, East Asia, North and South America.
Day 2 - Social Hour: From Breakfast in Europe, to Dinner in Australia. Timing is most accessible to participants in Europe, Asia, Africa, and Australia.
Day 3 - Social Hour: From Brunch in the Americas, to Dinner in Africa. Timing is most accessible to participants in North and South America, Europe, Africa, and Middle East.
Day 3 - Final networking: Timing is most accessible to participants in Australia and the Pacific Islands, East Asia, North and South America.
Conference Schedule
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Pre-conference - 23rd April 2025
Roundtable 1: Interrogating the role of male supremacism in the issue of indoctrination by online communities
12:00-13:30 UTC / 05:00-06:30am PT
Participants:
Eli Cohen Lawson (Centre for Countering Digital Hate),
Yann Lescop (Point de Contact),
Greta Jasser (IRMS),
Astrid Askenberger (Diverting Hate)
Discussant: Anna Meyniel
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Roundtable 2: The politics of culture - reflections on the societal effects of misogyny, antifeminism, and male supremacism
16:00-17:45 UTC / 09:00-10:45am PT
Participants:
Dr Cat Tebaldi (University of Luxembourg),
Maeve Park (IRMS),
Lily O'Farrell (@Vulgadrawings),
Dr Harris Kornstein (Drag Story Hour),
Dr Ka'Lyn Coghill (IRMS),
Patrik Hermansson (Hope Note Hate),
Ulf Stenberg (Teater Fryshuset)
Discussant: Elsa Bengtsson Meuller
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Day 1 - 24th April 2025
Welcome to the Conference
12:45 UTC / 05:45am PT
Influencers and Entrepreneurs Paving the Way to Radicalization:
13:00-15:00 UTC / 06:00-08:00am PT
Presenters:
Santiago Morcillo, Matías de Stéfano, and Estefanía Martynowskyj (Conicet UBA UNSJ) - ‘Antifeminist influencers in Argentina. From the backlash to the arrival of Milei’.
Carey J. Priebe (Virginia Commonwealth University) - ‘Tate Speech: The Radicalization Process Inside the Manosphere’.
Anda Iulia Solea (University of Portsmouth) - ‘Newgen Misogynistic Incels and Critical Looks Theory – Unravelling the PSL Scale, PSL Gods and Looksmaxxing on TikTok’
Abhiruchi Ranjan (Christ University, Bangalore) - ‘Male supremacism and the Indian Manosphere: Examining Hypermasculinity in the Digital Communities of ‘New India’.
Chair: Jessica Sciarone (University of Washington)
Biological Essentialism in Supremacist Views of Gender, Race, and Sexuality
15:00-16:45 UTC / 08:00-09:45am PT
Presenters:
Catherine Baker (Dublin City University) - ‘“It’s just biology”: The role of ‘science’ discourse in male supremacist, white supremacist and anti-gender online organising’.
Blu Buchanan (UNC Asheville) - ‘Uncle Sam Wants You: Anti-Femininity, Universal Nationalism, and the Gay Right’
Kat Fuller (The University of Nevada, Las Vegas) - ‘Detransitioning Through Cisheteropatriarchal Lens: The Biopolitics in R/Detrans’
An Hoàng-Xuân (Vanderbilt University) - ‘Beyond Race and Ethnicity: Male Supremacists of Colour and the Appeal of White Supremacy’
Chair: Allysa Czerwinsky (University of Manchester)
The Relationship Between Gender Equity and Democracy or Authoritarianism
17:00-18:45 UTC / 10:00-11:45am PT
Presenters:
Caitlin Graziani (UC Davis) - ‘From No-Fap to Anti-Porn: How Far-Right Sexual Ideology Went Mainstream’
Nikolina Klatt (WZB / Freie Universität Berlin) - ‘The Intersection of Democratic Backsliding and Abortion Law Changes: A Global Analysis’
Safa Ahmed (Savera: United Against Supremacy) - ‘Gender and the Multiracial Far-Right’
Chair: Martta Ojala (Nord University)
Logics of Masculinity and Violence
20:00-21:45 UTC / 1:00-2:45pm PT
Presenters:
Pasha Dashtgard (American University and [PERIL] Polarization & Extremism Research & Innovation Lab) - ‘Male Supremacy and Anti-Government Sentiments Among US Youth’
Anna Antonakis (Monash Global Peace and Security Centre, Monash University) - ‘Transforming Militarised Masculinities by challenging Gender Exploitative Marketing of Weapons and War – Six strategic interventions’
Simone Long (University of Exeter) - ‘Mixed, Unclear, and Unstable: Identifying Ideological Cross-Pollination Within and Between Alt-Right and Anti-Feminist Extremist Platforms Online’
Jessica Sciarone (University of Washington) - ‘From Forums to Violence: Incel Ideology and Extreme Misogyny’
Chair: Abhiruchi Ranjan (Christ University, Bangalore)
Keynote Panel: Resistance and Thriving: Confronting Male Supremacism and Authoritarianism
22:00-00:00 UTC / 3:00-5:00pm PT
Melissa Gira Grant (Journalist and Author) discussing Trump 2.0 through journalism with The New Republic, and resistance to anti-trans and other male supremacist acts of repression.
Soraya Chemaly, Author of The Resilience Myth and Rage Becomes Her. Her next book, All We Want Is Everything: How We Dismantle Male Supremacism, will be released this fall.
Alia Dastagir (Journalist and Author) discussing her book on women and online abuse, ‘To Those Who Have Confused You to Be a Person: Words as Violence and Stories of Women’s Resistance Online’.
Chair: Kylie Cheung, Jezebel staff writer and author of the forthcoming book Coercion: Surviving and Resisting Abortion Bans.
Virtual “Reception”
5:00-6:00pm PT
(25th April 00:00-01:00 UTC)
Conference participants will have the opportunity to have an informal discussion with one another; if the group is large, participants will be able to enter “tables” (breakout rooms) for small group conversation.
Picking up on the keynote discussion, the recommended topic will be ways to sustain and thrive in the current culture and politics.
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Day 2 - 25th April 2025
Mapping the Manosphere and Understanding Networked Communities:
07:00-08:45 UTC / 00:00-01:45am PT
Presenters:
Maia Kahlke Lorentzen (Cybernauterne) - ‘Mapping the Danish manosphere’.
Giovanna Vingelli (University of Calabria) - ‘The Italian manosphere between traditional sexism and new strategies’.
Kate Scott (University of Sydney) - ‘The Manosphere: Conceptualising Anti-Feminist Networked Publics’.
Vivian Gerrand (Deakin University) - ‘Mapping the Neo-Manosphere(s): New Directions for Research’.
Chair: Dr David S. Smith (Robert Gordon University)
Social Hour: From Breakfast in Europe, to Dinner in Australia
09:00-10:00 UTC / 02:00-03:00am PT
Demons, Humor, Disgust: The Many Operations of Dehumanization:
15:00-16:45 UTC / 08:00-09:45 PT
Presenters:
Hanna Fossberg (University of Oslo) - ‘Analyzing the extremist memeification of masculinity, racism, and misogyny on 4chan: The role of humor in gendered political discourse’.
Filipa Melo Lopes (University of Edinburgh) - ‘Theorizing Misogynistic Dehumanization’.
Taisto Witt (McGill University) - ‘The Construction of the Feminist Pariah in Men’s Rights Discourses; Disgust, Desire, and Contradiction’.
Natasha N. Rayman (Queen's University) - ‘Orientalist Desires: The Hijab, Pornography, and Gendered Islamophobia in Colonial and Contemporary Contexts’.
Chair: Kat Fuller (The University of Nevada, Las Vegas)
Examining Men's Claims-Making Around Harm and Engagement with Countering Male Supremacism:
17:00-18:45 UTC / 10:00-11:45am PT
Presenters:
Leah Goldmann (Arizona State University & Raising Voices) - ‘Politicizing the Male Engagement Movement in Uganda’.
Caroline Hayes (Equimundo: Center for Masculinities and Social Justice) - ‘The male supremacist playbook fuelling the backlash to gender equality – and what to do about it’.
Allysa Czerwinsky (University of Manchester) - ‘A Nuanced Approach to Understanding Harm within Misogynist Incel Forums’.
Stu Lucy (University of Southampton) - 'Mapping the Journey towards Misogynist Incel Ideology'
Chair: Ellie Buxton (Loughborough University)
Protecting Yourself as a Researcher: Digital Security in the Present Moment
19:00-20:00 UTC / 12:00-1:00 PT
Presenters:
Praveen Sinha (Equity Labs Director of Security)
Youth Vulnerability and Responses:
20:00-21:45 UTC / 1:00-2:45pm PT
Presenters:
Brigitte Temel (Institute of Conflict Research, Vienna) - ‘Incels in Austria - Thoughts on preventive measures for vulnerable male youth’.
Emelia Sandau (University of Toronto) - ‘‘Trying to talk white teenage boys off the alt-right ledge’ and other impacts of masculinist influencers on teachers’.
Jade Hutchinson (Department of Security Studies and Criminology at Macquarie University, Australia) - ‘“I’m not super familiar with children’s ecosystems online”: Expert Assessments on the Effects of Early Childhood and Adolescent Exposure to Extremism Online’.
Josselin Tricou (Universite De Lausanne) - ‘Opening the ecclesiastical "black box": diversity and evolution of the institutional logics of exposing minors to sexual violence in the Catholic Church in France (1950-2020)’
Chair: Carey J. Priebe (Virginia Commonwealth University)
Questions and Complications in Understanding Male Supremacist Ideology and Solutions:
22:00-23:45 UTC / 3:00-4:45pm PT
Presenters:
Diana Humble (University of Memphis) - ‘(Un)intentional Obscurity on Incels.is: The Methodological Shortcomings of Observational Studies on Incels’.
Simon Copland (Australian National University) - ‘Counter or Alternative Narratives: How do we best address the ideology of anti-feminist movements?’
Miranda Stevens (Deakin University) - ‘Posthuman feminism and the boundaries of male supremacism’.
Daniel Mango (University of San Francisco) - ‘Male Supremacism and Anti-Blackness: Convergences and Consequences’.
Chair: An Hoàng-Xuân (Vanderbilt University)
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Day 3 - 26th April 2025
Social Hour: From Breakfast in the U.S. to Afternoon Tea in Europe
14:00-15:00 UTC / 07:00-08:00am PT
Male Supremacism in Policymaking and Political Discourse:
15:00-16:30 UTC / 08:00-09:30am PT
Presenters:
Jiangxue Han (Columbia University) - ‘Male-only Security Check Lane and Male Supremacism’.
Esra Kazanbas (University of Toronto) - ‘The Right to Rage: Provocation Defense, Male Supremacism, and Right-Wing Populist Backlash’.
Ellie Buxton (Loughborough University) - ‘Exploring Men’s Perspectives on Making Misogyny a Hate Crime’.
Chair: Emma Rainey (UMEA University)
How Do Male Supremacist Communities Present Themselves? Transmaxxing, NoFap, and More:
17:00-19:00 UTC / 10:00am-12:00pm PT
Presenters:
Dr David S. Smith (Robert Gordon University) - ‘Members in good standing? The relationship between pornography reboot communities and the manosphere’.
AJ Siegel (University of Minnesota) - ‘Queering the manosphere?: How transmaxxing relates to and complicates our understanding of male supremacism’.
Mara Weber (University College London) - ‘Mapping Incel Ideology’.
Matteo Botto (University of Genova, Italy) - ‘"We are not misogynistic, we are nostalgic": Gamergate, gatekeeping and gender-based violence’.
Martta Ojala (Nord University) - ‘Anti-feminism among men’s rights activists on Reddit: from post-feminism to extremism’.
Chair: Anda Iulia Solea (University of Portsmouth)
Surging Natalism and Nativism in the Shadow of Dobbs:
20:00-21:30 UTC / 1:00-2:30pm PT
Panel Presentation:
Anne Hendrixson (Collective Power for Reproductive Justice)
Annie Wilkinson (Political Research Associates)
Closing Talk: Alex DiBranco, Executive Director of the Institute for Research on Male Supremacism
22:00-23:00 UTC / 3:00-4:00pm PT
Final Social Hour: Conversation and Networking
23:00-00:00 UTC / 4:00-5:00pm PT
Our Conference Mission and Ethos
IRMS is a transnational organization that supports researchers who are committed to exposing and challenging common narratives that uphold male supremacist ideology. Male supremacist ideology is the belief in cisgender men’s superiority and right to dominate, control, or erase “others”: women, trans and non-binary people, and those with Indigenous gender/social roles.
Our approach understands supremacism, in its multiple forms, as a pervasive belief system supporting dominance and oppression that is at the historical and contemporary core of society. This understanding is informed by feminist, intersectionality, reproductive justice, social movement, gender/sexuality, and race/ethnicity studies, bringing this interdisciplinary lens to bear on discourses in right-wing, far-right, hate, radicalization, extremism, terrorism, P/CVE, and other related studies. The conference brings these disparate fields into conversation with one another, orienting researchers and attendees to the shared belief systems of domination, dehumanization, and entitlement that underlie and encourage collaboration among male supremacist and authoritarian projects.