Researchers and practitioners in the field of Preventing and Countering Violent Extremism (P/CVE) have in recent years placed an increasing focus on the gendered dynamics of violent extremism across the ideological spectrum. This has ranged from the diverse roles and motivations of the growing number of women joining both Islamist and far-right extremist groups; the influence of political masculinities and femininities in individual and collective radicalisation processes; and the proliferation of violent attacks on women across Europe and North America associated with the highly misogynist culture cultivated on the alt-right ‘manosphere’.
This Insight considers the political and epistemological challenges of this latter point. Are misogynistic viewpoints and outlets that foster misogynistic communities acting as a gateway into more openly violent extremist movements? Does this framing undermine the significance of systemic misogyny?