How The Red Pill Proves Sexism Still Exists
Wait, what is The Red Pill?
If you’re not familiar with The Red Pill, consider yourself lucky. The website Reddit, which acts as a discussion forum from topics general to oddly specific, is made of “subreddits”. A subreddit is a discussion thread based on a certain topic, essentially functioning as an online community. The Red Pill subreddit, widely acknowledged as a hate subreddit, is ostensibly dedicated to “Discussion of sexual strategy in a culture increasingly lacking a positive identity for men.” In practice, this looks like text posts lamenting the barriers to revenge porn and falsely philosophical takes on the demerits of modern feminism. It’s basically your favorite misogynist’s musings projectile vomited all over a message board.
Upon first discovering The Red Pill, users are instructed to read the “theory reading” list, including a glossary of terms used in posts throughout the The Red Pill Network. Such terms include “Last Minute Resistance” which is defined, “Contrary to feminist sloganeering, no doesn’t always mean no. Often times ‘no’ simply means ‘not yet’. Simplest advice is to back off and try again later, or if she’s adamant and clearly shutting you down. Some people in the red pill community have also made the point that LMR is the female equivalent of approach anxiety for men.” Yes, you did just read the phrase, “no doesn’t always mean no” in regards to sexual consent.
The Red Pill claims that once you subscribe to its theory, “you see reality for what it is,” just like in — you guessed it — The Matrix. This theory is generally supported by personal anecdotes of rejection by women and pseudo-academic text posts on “the feminine imperative,” the collective movement to control gender discussion and political ideology to appease and give women power over men. Sound like a familiar concept? Probably because this type of power structure has existed in men’s favor since the beginning of time. Hint: it starts with “p” and ends with “atriarchy”. Red Pillers seem to deny their inherent bias in rebelling against a world in which women have power; of course someone who has enjoyed privilege will be threatened when that could be taken away (in favor of a society where being human — not man — is enough to gain respect). As long as Red Pillers fail to acknowledge this motivation, their arguments will be tinged with a tone of bitterness and read like illogical temper tantrums.
For instance, in a recent post endorsed by TRP, “The Viability of the Red Pill in the Future — Border Erosion,” the author bemoans the “infiltration” of traditionally male institutions, such as the armed forces, by women. Furthermore, he claims, this encroachment ultimately leads to the “demise” of such institutions. However, when it comes to the armed forces, women still make up a minority of the troops and are only recently transitioning into combat roles. In other words, hardly enough influence to achieve military leadership, let alone systematically take down a long-standing powerful institution.
The Red Pill guises itself as a type of support group for men. It pretends to be a place where men can openly discuss their romantic endeavors and maybe ask for advice on how to act on a first date. If it were either one of these things, there would be no problem. As someone who understands that stereotypical, emotionally detached masculinity can be just as harmful to men as it is to women, I fully endorse safe spaces where men can engage in open discussion with one another. But as the content endorsed and produced by The Red Pill Network demonstrates, TRP is simply a vehicle for unabated misogynistic hatred.
Among the usually offensive things featured on the subreddit was the hashtag #IBelieveWomen. As a feminist seeing this hashtag on Reddit, I immediately assumed it would be part of an effort to prove solidarity among women and others who seek to achieve equal rights for them. I thought that it would harken back to feminist video game blogger Anita Sarkeesian’s call-to-action, and that people were showing their support for the women’s rights movement. I was wrong.
#IBelieveWomen is actually a series of demeaning and (surprise!) sexist statements made by members of The Red Pill Network, made to seem like an activist hashtag. The top post directly highlights the problem of invalidating women’s experiences: “#IBelieveWomen (NOT!)” A sampling of other posts using the hashtag highlight the harmful views supported by TRP and its network. My personal favorites include, “#IBelieveWomen should never be encouraged to eat,” and “#IBelieveWomen feel raped when they don’t get their way.” When Red Pillers reject claims that they are misogynistic, or don’t seem to understand why they are classified as a hate subreddit, you really have to wonder how they’re confused. Endorsing a statement that implies rape — a state and federal crime in the United States — is simply a mental construct of a scorned woman could definitely be fueled by sexist hate. But hey, maybe that’s just my feminine imperative showing.
Is Reddit doing anything about this?
After reading the content posted on TRP, it might seem unusual that it hasn’t faced some type of restriction. Well, that’s where things get a little murky. Reddit is well-known for its advocacy of freedom of speech and general leeway in terms of the content it allows. However, the site’s content policy (updated in August 2015), explains types of prohibited content, including content that “threatens, harasses, or bullies or encourages others to do so.” Having spent an unfortunate amount of time reading through TRP for this blog, I definitely came across posts that do all of those things. Posts that tell men to be rough with women when they have sex with them — whether she wants that or not. Posts that warn men to “be alert” because women can easily post a suggestive picture of themselves and blame an ex. Comments on that post that claim, “When I receive a nude, it belongs to me. I may do with it what I wish. If I decide to give it away, that’s my business. I did not steal the picture, it was given to me. If you don’t want your tits on the internet, then don’t send them to anyone.”
Even if Reddit moderators did decide that TRP violated the site’s content policy, there is little likelihood that the community would be banned. Although that can happen, there is a far greater chance that it would simply be quarantined. On Reddit, you must be a logged-in user and opt-in to viewing a quarantined community’s posts, due to their inappropriate or offensive nature. Current quarantined communities include racist subreddits and ones dedicated to pornography. As is the case with most matters of Internet regulation, there is a fine line between banning offensive content and censorship when it comes to Reddit.
More often than not, in favor of free speech, subreddits like TRP are going to remain on the Internet. So, why talk about it in the first place as the subreddit becomes more popular? Because behind the subreddit are real people, real men, going about their daily lives under the impression that women are to be blamed for their struggle to live up to the suffocating standards of typical masculinity. Any high school boy who’s been rejected by a potential prom date (actual case from the sub) can find TRP and feed on the “support” he finds there. The support that will encourage him to see women as games to be conquered, as inferior beings. Those who see the problem in all of this are charged with bringing awareness to the sexism that still exists, whether online or in “real life”, and move towards a reality that (hopefully) won’t ruin the good name of The Matrix.
