The secrets of the red pill: machismo and reactionary imagination on the Internet

Authors

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.11606/issn.1982-8160.v19i2p87-104

Keywords:

red pill, neoconservative imaginary, manosphere, digital culture, microfascism

Abstract

The “red pill” movement became instantly notorious thanks to a recent episode of public debate on the Internet between the comedian Livia La Gatto and coach Thiago Schultz. Departing from this incident, the goal of this work is to analyze the origins and mythologemes of red pill “philosophy”, showing that it belongs to a wider neoconservative imaginary, characterized by microfascist notions and practices and by a singular conception of temporality, distended between the remotest past and the most advanced technological future. 

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Author Biography

  • Erick Felinto, Rio de Janeiro State University

    Doutor em Letras pela Universidade do Estado do Rio de Janeiro (1998). Realizou estágio de Pós-Doutoramento Sênior na Universität der Künste Berlin sobre Teorias da Mídia alemães (2010–2011). Pesquisador do CNPq e Professor Titular da Universidade do Estado do Rio de Janeiro, onde leciona no Programa de Pós-Graduação em Comunicação Social. Também é professor colaborador do Programa de Pós-Graduação em Estudos de Literatura da UFF. 

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Published

2025-08-31

Issue

Section

Dossier

How to Cite

Felinto, E. (2025). The secrets of the red pill: machismo and reactionary imagination on the Internet. MATRIZes, 19(2), 87-104. https://doi.org/10.11606/issn.1982-8160.v19i2p87-104