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​What do most mass shooters, terrorists, or violent extremists have in common? They are almost always men or boys. And less well-known, they are almost always vicious misogynists, homophobes, or transphobes--even if they are also motivated by racism, antisemitism, or xenophobia. The antigovernment militiamen charged with plotting to kidnap and execute Michigan governor Gretchen Whitmer used language saturated with misogyny, with one telling an FBI informant, "Just grab the bitch."

 

The men who killed scores at Virginia Tech, the Pulse nightclub, and a Maryland newsroom all had prior reports of stalking, domestic violence, or harassment of women. And in dozens of other incidents--from North America to Norway to New Zealand--an increasing number of misogynist incel (involuntary celibate) and male supremacist attackers have explicitly targeted and killed women, blaming feminism or sexual frustration with women as motivation for their attacks. Yet, despite all evidence, the bright red thread of misogyny running through these attacks is barely acknowledged by the media or even experts--and this failing leaves us powerless to stop the violence.

 

Returning to Munich Dialogues on Democracy, Cynthia Miller-Idriss will talk about her latest work, Man Up, where she addresses this crucial oversight head-on, revealing how an epidemic of misogyny--both online and off--and a patriarchal backlash are driving an exponential rise in mass and far-right violence. She also offers essential strategies that all of us--including parents, teachers, and counselors--can use to fight the rising tide of violence, beginning with recognizing the misogyny that pervades our everyday lives. 

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Dr. Cynthia Miller-Idriss is a sociologist and professor in the School of Public Affairs and the School of Education at American University, where she is the founding director of the Polarization and Extremism Research and Innovation Lab (PERIL). An MSNBC columnist and a regular commentator in U.S. and international media, Miller-Idriss is the author of Hate in the Homeland: The New Global Far Right (Princeton), The Extreme Gone Mainstream: Commercialization and Far Right Youth Culture in Germany (Princeton), and Blood and Culture: Youth, Right-Wing Extremism, and National Belonging in Contemporary Germany.

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