By Matthew N. Lyons
What’s the role of misogynist ideology in far right politics? How is that related to women’s oppression in society as a whole? A useful resource for exploring these questions is the Institute for Research on Male Supremacism (IRMS). IRMS describes itself as “an intersectional feminist organization that brings together experts from both inside and outside of academia to analyze and expose the dangers of male supremacist ideology and mobilization.” IRMS is a small outfit but has produced a number of publications; sponsored webinars, conferences, and other events; and has helped bring together researchers in a range of institutions and countries who were previously isolated from each other. IRMS is headed by Alex DiBranco, who cofounded the organization in 2019.
There are several things I appreciate about IRMS’s approach:
Combating male supremacism’s invisibility. IRMS points out that the role of male supremacist ideology in fueling violence is often overlooked. An essay by DiBranco about the recent shootings at a San Diego Islamic center noted that both shooters’ manifestos included “extensive misogynist content” along with Islamophobia, antisemitism, and white supremacism, but most reporting about the tragedy said little or nothing about this misogyny. (In a bit of good news, DiBranco’s essay was later republished by Ms. magazine and she was interviewed for a related National Public Radio report.)
In a 2024 interview, DiBranco argued that violence against women is often “not coded as supremacist” but just accepted as somehow apolitical or natural:
“For example, look at how we count hate crime statistics. If we counted the disproportionate amount of intimate partner and sexual violence against women as hate crimes, it would overwhelm the statistics. Because the numbers of domestic, interpersonal, and sexual violence against women are so large, and they are universal across the globe.”
Systemic analysis. A recent IRMS white paper, “The Foundations of Male Supremacism,” emphasizes that supremacist ideology “exists not only at the fringes… but in institutional structures of domination against marginalized groups.” The male supremacism of mass shootings is of a piece with the ideology that underlies “everyday gender-based violence.”
Highlighting core ideological features. The same IRMS white paper offers a helpful framework for parsing male supremacism. Its authors argue that all supremacist ideologies rest on dehumanization (“the denial of people’s full humanity”) and entitlement (“the belief that one is inherently deserving of privileges or special treatment”). In male supremacism, these elements manifest particularly through biological essentialism (“the [scientifically unsound] idea that there are innate differences between groups…that justify unequal power relations in society”), anti-consent ideology (“the expectation that men should have control over women and access to their bodies”), and justification of violence (most of which, whether domestic violence and rape, mass shootings, or military force, is perpetrated by cisgender men).
The white paper also notes that conspiracism “grows as a component of supremacist movements and ideologies when the status quo of an in-group’s dominance comes under threat,” as is the case with feminism’s limited but real gains over the past half century. In addition,
“While the ‘enemies’ in male supremacist conspiracist rhetoric are often named as ‘feminists,’ this term operates as a stand-in for any women not fully submissive to cisgender men’s authority, regardless of whether or not they identify as feminists. The LGBTQ+ community, especially transgender women, are also included in this threat construction. The male supremacist ‘gender ideology’ conspiracy theory has been globally impactful and gained traction in recent years. Conspiracy theories tend to intersect and overlap, with male supremacist conspiracism intersecting with racist, antisemitic, and other conspiracy theories, such as ‘Cultural Marxism.’”
Intersectionalism. IRMS emphasizes that male supremacism must be seen as interconnected with other systems of oppression, typically in ways that are mutually reinforcing. For example, notes the white paper, “[t]he term ‘misogynoir’ calls attention to the specific anti-Black misogyny faced by Black women,” while “through transmisogyny, transgender women suffer even higher rates of violence and oppression than cisgender women.” At the same time, however, “[s]upremacist ideologies may endorse equality for some marginalized groups but not others, or strategically endorse liberation claims to justify attacks on others.” Examples include trans-exclusionary radical feminists (TERFs), who use women’s rights to justify attacks on transgender people, but also some trans men, who criticize transphobia but uphold male dominance.
None of these ideas are unique to IRMS, but I appreciate the way the Institute concisely pulls them together, and the way it gathers and amplifies the voices of feminist researchers and scholars. Too often, male supremacism is treated as a secondary concern in antifascist politics, when understanding and combating it should be central and foundational. IRMS helps us address that problem.
Note: I was recruited to be an early IRMS fellow (a role later re-titled “expert,” which always made me a little uncomfortable) and a contributor to the IRMS-based 2022 book Male Supremacism in the United States, which was edited by Emily Carian, DiBranco, and Chelsea Elbin.