We define a male supremacist system as a cultural, political, economic, and social system, in which cisgender men disproportionately control status, power, and resources, and women, trans men, and non-binary people are subordinated. Such systems are underpinned by an ideology of male supremacism, the belief in cisgender men’s superiority and right to dominate and control others. While male supremacism also intersects with other axes of oppression, such as racism, xenophobia, antisemitism, and heterosexism, it motivates and undergirds the types of events described above. Male supremacism manifests in various ways, including physical and sexual violence, militarism, and exertion of control over women’s, trans men’s, and non-binary people’s bodies.

Male supremacism is an underlying ideology that simultaneously draws from and contributes to both religious and secular misogynist movements, which form part of the “alt-right” but also attract men (and some women) who claim to be on the left. While male supremacism has a long history, the origins of its recent manifestation as an increasingly organized and growing social movement lies in the response to real, though insufficient, political gains of women, including stronger laws against sexual harassment, violence, and discrimination.

IRMS focuses on researching secular male supremacist ideologies that have been understudied and often viewed dismissively, such as men’s rights activists, pickup artists, The Red Pill, incels (men who identify as “involuntarily celibate”), and Men Going Their Own Way (MGTOWs), in addition to movements within the religious Right, especially the anti-abortion and purity movements.