A conversation about far-right masculinity, the harm it causes, and what to do about it.
When the background of the arsonist in this past January’s Jackson, Mississippi synagogue fire was revealed, it was unsurprising to many that it was a young, white, conservative, Christian male who was enmeshed in “the manosphere,” an online culture and community pushing far-right forms of masculinity rooted in radical misogyny, male supremacy, and domination.
We know that misogyny and Christian nationalism are two core drivers of the rise of far-right politics in the US and worldwide, and that these movements bring antisemitism in tow.
As the Epstein Files confirm, misogyny is not just a bottom-up phenomenon, but is structurally reinforced, condoned, and even encouraged from the highest levels of political power. This is a crisis, with girls and women being harmed from all directions. While we strive to embody menschlichkeit (the Jewish value of being a moral, honorable and person of good character) and embrace a radically different vision of masculinity and gender expression beyond domination, it’s important that we understand the all-encompassing nature of gender-based violence today, so we can be prepared to protect ourselves and others from these movements.
In this session, join three experts in their fields - Jennifer Pozner, Ben Lorber, and Rabbi Salem Pearce (full bios below) - to learn more about the history of the manosphere and gender-based violence, the intersection of the manosphere with antisemitism, Christian nationalism, and broader far-right movements, how it all relates to the arson in Jackson, ICE attacks on immigrants, and the misogyny of our current political reality, and what we can do about it.
We are living within a historical context, culture, and administration shaped deeply by the influence of the manosphere. It would do us well to be acquainted with this highly influential and highly dangerous subculture so we can be part of uprooting, diffusing, and transforming it.
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Speaker Bios:
Jennifer L. Pozner is a media critic, speaker, and founder of Women In Media & News. Her media literacy graphic novel, It’s Not You, It’s Media: Decoding What We Watch, Read, Post, Buy and Believe, is forthcoming from 23rd Street Books. Her 2010 book, Reality Bites Back: The Troubling Truth About Guilty Pleasure TV, was the first to expose how reality TV functions as backlash against gender and racial justice. She has been published in the New York Times, Village Voice, The Nation, Salon, The Daily Beast, and Politico, among others, and has appeared on ABC, CBS, NBC, CNN, MSNBC, Fox News, PBS, NPR, and various podcasts. She was an advisor and commentator in the award-winning documentary Miss Representation, and the VICE series The Dark Side of Reality TV. She is also an active member of JFREJ: Jews For Racial & Economic Justice.
Ben Lorber works as a Senior Research Analyst at PRA, focusing on white nationalism and antisemitism. Lorber has worked as a journalist, organizer and movement-builder for over a decade. Lorber has published on right-wing social movements, Israel/Palestine, Jewish culture and other topics at The Nation, Salon, Jewish Currents and more. He is the co-author of Safety through Solidarity: A Radical Guide to Fighting Antisemitism (2024). He tweets at @BenLorber8.
Rabbi Salem Pearce brings warm, inclusive Jewish experiences to small communities throughout the South in her role as Director of Spirituality at the Institute of Southern Jewish Life (ISJL). Ordained in 2018 by Hebrew College, Rabbi Pearce’s career has exemplified values of justice, compassion, and service to all. Most recently serving as the Executive Director of Carolina Jews for Justice, Rabbi Pearce has also worked for T’ruah: The Rabbinic Call for Human Rights, and several synagogues and community organizations. Her internships while a rabbinical student included spending a summer as the ISJL’s Rabbinical Intern in 2017 in Jackson, Mississippi. She now lives in Durham, North Carolina, with her three cats.