New & Noteworthy

A growing online movement, the “manosphere,” fuels gender-based culture wars by promoting misogynistic beliefs. These subcultures, including Incels and MGTOW, view society as a “Gynocracy” where men are oppressed by women. United by the “Red Pill” metaphor from the Matrix, these groups reject feminist ideas and spread misinformation, often using violent language. As their influence grows, the masosphere’s impact on politics and recruitment of young men continues to rise. View our new “StoryMap” of this important research by Jordyn Wald, S Ericson, and Caroline Garland.

This week, Roger Southall wrote in The Conversation about the challenges of reducing class inequalities in South Africa despite recent economic improvements. Meanwhile, The New York Times  covered global fertility rates, featuring insights from Kumiko Nemoto and Ylva Moberg on gender and childcare in Japan and Sweden. Scott Scheiman discussed Kamala Harris’s pro-work message amidst economic pessimism in The Conversation, and Eve Ewing moderated a panel with Ta-Nehisi Coates and Rami Nashashibi at the Chicago Humanities Festival on nationalism and oppression, as covered by The TRiiBE. Lastly, Taipei Times  highlighted Po-fen Tai’s new book, The Last Female Miner: Haishan Mines and a Sociologist’s Exploration of her Miner Grandmother’s Life, on women in Taiwan’s mining industry. See our weekly Clippings here.

From the Archives

Victoria’s Secret just had their first runway show after a 6 year hiatus. The brand had seemed to lose its appeal in the late 2010s after facing accusations of hypersexualization of women, ageism, a lack of models of color, and a lack of size inclusivity. It has yet to be seen whether this revival of a once-iconic show will pose a turnaround for a brand that has struggled to modernize its portrayals of beauty and sexuality. Check out two Sociological Images pieces, When Whiteness is the Standard of Beauty and Beauty and the Double Standard of Aging by Lisa Wade to inform yourself on the beauty conversation.

With 19,521 fans filling Target Center for Game 3 of the WNBA finals, the Minnesota Lynx set a new franchise attendance record, signaling the continued rise in popularity of women’s sports. This 2024 Special Feature by Cheryl Cooky highlights the growing interest in women’s sports, pointing out how this moment could represent a shift toward greater visibility, investment, and equality.

More from our Partners & Community Pages

Contexts:

• are you holding? by Sophie X. Liu covers how escrow systems in cryptomarkets reduce trust and sales by increasing prices and undermining informal social control among drug traders, according to a study by Filippo Andrei and colleagues.

Council on Contemporary Families:

• Alicia Walker talks with JPB Gerald in an interview about his new book Embracing the Exceptions, which highlights the unique challenges neurodivergent students of color face in education, emphasizing the need for teachers to embrace students’ diverse experiences and release rigid control to promote equity and success.