Selected Papers of #AoIR2022:  

The 23rd Annual Conference of the  
Association of Internet Researchers 

Dublin, Ireland / 2-5 Nov 2022 

 

 

 

Suggested Citation (APA): Gerrand, V. (2022, November). Drawing to disrupt: Alternative Narratives to 
the Manosphere. Paper presented at AoIR 2022: The 23rd Annual Conference of the Association of 
Internet Researchers. Dublin, Ireland: AoIR. Retrieved from http://spir.aoir.org. 

DRAWING TO DISRUPT: ALTERNATIVE NARRATIVES TO THE 
MANOSPHERE 

 

Dr Vivian Gerrand  
Centre for Resilient and Inclusive Societies, Deakin University  
 
 

Content calling out everyday sexism on social media has grown in prominence in recent 
years through the work of feminist Instagram accounts such as @theequalityinstitute, 
@disbonjoursalepute and @vulgadrawings. And yet, for the most part, such accounts 
have had limited impact on the proliferation of materials associated with the so-called 
manosphere, which uphold the narrative that men are victims of women’s 
empowerment. Intersecting with colonial, far-right and white supremacist views, this 
content promotes traditionalist gender norms that eschew feminism and are imbued with 
misogyny, leading to threats and acts of violence against women (RAN 2021). 
 
 
Efforts to mitigate the social influence of such movements through CVE counter- 
narrative campaigns or the removal of content from big tech platforms through de- 
platforming initiatives have limited efficacy (Conway 2020; Hemmingsen and Castro 
2017; Rogers 2020). This is the case for at least three key reasons. First, such content 
may simply be relocated to niche unregulated dark web environments. Second, violent 
extremist groups may turn to analogue means to conduct their recruitment processes 
offline (Berger et al. 2020). Finally, content-driven ‘pull factor’ interventions will be 
inadequate if ‘push factor’ underlying grievances that motivate radicalization processes 
are not addressed (Vergani et al. 2020). 
 
 
Popular feminist influencer and cartoonist Lily O’Farrell’s (@vulgadrawings) memes 
about sexism began to engage with the nuances of the manosphere in 2021 when she 
decided to talk to young men who were trolling her Instagram account. These men had 
become aware of her account after it was shared in a men’s rights subreddit group. 
Concerned that the group was made up of young men predominantly aged 16-23, 
O’Farrell decided to investigate the movement by joining incel (involuntary celibate) 
subreddit groups. 
 



Following these investigations, the cartoonist produced a series of meme drawings 
titled: ‘Everything I’ve learned about incels’ (2021), which illuminates the dynamics of 
the phenomenon for her mostly feminist 297 000 followers. Instead of demonising 
incels, her drawings provide an anatomy of the movement that allows viewers insight 
into its logics (see Figure 1). 
 
 

 
Figure 1. ‘Everything I’ve learned about incels.’ Vulgadrawings Instagram post, 
2021.  
 
 
O’Farrell powerfully acknowledges the real and perceived grievances of young men in 
these groups, such as loneliness, body-image insecurities, lack of mental health support 
and resources, which are blamed by incels on women (2021). The cartoonist reveals 
that at one end of the spectrum are pick-up artists. At the other, ‘black-pilled’ violently- 
oriented incels who may share NEET (not in any education, training or employment), 
Doomer and Alt-Right characteristics (depicted in Figure 1). The artist’s cartoons 
expose the root causes of these grievances as being tied to the structures of patriarchy, 
helping young male viewers on the incel spectrum to see that women are not 
responsible for, but are instead also victims of, such structures. 
 



In addition to illuminating a disturbing trend, O’Farrell’s drawings ‘call people in’ within a 
context of calling out everyday misogyny (Ross 2021). Digital anthropologists have 
established that social networking sites can enable political agency and subversion 
(Leaver, Highfield and Abidin 2020). Through a multimodal content analysis, this paper 
considers them as hosts of possible alternative narrative strategies that disrupt gender 
assumptions through empathetic engagement with young men at risk of violent 
misogynist radicalization. 
 
 
Alternative narrative interventions can arguably be deployed to disarm the manosphere 
and support disengagement from violent extremist discourses. Unlike counter- 
narratives, alternative narratives can be more effective at challenging extremist 
narratives because they directly address real and perceived grievances as well as the 
psycho-social needs that may lead to engagement with extremist discourse. 
 
 

 
Figure 2. ‘Everything I’ve learned about incels.’ Vulgadrawings Instagram post, 
2021. 
 
 
The final slide within O’Farrell’s series poses the question of what to do about the 
phenomenon. It advises the cartoonist’s followers to engage in radical empathy, to listen 



and challenge the assumptions put forward by adherents of the male supremacist 
movement. This empathetic analysis and call to arms have led to significant numbers of 
young men at risk of misogynist radicalization interacting with O’Farrell, with one young 
man sharing that he had left the movement and found intimacy with a partner after his 
DM (direct messaging) exchange with the artist. 
 
 
O’Farrell’s memes are an example of an alternative narrative strategy that supports 
good conflict, cultivating bonding (Williams 2019), bridging and linking social capital 
while encouraging a shift from ‘us and them’ to ‘we’ (Gerrand 2020; Roose et al. 2021). 
The feminist influencer’s works subvert male supremacy, recruitment and engagement 
with violent misogynist content. In this sense, O’Farrell’s Instagram meme-based 
alternative narrative strategy has the capacity to decolonize, depolarize and encourage 
movement away from violence-based solutions to grievances toward pro-social radical 
and resilient action. 
 
 
 
References 
 
Berger, J.M., K. Aryaeinejad & S. Looney. 2020 ‘There and Back Again: How White 
Nationalist Ephemera Travels Between Online and Offline Spaces.’ The RUSI Journal 
165(1): 114-129. 
 
 
Conway, M. 2020 ‘Routing the Extreme Right. Challenges for Social Media Platforms.’ 
The RUSI Journal. No 165, pp. 108-113. 
 
 
Gerrand, V. 2020 ‘Can Social Networking Platforms Prevent Polarisation and Violent 
Extremism?’ Open Democracy. 13 November. 
 
 
Hemmingsen, A. and K. I. Castro. 2017 ‘The trouble with counter-narratives.’ 
Copenhagen: Danish Institute for International Studies. REU Alm.del Bilag 189: 
DIIS_RP_2017_1.pdf (ft.dk) 
 
 
Leaver, T., T. Highfield and C. Abidin. 2020 Instagram: Visual social media cultures. 
Polity Press. 
 
 
O’Farrell, L. 2021 ‘Everything I learned about Incels.’ Instagram post, 19 August. 
 
 
Radicalisation Awareness Network (RAN) 2021 ‘Incels. A First Scan of the 
Phenomenon (in the EU) and its Relevance and Challenges for P/CVE.’ European 
Commission. 



 
 
Rogers, R. 2020 ‘Deplatforming: Following extreme Internet celebrities to Telegram and 
alternative social media.’ European Journal of Communication. Vol. 35, Issue 3, pp. 
213-229. 
 
Roose, J.M., V. Gerrand & S. Akbarzadeh. 2021 Rapid Evidence Assessment of 
Alternative Narratives. AVERT (Addressing Violent Extremism and Radicalisation to 
Terrorism) Research Network. 
 
 
Ross, L.J. 2021 ‘Don’t call people out – let them in.’ TED talk, August. 
 
 
Vergani, M., M. Iqbal, E. Ilbahar & G. Barton. 2020 ‘The Three Ps of Radicalization: 
Push, Pull and Personal. A Systematic Scoping Review of the Scientific Evidence about 
Radicalization Into Violent Extremism.’ Studies in Conflict and Terrorism. 43(10): 854. 
 
 
Williams, J.R. 2019 ‘The use of online social networking sites to nurture and cultivate 
bonding social capital.’ New Media and Society. 21(11-12): 2710-2729