[Air-L] New book: “Fantasy, Online Misogyny and the Manosphere: Male Bodies of Dis/Inhibition” + book launch

[Jacob Johanssen]

I am pleased to inform you that my book is published this week. Please join
the virtual book launch on 04 November.



*Fantasy, Online Misogyny and the Manosphere Male Bodies of Dis/Inhibition
(Routledge)*

With a preface by Klaus Theweleit

Published in the Psychoanalysis and Popular Culture Series (edited by
Caroline Bainbridge and Candida Yates)

https://www.routledge.com/Fantasy-Online-Misogyny-and-the-Manosphere-Male-Bodies-of-DisInhibition/Johanssen/p/book/9780367468651



This book presents the first in-depth study of online misogyny and the
manosphere from a psychoanalytic perspective. The author argues that the
men of the manosphere present contradictory thoughts, desires and fantasies
about women which include but also go beyond misogyny. They are in a state
of dis/inhibition: torn between (un)conscious forces and fantasies which
erupt and are defended against. Dis/inhibition shows itself in
self-victimization and defensive apathy as well as toxic agency and
symbolic power and expresses itself in desire for and hatred of other
bodies. The text draws on the psychoanalytic thinkers Klaus Theweleit,
Elisabeth Young-Bruehl, Jessica Benjamin and Wilhelm Reich to present
detailed analyses of the communities within the so-called manosphere,
including incels, Men Going Their Own Way (MGTOW), alt-right YouTubers and
NoFap users. Drawing on wider discussions about the status of sexuality in
contemporary neoliberal technoculture since the sexual revolution of the
late 1960s, it illuminates how sexuality, racism and images of the white
male body shape the fantasies and affects of many men on the internet and
beyond.

Integrating a unique theoretical framework to help understand how today’s
increase in online misogyny relates to the alt-right and fascism*, Online
Misogyny and the Manosphere *is an important resource for academics in a
variety of fields including psychoanalysis, media and communication
studies, internet studies, masculinity research and more.



*Table of Contents:*

Series Preface

Preface by Klaus Theweleit

Introduction: A Psychoanalysis of the Manosphere

1. Male Fascist Bodies – Then and Now

2. The Sexual Revolution, the Manosphere and (Post)Feminism

3. The Backlash against the Sexual Revolution on YouTube

4. Incels and Fantasies of Destroying/Desiring the Other

5. Men Going Their Own Way – MGTOW: Woman shall (not) Exist

6. The Manifestos of Mass Shooters and the Absent Father

7. NoFap: Masturbation, Porn and Phallic Fragility

Conclusion: From Dis/Inhibition to Recognition – A Space for Hope?



*Virtual Book Launch: 04 November, 6-8pm BST*

https://www.eventbrite.com/e/book-launch-fantasy-online-misogyny-and-the-manosphere-tickets-191255198447



Speakers:

Professor Candida Yates (Bournemouth University)

Professor John Mercer (Birmingham City University)

Associate Professor Diego Semerene (University of Amsterdam)



*Endorsements*

"Jacob Johanssen examines today's relevant 'fascist' men and their
murderous actions in the light of the older as well as the newer research
literature; thinks further newer psycho-analytic concepts and brings them
in relation to the changed technological nature of today's world—greatest
thanks for this gigantic work."* – From the Preface by Klaus Theweleit,
author of *Male Fantasies



"Jacob Johanssen’s *Fantasy, Online Misogyny and the Manosphere: Male
Bodies of Dis/Inhibition *is a timely and welcome addition to the growing
body of scholarship on anti-feminist formations online. This vibrant
psychosocial study explores the psychodynamics of anti-feminist groups and
their members, but always within a broader sociological context. Such an
approach is especially important for understanding radicalisation
processes, which are shaped by complex experiences, fantasies and
expressions, as well as by the socio-political factors that enable and
amplify misogyny. Johanssen’s study neither defuses nor excuses their
misogyny, but rather demonstrates how personal contradictions,
incoherencies and ambivalences become channelled into extreme and hateful
forms of political dogma. Always attendant to the contextual complexities
of neoliberal capitalism, data-driven politics and the dynamics of the
alt-right, *Fantasy, Online Misogyny and the Manosphere *enriches our
understanding of white male supremacism by adding new lenses and
perspectives through which to view the fantasies that drive this
increasingly sinister political reality." – *Debbie Ging, Associate
Professor of Media Studies, Dublin City University.*



"In a time of political polarisation and multiplying hatreds in the ‘real’
and ‘virtual’ worlds – a division that now holds little value – Jacob
Johanssen’s book is an important guide to some of the most disturbing
elements of the ‘manosphere’. Addressing the startling rhetoric of incels,
MGTOWs, NoFaps and others, Johanssen offers historical context, social and
political insight and, most of all, a thorough psychoanalytic reading of
this significant and dangerous contemporary arena for the expression of
toxic masculinities." – *Stephen Frosh, Professor of Psychology, Department
of Psychosocial Studies, Birkbeck (University of London).*



"Jacob Johanssen’s *Fantasy, Online Misogyny and the Manosphere* could
hardly be a more timely intervention in debates around contemporary
masculinities and misogyny in the digital sphere. In this beautifully
written and scrupulously researched book Johannsen draws together the
disparate communities that comprise what is now known as the ‘manopshere’
and its discontents. The author’s intention, spectacularly realised, is to
construct a psychosocial analysis of online misogyny and its connections to
fantasy, affect and desire. Given the growth in spaces where these
practices take place, in spite of (or perhaps in reaction to) a cultural
context in which sexism is increasingly challenged and under threat, a
study such as this makes a very necessary contribution to the growing field
of literature tackling online misogyny. This is essential reading for
anyone interested in the emergence, mechanics and practices of the
‘manosphere’ and wider cultures of and practices of pernicious toxic
masculinity." – *John Mercer, Professor of Gender and Sexuality, Birmingham
Centre for Media and Cultural Research*



"A painful, yet highly necessary, read for any feminist and antiracist,
Johanssen’s complex study of the online manosphere illustrates the deeply
contradictory relationship of misogynistic men to their own identities,
desires, fantasies, and dis/inhibitions. Through his poignant analysis of
how misogynistic aggression often hides intense insecurity and fragility,
Johanssen demonstrates that the world would be a better place if
misogynistic men—along with everyone else—understood what Jacques Lacan
emphasized, namely that nobody possesses the phallus, that phallic power is
a purely illusory construct with no real-life referent. A recognition of
this simple fact would open a way toward less toxic masculinities and a way
out of the ‘us vs. them’ mentality that continues to poison the gendered
terrain of contemporary life." – *Mari Ruti, Distinguished Professor of
Critical Theory and of Gender and Sexuality Studies, University of Toronto*