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Article published In:
Real Fictions: Fictionality, factuality and narrative strategies in contemporary storytelling
Edited by Sam Browse, Alison Gibbons and Mari Hatavara
[Narrative Inquiry 29:2] 2019
► pp. 313–332

Narrative warfare

The ‘careless’ reinterpretation of literary canon in online antifeminism

| Tampere University

This article studies the use of literature and narrative strategies of online antifeminist movements. These movements classified under the umbrella term the manosphere, wage ideological narrative warfare to endorse a misogynistic worldview. The case at hand concentrates on the radical faction of neomasculinity and its attempts to reinterpret the Western canon of literature. I propose that neomasculine readings of novels such as Vladimir Nabokov’s Lolita are careless interpretations that ground themselves on specific traits of the texts while ignoring others. These readings attempt to evoke a sense of recognition in the community that believes in an alleged feminist conspiracy against men. Careless interpretations borrow from post-truth rhetoric and the feminist literary theory tradition of reading against the grain. When confronted over their controversial views, neomasculine figures renarrativize readings to benefit the promotion of neomasculine perspectives. This strategic use of literature is part of the narrative warfare discussed in detail.

Keywords: manosphere, resistant reading, post-truth, instrumental narratives, antifeminism, literary canon
Article outline
  • Introduction
  • The manosphere’s online ecology and antifeminist narrative warfare
  • Careless interpretations of neomasculine readings
  • From the renarrativization of misogyny to problems of reading
  • Conclusion – Real antifeminist fictions
  • Acknowledgements
  • Notes
  • References
Published online: 16 October 2019
DOI logo
https://doi.org/10.1075/ni.19019.nur
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