THE BLACK PILL; A SILENT, SOCIAL, POISON

This article is written by a student writer from the Her Campus at South Carolina chapter and does not reflect the views of Her Campus.

The gender divide

The presence of misogyny in media can be an uncomfortable pill to swallow, but to a radicalized demographic of lonely young men—it goes down easily. Since the overturning of Roe v. Wade in 2022 , signs of progress for women’s rights, healthcare, and equity are infrequent.

The political opinions between young men and women showed a stark divide in a recent study by NBC, where it was found that nearly half of young men approved of Donald Trump’s job performance, while only 24% of young women reported approval—a 21-point difference. This gap quickly shrinks, however, as the age of the respondents increases. When people aged between 45 and 64 were asked about their approval of Trump, a 13-point difference was showed in answers between men and women.  Among those aged 65 and older, only a 7-point gender gap was evident.

So, why is Gen-Z so divided?

from fitness to the far-right, the “Manosphere” is a place for lonely men.

Although there are many different contributing factors to this phenomenon, one variable proves to be the most evident: the media. The way we consume media is significantly different from our parents, and their parents before them. Although concepts like the patriarchy, rape culture, and toxic masculinity existed before our generation, a process called “Black Pilling” was birthed around the same time we were, on early internet forums like 4Chan and Reddit.

You may have heard about “Red Pilling” already. The concept of taking the “Red Pill” was derived from the 1999 film The Matrix. The term represented the process of gaining awareness of the harsh realities of the world. Despite the nonpartisan notion of this definition, modern Red Pilling has become increasingly associated with extremist ideology, and a defining part of the “Manosphere”—the wide-spread umbrella of internet subcultures characterized by misogynistic values. Consumers of the Red Pill report experiencing a socio-political awakening, often accompanied by conspiracy theories that build distrust against certain parts of the government, women and other marginalized groups. 

An early example of how Red Pilling became a term exclusively for the alt-right was in a 2016 twitter post from Donal Trump targeting Hillary Clinton. The post included the phrase “Most Corrupt Candidate Ever!” printed on a Star of David and a stack of cash in the background. Former leader of the Ku Klux Klan, David Dukes, praised Trump for this offensive attack on his Democratic opponent stating, “Nice to see Mr. Trump slipping some ‘Red Pills’ to the American people!”. Two years later, conservative outlet Fox News attributed taking “The Red Pill” to hip-hop singer and rapper Kanye West’s shift towards right-wing politics in 2018. West would later become a wildly controversial antisemite and alt-right figure, criticized for selling apparel depicting swastikas on the front. The trend of Red Pilling as a first step towards further extremist values continues to escalate.

Incel Culture

Involuntary Celibate (Incel) culture is another part of the identity markers that often accompanies Red Pill ideology in the Manosphere. There is a widely accepted theory among Incel forums called “the 80/20 ratio”. It implies 80% of women will be with only 20% of men. The men in these online societies fixate on the fear of never being desired by women. This insecurity often festers into anger and violence. Netflix’s Adolescence, which swept the Emmy awards this year, highlights this phenomenon. The project’s exploration of young masculinity follows a 13-year old boy accused of murdering his female classmate. Ultimately, a large part of what drove him to committing the crime were his own insecurities. His fear of the way he might be perceived by the girls and women around him is an integral part of his character throughout the story.

Although diverse in the way it presents itself, all sectors of the Manosphere promote a strict ideal for gender norms, social structures, and even concepts of eugenics, antisemitism and violence. Often citing pseudoscientific concepts, Incel culture uses self-improvement language that promotes obsessive, looks-based hierarchal standards. The further one dives into the Manosphere, the more frightening and twisted it becomes. On the surface there are seemingly neutral types of content that only express alt-right views in subtle dog whistles—like fitness influencing, podcasts, and debaters. When we dig further past the Red Pill, it turns darker, leading to the Black Pill. 

The Black Pill

Black Pill societies are characterized by a degree of nihilism and lack of empathy that often cultivates real life violence, according to an article posted by The Anti Defamation League. While Red Pill Incels might optimistically fight to be a part of the 20% of men they believe women find attractive, Black Pill Incels have mostly discarded this goal. Black Pill Incels identify shamelessly in internet spaces as men who will never have the ability to romantically be with a woman. They justify this fact by criticizing females as a subhuman race to varying degrees. Although their hatred targets women, the young men in these communities ultimately face detrimental affects themselves. According to survey cited by UN Women Global, men who frequently engage with masculinity influencing content reported a higher level of worthlessness, were less likely to take care of their own mental health, and placed a high amount of value on wealth and popularity among male peers.

Suicidal ideology is heavily promoted in Black Pill spaces, which operate similarly to a “Death Cult”. Black Pill Incels are left with two options: take their own lives or “go to the ER”. Of course, these men are not actually going to medical centers for help, but rather using the term “ER” or “become a hERO” as a euphemism for the mass shooter, Elliot Rodger. Rodger, who killed 6 people at the University of California in 2014, is widely worshiped as “Saint Elliot” or “The Supreme Gentleman” among online Incels. His manifesto, which detailed his sexism and called woman animals, is a harsh example of the ways Black Pill rhetoric online can lead to real-world violence.

Rodger is not nearly the only example of this; Alek Minassin, who killed 10 when he ran his van into a crown in Canada in 2018, cited Incel internet radicalization as one of his motives for the attack. In 2018, Scott Beirerle took the lives of two women in a Florida yoga class, before turning his weapon towards himself. After the crime, police found he had a lengthy history of gender and race-based supremacy ideology that alluded to the shooting being an act of femicide. Black Pillers, often obsessed with the idea of a siege, were heavily involved in the Jan. 6 insurrection of the United States Capital Building in 2020. Netflix’s The Anti-Social Network (2024) documents the timeline of how these same internet subcultures spread online conspiracy theories that led to the political attack. 

The radicalization by the Black Pill on social media has been detrimental to the safety of women and the health of young men. Gen-Z must recognize the signs of indoctrination for themselves and their peers to help prevent the spread of this harmful and violent ideology. Don’t swallow the pill!