Gender Hatred in RuNet: Masculists and Radical Feminists

Abstract

Numerous non-political radical ideas that appeared in the digital space of the RuNet require a thorough theoretical analysis as potentially extremist. The present research featured views and activities of radical gender Internet communities. The research objective was to assess their potential threat to society. The study was based on both empirical and theoretical analyses. The author developed a set of criteria that made it possible to refer some Internet communities to "hate groups." He used a specially compiled thesaurus in search engines and social media search programs. The empirical information was structured and conceptualized. The novelty of the research lies in the criterial and typologizing analysis of a previously unexplored fragment of radical activity on the RuNet. The article introduces a set of categories and criteria for identifying radical non-political Internet communities. The author established the addresses of the Internet distribution of masculists and radical feminists, compared them, and assessed their potential threat to society. The results may be of interest to social scientists and government officials, as well as to specialists in security issues.