Attack Frames

Framing Processes, Collective Identity, and Emotion in the Men’s Rights Subreddit

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Chelsea Starr Eastern New Mexico University chelsea.starr@enmu.edu

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Abstract

Framing processes concern how movements communicate with members and the public, defining what they stand for and articulating grievances and solutions. I extend the literature on framing processes to include an online-only movement of the Right with no formal movement organization. I performed a content analysis of 435 memes posted on the Men’s Rights subreddit, concluding that three main frames appear in their discourse: men as victims, antifeminism, and denial of gender inequality. Men’s rights activists (MRAs) accomplish a global transformation of the feminist frame using rhetorical strategies to deny gender inequality exists, simultaneously asserting men are victims of inequality and sexism. “Attack frames” provide MRAs with a common definition of feminism. This understanding contributes to building a collective movement identity centered on a narrative of men as victims. The attack frames can be deployed to sustain affective processes such as anger, which motivate a countermovement against feminism.

Contributor Notes

Chelsea Starr is Assistant Professor in the Department of Sociology at Eastern New Mexico University. E-mail: chelsea.starr@enmu.edu

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The Multidisciplinary Journal of Social Protest

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