
Man Up
The New Misogyny and the Rise of Violent Extremism
Cynthia Miller-Idriss(Author)
Princeton University Press
Published on 16. September 2025
Book
Hardback
344 pages
978-0-691-25754-9 (ISBN)
Description
The revelatory and urgent story of how an explosion of misogyny is driving a surge of mass and far-right violence throughout the West-from an internationally recognized extremism expert and media commentator
What two things do most mass shooters, terrorists, or violent extremists have in common? Most of us know the first: they are almost always men or boys. But the second? They are almost always virulent misogynists, homophobes, or transphobes-even if they are also motivated by racism, antisemitism, or xenophobia. The antigovernment militiamen charged with plotting to kidnap and execute Michigan governor Gretchen Whitmer used language saturated with misogyny, with one telling an FBI informant, "Just grab the bitch." The men who killed scores at Virginia Tech, the Pulse nightclub, and a Maryland newsroom all had prior reports of stalking, domestic violence, or harassment of women. And in dozens of other incidents-from North America to Norway to New Zealand-an increasing number of misogynist incel (involuntary celibate) and male supremacist attackers have explicitly targeted and killed women, blaming feminism or sexual frustration with women as motivation for their attacks.
Yet, despite all evidence, the bright red thread of misogyny running through these attacks is barely acknowledged by the media or even experts-and this failing leaves us powerless to stop the violence. In Man Up, Cynthia Miller-Idriss, a leading expert on extremism, addresses this crucial oversight head-on, revealing how an epidemic of misogyny-both online and off-and a patriarchal backlash are driving an exponential rise in mass and far-right violence. She also offers essential strategies that all of us-including parents, teachers, and counselors-can use to fight the rising tide of violence, beginning with recognizing the misogyny that pervades our everyday lives.
What two things do most mass shooters, terrorists, or violent extremists have in common? Most of us know the first: they are almost always men or boys. But the second? They are almost always virulent misogynists, homophobes, or transphobes-even if they are also motivated by racism, antisemitism, or xenophobia. The antigovernment militiamen charged with plotting to kidnap and execute Michigan governor Gretchen Whitmer used language saturated with misogyny, with one telling an FBI informant, "Just grab the bitch." The men who killed scores at Virginia Tech, the Pulse nightclub, and a Maryland newsroom all had prior reports of stalking, domestic violence, or harassment of women. And in dozens of other incidents-from North America to Norway to New Zealand-an increasing number of misogynist incel (involuntary celibate) and male supremacist attackers have explicitly targeted and killed women, blaming feminism or sexual frustration with women as motivation for their attacks.
Yet, despite all evidence, the bright red thread of misogyny running through these attacks is barely acknowledged by the media or even experts-and this failing leaves us powerless to stop the violence. In Man Up, Cynthia Miller-Idriss, a leading expert on extremism, addresses this crucial oversight head-on, revealing how an epidemic of misogyny-both online and off-and a patriarchal backlash are driving an exponential rise in mass and far-right violence. She also offers essential strategies that all of us-including parents, teachers, and counselors-can use to fight the rising tide of violence, beginning with recognizing the misogyny that pervades our everyday lives.
Reviews / Votes
"We can't recommend it [Man-Up] highly enough."---Matt Kelly and Matt d'Ancona, The Two Matts "It's probably the most important book that I've read in ten years."---Emma Kennedy, The BunkerMore details
Language
English
Place of publication
New Jersey
United States
Target group
College/higher education
Professional and scholarly
Product notice
Trade binding
Dimensions
Height: 236 mm
Width: 164 mm
Thickness: 29 mm
Weight
662 gr
ISBN-13
978-0-691-25754-9 (9780691257549)
Copyright in bibliographic data and cover images is held by Nielsen Book Services Limited or by the publishers or by their respective licensors: all rights reserved.
Schweitzer Classification
Other editions
Additional editions

E-Book
09/2025
1st Edition
Princeton University Press
€29.49
Available for download
Person
Cynthia Miller-Idriss is a sociologist and professor in the School of Public Affairs and the School of Education at American University, where she is the founding director of the Polarization and Extremism Research and Innovation Lab (PERIL). An MSNBC columnist and a regular commentator in US and international media, Miller-Idriss is the author of Hate in the Homeland: The New Global Far Right (Princeton), The Extreme Gone Mainstream: Commercialization and Far Right Youth Culture in Germany (Princeton), and Blood and Culture: Youth, Right-Wing Extremism, and National Belonging in Contemporary Germany.