Dog whistles

The videos, forums and podcasts that comprise the manosphere use a unique vernacular to describe specific concepts.
Many of the terms have been adopted from science or pop culture, but crucially, the original meanings are warped and widely misrepresented. Hopefully, understanding the vocabulary shared online can allow people in the real world to recognize problematic concepts and push back on misconceptions.

Hypergamy

Hypergamy is the concept of “mating upwards,” a biological phenomenon in some species of animals, incorrectly applied to women. Manosphere content often uses the concept of hypergamy to claim that all women try to cheat, all women use men for their money or status, and that women can’t build genuine friendships with men.

The red pill

The symbol of the red pill comes from “The Matrix” movies, but the term has been adopted online to indicate a particular word view. Someone who has “taken the red pill,” is someone who is aware of the “truth” about female nature and society’s unspoken hierarchy of value. Community members believe that being “red pilled” allows men to manipulate the invisible system to their benefit.

The black pill

The black pill is an offshoot of red pill philosophy, but someone who is “black pilled” believes that the truth they are able to see is inescapable. The black pill argues that “low-value males” are unable to socially succeed and will never be in a relationship. This is a particularly dangerous belief, creating communities that foster depression and sometimes violent behavior.

Gynocentrism

Gynocentrism is an incorrectly adopted term used by the manosphere to articulate the belief that society is controlled by women to the detriment of most men. Gynocentrisum is often used to argue that the wage gap isn’t real, that rape culture isn’t real, and that women weaponize complaints about structural sexism to harm men. In the manosphere, gynocentrism is often described as unnatural and as the source of most social issues.