The Lawfare Podcast – Lawfare Daily: Misogyny and Violent Extremism with Cynthia Miller-Idriss

Date: February 3, 2026
Host: Daniel Byman, The Lawfare Institute
Guest: Cynthia Miller-Idriss, American University Professor, author of Man: The New Misogyny and the Rise of Violent Extremism

Overview

This episode examines the links between misogyny and violent extremism, exploring how gender-based hatred interrelates with a spectrum of extremist violence. Cynthia Miller-Idriss discusses her book, Man: The New Misogyny and the Rise of Violent Extremism, offering a framework to understand misogyny as both a connector across extremisms and a driver of violence. The conversation addresses under-recognized patterns in domestic terrorism, the roles both men and women play in sustaining these systems, and practical steps to prevention.

Key Discussion Points and Insights

1. Why This Book? Connecting the Dots in Gendered Violence

• Blind Spots in National Security: Miller-Idriss wrote the book to fill a major gap in how national security and prevention fields address the intersection of misogyny, intimate partner violence, and extremist violence, a gap that has long been noted by Black feminists but rarely centered in security policy.

  “When I talk about the field having blind spots, I’m part of those blind spots.” (03:33)

• Personal and Academic Reflection: Despite 25 years in the field, Miller-Idriss acknowledges her own former inability to see these links, which became clear following events like the attempted kidnapping of Governor Gretchen Whitmer in 2020.

• Category Problem:

  “It’s hard to see a problem for which there is no category.” (07:12, Daniel Byman)
  Miller-Idriss’s work is about giving misogynist extremism its own category and analytic lens.

• Coverage Gaps:

  • Internationally (esp. in Islamist extremism), violence against women as a tactic is acknowledged— but in domestic contexts, it’s routinely siloed or ignored.

2. Five Approaches to Male Dominance through Violence

Miller-Idriss breaks down violent misogyny into five categories, each discussed as individual book chapters:

A. Containment (13:08)

• Everyday language and cultural policing keep women (and LGBTQ people) “in their place.”
• Language Patterns:

  “Get back under the rock, go back in the shithole, jump off a bridge … send them back, lock her up, get back in the kitchen … these are all metaphors of containment.” (13:38)

• Metaphors rooted in smallness, animal comparisons ("bitch," "emasculating"), and gender policing of both boys and girls via slurs (e.g., “you throw like a girl,” “sissy”).
• Quote:

  “Misogyny is the law enforcement arm of the patriarchy. It’s not just hatred of women—it is a policing of expected norms and behaviors.” (16:29)

B. Punishment / Incel Violence (17:00)

• Focuses on violence that seeks to punish women for denying men what they believe is their due (sex, affection, attention).
• Origins in online incel communities, initially meant as support but co-opted by violent misogynists.
• Real-world attacks with incel connections (Santa Barbara, Tallahassee, Parkland, Toronto), often linked by ideology or inspiration.
• Quote:

  “It’s really oriented around punishing women for not giving these men what they think they are entitled to.” (01:25, 19:36)

C. Exploitation (19:40)

• Hardest, most disturbing topic: the intersection of extremist movements and sexual exploitation, trafficking, and child abuse material.
• Emerging Networks:
  • 764/sadistic exploitation networks blackmail kids into self-harm or harming others, with links to nihilistic violent extremism.
  • Neo-Nazi and white supremacist groups regularly engage in sex trafficking and child abuse—yet charges are often only for drugs, weapons, or racketeering.
• Quote:

  “We know that where there’s drug trafficking, there’s sex trafficking … but we don’t do it.” (23:54)

D. Erasure (29:27)

• Focus on movements to erase LGBTQ identities (“erasing bodies and erasing knowledge”).
• Analysis of legislative attacks on trans rights, curriculum bans, and violence against LGBTQ allies.
• These campaigns are weaponized by extremist groups for both ideology and mobilization.

E. Enabling (31:26)

• Explores the participatory role of women—especially white women—in upholding, enabling, and promoting extremist systems.
• Evolution in Female Roles: From “martyrs” in family/child protection to active, even violent, agents (e.g., Ashli Babbitt on January 6).
• Social media allows women to lead and amplify misogynist/white supremacist movements with relative safety.
• Women can also police gender roles and sustain toxic systems via activism or social pressure.
• Quote:

  “It’s not just men who do this, but also women … promoting and sustaining misogynist systems and white supremacist ones, including in violent ways.” (02:00, 31:55)

3. The (Still) Protective Rhetoric (35:06)

• Daniel Byman brings up the old white supremacist paradigm of “knight protecting virginal white women”—asking if it still exists beside the modern “bitches and hoes” rhetoric.
• Miller-Idriss responds that both archetypes persist: women as either “on a pedestal” to be protected or “deviant” and to be punished.
• Modern right-wing politics weaponize both—mainstream (protection of women from “outsiders”) and fringe (anger and dominance).

4. Trends: Is it Getting Worse or Just More Visible? (40:05 – 45:14)

• Online amplification has made misogyny far more visible and normalized; easy digital communication yields higher volume and social proof.
• Gen Z men show more alignment with anti-feminist attitudes than older generations.
• Backlash against women framed as a response to social change.
• The US lags behind countries like Australia, UK, Canada in policy response to these trends.

5. Mental Health vs. Hate: Causality and Vulnerability (45:24)

• There is a real “crisis among men and boys” (loneliness, despair, suicide), but there’s no inevitability that this becomes misogyny—online influencers and toxic communities shape real grievances into anger at and violence towards women.

6. Prevention: What Can Be Done? (48:07)

• Parents/Educators: Need to understand and engage gendered online spaces, not just ban access.
• Content of Online Worlds: Violent or degrading material, exposure to toxic “influencers,” and normalization of male dominance shape behavior early.
  • Example: Spike in violent porn consumption and choking-related harms among young women.
• For parents: Guides exist to recognize slang and red flags (from SPLC and others).
• Strategies: Engagement, curiosity, and non-judgmental dialogue with youth about online experiences.
• Community Response: Both men and women (especially those who are less targeted by objectification) have a duty to speak up, model healthy behaviors, and call out harmful norms.

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On collective obliviousness:

  “Even as a woman not seeing these connections … we just haven’t paid attention enough.” (04:09, Cynthia Miller-Idriss)

• On policy categorization:

  “If this is going to sit in ‘all other’ … we can’t even center it … we’re just not going to get the kind of resources to attend to it.” (06:45, Miller-Idriss)

• On women as enablers and actors:

  “Women have played a big role in policing boys and also in policing girls with gender norms … and sometimes promoting and sustaining misogynist systems and white supremacist ones, including in violent ways.” (02:00, 31:55, Cynthia Miller-Idriss)

• On the humor and humility in the face of sexism:

  “I got cat-called from behind … when he turned around and saw how old I am … he put his hands up and said, ‘Oh, sorry, ma’am.’” (52:40, Miller-Idriss)

  • Used as an example of “crossing over into more invisibility,” and as a call for older women to use their perspective and resilience to speak up.

Timestamps for Key Segments

• Why the book was written and blind spots in the field: 03:09–07:12
• The role of media and society in ignoring misogynist motives: 09:55–12:32
• The 5 manifestations of misogynist violence:
  • Containment: 13:08–17:00
  • Punishment/Incel violence: 17:00–19:40
  • Exploitation (child abuse, trafficking): 19:40–24:46
  • Erasure (LGBTQ): 29:27–31:26
  • Enabling (role of women): 31:26–35:06
• Protection as a (shifted but enduring) narrative: 35:06–40:05
• Is misogyny increasing, or just more visible? Gen Z patterns: 40:05–45:14
• Causality: Mental health vs. ideology: 45:24–48:07
• Strategies for prevention and engagement: 48:07–52:14
• The “Oh, sorry, ma’am” story (humor and epilogue): 52:21–56:14

Concluding Takeaways

• Misogyny is not a secondary factor—across extremist violence, it is a primary, often overlooked thread that both connects and amplifies broader ideologies.
• Both genders play enabling or active roles in sustaining misogynist and supremacist systems.
• Dismissing misogyny as “normal” or “venting”—by media, law enforcement, and the public—perpetuates the risk environment for extremist violence.
• Solutions require not only new policy frames and research but everyday engagement—especially with youth—about gender, power, and the realities of online influence.

“There’s no reason why a crisis of men and boys should have become a crisis of misogyny. But that’s what happened.”
(46:08, Cynthia Miller-Idriss)

Resources Mentioned

• Guides for parents and teachers (produced with the Southern Poverty Law Center)
• Research initiatives: Jacinda Ardern’s Christchurch Call Foundation, UK, Australia, Canada
• Recommended dialogue: Open, curious, non-judgmental conversations about online experiences

For those who haven’t listened:
This episode is a deep, accessible, and evidence-rich discussion on how misogyny acts as both driver and enabler of extremist violence—rooted in everyday culture, enforced by both men and women, and amplified by today’s online and political environments. The episode provides both sobering facts and practical ways forward, ending with personal humor that underscores the stakes for everyone, regardless of gender.