Cynthia Miller-Idriss: „Man Up – The New Misogyny & the Rise of Violent Extremism”

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. ___________________ ABOUT THE SPEAKER DR. CYNTHIA MILLER-IDRISS is a Professor in the School of Public Affairs and in the School of Education at the American University in Washington, DC, where she is also the founding director of the Polarization and Extremism Research and Innovation Lab (PERIL). She is a Draper Richards Kaplan Foundation Entrepreneur and recently served as the inaugural creative lead for the Alexander von Humboldt Foundation’s residency program on social cohesion in Berlin, Germany. Dr. Miller-Idriss regularly testifies before the U.S. Congress and briefs policy, security, education and intelligence agencies in the U.S., the United Nations, and other countries on trends in domestic violent extremism and strategies for prevention and disengagement. She is the author, co-author, or co-editor of seven books, including ""Man Up: The New Misogyny and the Rise of Violent Extremism (Princeton University Press, 2025), "Hate in the Homeland: The New Global Far Righ"t (Princeton University Press, 2022), and is currently at work on a new co-authored book (with Pasha Dashtgard) on evidence-based prevention of hate-fueled violence. Dr. Miller-Idriss writes frequently for mainstream audiences, as an opinion columnist for MSNBC and in other recent by-lines in The New York Times, The Atlantic, Foreign Affairs, The Washington Post, Politico, USA Today, The Boston Globe, and more. ___________________ A part of the Munich Dialogues on Democracy Speakers Series, a cooperation between The Yale Club of Germany e.V. (Munich Chapter) and the Amerikahaus – Bavarian Center for Transatlantic Relations. ___________________ No registration necessary to watch the livestream! ___________________ Ask your questions on slido.com - #amerikahaus ___________________ LINKS https://www.amerikahaus.de https://www.dialoguesondemocracy.com   / amerikahaus     / amerikahaus   https://bsky.app/profile/amerikahaus.de