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Pink-Pilled: Women and the Far Right
A daring investigation into how women are recruited by the far right online.
As the far right has gained popularity and acceptance around the world, its ranks have swelled with an unlikely category of women.
Women play significant roles in far-right movements, acting as propagandists, prizes to be won and mother-warriors of the nation. But up to now their activities have been largely overlooked. In Pink-pilled, journalist Lois Shearing interviews leading experts and infiltrates communities of tradwives and femtrolls to provide a cutting-edge account of how the far right uses the internet to recruit women. Shining a light on women’s experiences within these movements, Shearing reveals horrifying examples of misogyny and violence.
Understanding how and why women join movements that explicitly aim to restrict their autonomy is essential if we want to fight back. Pink-pilled offers key insights for countering women’s radicalisation and building communities resistant to far-right thought.
As the far right has gained popularity and acceptance around the world, its ranks have swelled with an unlikely category of women.
Women play significant roles in far-right movements, acting as propagandists, prizes to be won and mother-warriors of the nation. But up to now their activities have been largely overlooked. In Pink-pilled, journalist Lois Shearing interviews leading experts and infiltrates communities of tradwives and femtrolls to provide a cutting-edge account of how the far right uses the internet to recruit women. Shining a light on women’s experiences within these movements, Shearing reveals horrifying examples of misogyny and violence.
Understanding how and why women join movements that explicitly aim to restrict their autonomy is essential if we want to fight back. Pink-pilled offers key insights for countering women’s radicalisation and building communities resistant to far-right thought.
288 pages, Paperback
Published February 18, 2025
104 people are currently reading
3466 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 76 reviews
August 25, 2025
Nothing groundbreaking. Good discussion with lesbian feminist book club though as always!
May 30, 2025
a summary of women in the far-right, how women are recruited, the reasons they join these movements, the slippery slope of tradwife influencers reinforcing gender binaries, the issues of choice feminism, and briefly why women leave these movements and how we can counter this radicalisation.
it’s a fascinating read if, like me, you’re left dumbfounded at the women in these movements, wondering why they’d be part of something that is actively stripping them of their rights and causing harm. as made clear by shearing in this book, there’s not a simple answer, there are a whole range of reasons why women join these movements - whether that be for community, monetary gain, or the realisation that their white identity (specifically a white supremacist ideology) offers more power than their identity as a woman. one of the most important things to take note of here is shearing’s reminder that women are capable of being both victims and aggressors, that they can be oppressed while also being the oppressor. while women in these groups may not be the mass shooters or on the frontlines of the violence, they play a pivotal role in organising and upholding it, and they should be held accountable for that.
the analysis wasn’t as in-depth as i was expecting, it was more of an overview rather than a look into the psychology of why these women join the alt-right/far-right. i just wanted it to be a bit meatier. but it’s a good introductory non-fiction for people who maybe don’t spend as much time online and haven’t seen these movements play out in real time (like i have, sadly).
thank you manchester university press for the gifted copy!
3.5
it’s a fascinating read if, like me, you’re left dumbfounded at the women in these movements, wondering why they’d be part of something that is actively stripping them of their rights and causing harm. as made clear by shearing in this book, there’s not a simple answer, there are a whole range of reasons why women join these movements - whether that be for community, monetary gain, or the realisation that their white identity (specifically a white supremacist ideology) offers more power than their identity as a woman. one of the most important things to take note of here is shearing’s reminder that women are capable of being both victims and aggressors, that they can be oppressed while also being the oppressor. while women in these groups may not be the mass shooters or on the frontlines of the violence, they play a pivotal role in organising and upholding it, and they should be held accountable for that.
the analysis wasn’t as in-depth as i was expecting, it was more of an overview rather than a look into the psychology of why these women join the alt-right/far-right. i just wanted it to be a bit meatier. but it’s a good introductory non-fiction for people who maybe don’t spend as much time online and haven’t seen these movements play out in real time (like i have, sadly).
thank you manchester university press for the gifted copy!
3.5
April 25, 2025
"If you give a man the power to feed you, he also has the power to starve you."
- Bella Greenlee, stay at home girlfriend
Firstly, I'm grateful to every researcher immersing themselves in hate groups to better understand and fight them. There were a few times reading this book where I felt myself slipping into a misanthropic mood, so I can't imagine what it's like to be surrounded by white supremacists 24/7, who describe women as holes and explicitly push for the genocide of queer, disabled, and coloured peoples.
Unfortunately, I didn't learn much from this book. I've been reading about fascism since the 2019 mosque terror shooting in Christchurch, which took place a few hours drive from my city. I've consciously noticed the increased use of terms like pilled, tradwife, and femcel since then. And what I expected from this book was a deep dive into the histories of these concepts. But this was more like a fascism 101 guide. A description of contemporary pipelines into fascism, from TikTok to Mumsnet. Gender realists/terfs, tradwives and tradcaths, pro-life advocates, anti-woke gamers, Jewish conspiracists, anti-immigration reactionaries, fascist fitness instructors.
To give a brief summary of Shearing's definition: fascists are white supremacists and male supremacists, who weaponise their perceived loss of privilege into a collective victimhood. Because they seem themselves as superior, there must therefore be something pulling them down, whether it be Jews, Muslims, liberals, communists, anarchists, feminists, queers, blacks, or migrants (this list is ever expanding), propped up by state and corporate initiatives like diversity quotas and minority representations in media. Fascists are simultaneously strong and weak, and posit that their strength will return with the destruction of the other, who is the source of bodily and cultural degeneration. This is why they congregate at fitness centres, obsess over nutrition, and descend into pseudoscientific biological essentialisms.
Specifically, Shearing is trying to explain why women join such movements. Movements that treat women as property, slaves, and breeders of the nation. Movements that actively harass women into suicide. Movements that harbour known rapists, pedophiles, and groomers, but present themselves through a discourse of purity and protection.
If you guessed white supremacy, you'd be right. See, fascists are clever. They tap into real grievances. With the advent of neoliberalism in the 1980s, the utopian horizon of feminism, which pushed for collective care work, wages for housework, women's shelters, and more, collapsed and was co-opted by capitalism. Instead of socialism, we got girl power. The Spice Girls actively promoting Margaret Thatcher, a girlboss imperialist who attacked unions and intensified individualism as the site of success. Shearing doesn't go into this history, but she identifies the betrayal women feel in contemporary society, a betrayal that contemporary fascists place on feminism, rather than capitalism. They argue that feminists are what brought us to this place, where even if you place your career first, you still have to go home to do all your chores, look after your children, and so on. And whose to say you won't be replaced by a Muslim woman through diversity incentives? Wouldn't it be better if you just stayed in and didn't have to worry so much? Wouldn't it be better to be supported and protected by a man? Against the migrant hordes of disposable labour—the white family, the picket fence, the burning cross.
I wish Shearing explored these elements more, because when they come, they're like fire. I love the little snippets where she connects the lived experiences of (predominantly middle-class) white women to reactionary ideologies. One of my friends once said that if incels actually approached feminism and decolonisation with good faith (an impossibility in such ironypilled communities), they'd see how many of their grievances are affirmed by these movements. Chads and Staceys are the heteronormative imperative of patriarchy, and your humanity is restored by getting out of that system, not wishing you were a part of it. But just like how incels can't let go of their male privilege, tradwives can't let go of their white privilege. Those that leave, due to the abuse they receive from men in these movements, remain ardent racists.
These reactionary movements are usually described as radical, but Shearing makes the astute point that "Extremist circles, instead of being at odds with dominant culture . . . are magnifying glasses of it." Incels are failed Chads. Femcels are failed Staceys. Nazis are failed imperialists. Terfs are failed Christians (because their children were corrupted by the 'woke agenda'). These are movements of resentment, rather than transformation. Of failed influence and a desire for revenge. The queers have taken over my community, my school, my child. The Muslims have taken over my city, my neighbourhood, my socials. They're one move from cucking me of my job, my home, my wife! I satirised this in my shitpost on Julius Evola, the pre-eminent Nazi mystic, but this is legit what they believe, or at least deploy to pull in other dispossessed whites. And such arguments distract from the very real violence, rape, and child abuse that occurs in such movements.
Unfortunately, Shearing spends most of her time documenting these movements, as they are now, rather than providing a genealogy of their arguments. I wanted to know more about the roots of white supremacy, white genocide, and conspirituality (a portmanteau of conspiracy and spirituality). Shearing mentions colonialism in every chapter, but never explains its origins, as an ideology and a political economy. We don't learn about the construction of whiteness, scientific racism, or eugenics. Similarly, we don't learn about how cheap migrant labour is driven by capitalism's profit incentive, and how working conditions have historically been improved through class solidarity, not isolationism and xenophobia. In other words, we don't learn about how fascism actively undermines its own self-stated goals by deepening capitalist exploitation. These feel like vital arguments to present to someone falling into the fascist rabbithole. To show them that we take their grievances more seriously than fascists do.
But hey, we still have Enemy Feminisms: TERFs, Policewomen, and Girlbosses Against Liberation, which does go into all this.
- Bella Greenlee, stay at home girlfriend
Firstly, I'm grateful to every researcher immersing themselves in hate groups to better understand and fight them. There were a few times reading this book where I felt myself slipping into a misanthropic mood, so I can't imagine what it's like to be surrounded by white supremacists 24/7, who describe women as holes and explicitly push for the genocide of queer, disabled, and coloured peoples.
Unfortunately, I didn't learn much from this book. I've been reading about fascism since the 2019 mosque terror shooting in Christchurch, which took place a few hours drive from my city. I've consciously noticed the increased use of terms like pilled, tradwife, and femcel since then. And what I expected from this book was a deep dive into the histories of these concepts. But this was more like a fascism 101 guide. A description of contemporary pipelines into fascism, from TikTok to Mumsnet. Gender realists/terfs, tradwives and tradcaths, pro-life advocates, anti-woke gamers, Jewish conspiracists, anti-immigration reactionaries, fascist fitness instructors.
To give a brief summary of Shearing's definition: fascists are white supremacists and male supremacists, who weaponise their perceived loss of privilege into a collective victimhood. Because they seem themselves as superior, there must therefore be something pulling them down, whether it be Jews, Muslims, liberals, communists, anarchists, feminists, queers, blacks, or migrants (this list is ever expanding), propped up by state and corporate initiatives like diversity quotas and minority representations in media. Fascists are simultaneously strong and weak, and posit that their strength will return with the destruction of the other, who is the source of bodily and cultural degeneration. This is why they congregate at fitness centres, obsess over nutrition, and descend into pseudoscientific biological essentialisms.
Specifically, Shearing is trying to explain why women join such movements. Movements that treat women as property, slaves, and breeders of the nation. Movements that actively harass women into suicide. Movements that harbour known rapists, pedophiles, and groomers, but present themselves through a discourse of purity and protection.
If you guessed white supremacy, you'd be right. See, fascists are clever. They tap into real grievances. With the advent of neoliberalism in the 1980s, the utopian horizon of feminism, which pushed for collective care work, wages for housework, women's shelters, and more, collapsed and was co-opted by capitalism. Instead of socialism, we got girl power. The Spice Girls actively promoting Margaret Thatcher, a girlboss imperialist who attacked unions and intensified individualism as the site of success. Shearing doesn't go into this history, but she identifies the betrayal women feel in contemporary society, a betrayal that contemporary fascists place on feminism, rather than capitalism. They argue that feminists are what brought us to this place, where even if you place your career first, you still have to go home to do all your chores, look after your children, and so on. And whose to say you won't be replaced by a Muslim woman through diversity incentives? Wouldn't it be better if you just stayed in and didn't have to worry so much? Wouldn't it be better to be supported and protected by a man? Against the migrant hordes of disposable labour—the white family, the picket fence, the burning cross.
I wish Shearing explored these elements more, because when they come, they're like fire. I love the little snippets where she connects the lived experiences of (predominantly middle-class) white women to reactionary ideologies. One of my friends once said that if incels actually approached feminism and decolonisation with good faith (an impossibility in such ironypilled communities), they'd see how many of their grievances are affirmed by these movements. Chads and Staceys are the heteronormative imperative of patriarchy, and your humanity is restored by getting out of that system, not wishing you were a part of it. But just like how incels can't let go of their male privilege, tradwives can't let go of their white privilege. Those that leave, due to the abuse they receive from men in these movements, remain ardent racists.
These reactionary movements are usually described as radical, but Shearing makes the astute point that "Extremist circles, instead of being at odds with dominant culture . . . are magnifying glasses of it." Incels are failed Chads. Femcels are failed Staceys. Nazis are failed imperialists. Terfs are failed Christians (because their children were corrupted by the 'woke agenda'). These are movements of resentment, rather than transformation. Of failed influence and a desire for revenge. The queers have taken over my community, my school, my child. The Muslims have taken over my city, my neighbourhood, my socials. They're one move from cucking me of my job, my home, my wife! I satirised this in my shitpost on Julius Evola, the pre-eminent Nazi mystic, but this is legit what they believe, or at least deploy to pull in other dispossessed whites. And such arguments distract from the very real violence, rape, and child abuse that occurs in such movements.
Unfortunately, Shearing spends most of her time documenting these movements, as they are now, rather than providing a genealogy of their arguments. I wanted to know more about the roots of white supremacy, white genocide, and conspirituality (a portmanteau of conspiracy and spirituality). Shearing mentions colonialism in every chapter, but never explains its origins, as an ideology and a political economy. We don't learn about the construction of whiteness, scientific racism, or eugenics. Similarly, we don't learn about how cheap migrant labour is driven by capitalism's profit incentive, and how working conditions have historically been improved through class solidarity, not isolationism and xenophobia. In other words, we don't learn about how fascism actively undermines its own self-stated goals by deepening capitalist exploitation. These feel like vital arguments to present to someone falling into the fascist rabbithole. To show them that we take their grievances more seriously than fascists do.
But hey, we still have Enemy Feminisms: TERFs, Policewomen, and Girlbosses Against Liberation, which does go into all this.
April 6, 2025
Absolutely brilliant book and I will be thinking aboht it for a long time. I was lucky enough to see the author discuss the book in Oxford and it really enhanced my reading of it. I know a lot about the far-right and their movements being quite politically active on the left, but it was fascinating to read about the role of women in the far-right, how they are radicalised and how they are ‘softening’ the image of the far right.
Shearing looks at trends such as the tradwives of Instagram and the ‘new age’ spirituality movement which all reaffirm rigid gender binaries of man and woman, and can easily become a slippery slope into TERF territory and the alt right. It was scary to read about how some women have upheld fascism in history and how a lot of women at the moment are heavily promoting white feminism through the alt right in the idea that conservatism will protect them.
I think everyone needs to read this book - it was so eye opening and shocking but along with Laura Bates’s ‘Men Who Hate Women’ it is a necessary read.
Shearing looks at trends such as the tradwives of Instagram and the ‘new age’ spirituality movement which all reaffirm rigid gender binaries of man and woman, and can easily become a slippery slope into TERF territory and the alt right. It was scary to read about how some women have upheld fascism in history and how a lot of women at the moment are heavily promoting white feminism through the alt right in the idea that conservatism will protect them.
I think everyone needs to read this book - it was so eye opening and shocking but along with Laura Bates’s ‘Men Who Hate Women’ it is a necessary read.
December 23, 2024
*Thank you to Manchester University Press for an early copy of this!*
Wowee this book was utterly fascinating, while simultaneously being quite terrifying. I’ve already recommended it to about three people I know, and I think I’ll continue to do so. If you read and enjoyed Men Who Hate Women by Laura Bates, this is a great book to accompany that.
I really loved how plainly this book was written. It presented all of the facts, while dishing out information in simple and easy to digest language. It really opened my eyes and was super informative and well researched, I managed to follow along easily. The chapters all seemed to flow into one another, and I think the overall structure of the book was great. Some of it did feel a little bit repetitive at times because a lot of chapters cross reference, but that may just be a me problem because I devoured the book so quickly. I was so morbidly fascinated I couldn’t pull myself away. I do think it perhaps needed a glossary (maybe the final version of the book will have this!) to refer to as some of the terminology is very unfamiliar, even for someone who spends a lot of time online.
The information in here was so shocking, but when you dig deeper and look at wider reasoning and context, pieces did start falling into place. As a white woman myself, I think this was a really bizarre yet eye opening exploration of the far right from an inside point of view. So endlessly intriguing, and while it does answer a few questions, I feel like I’ve come away from the book with even more. I don’t think it went into detail enough for me on what’s next in regard to addressing the problem or potential solutions, but that would make for a great follow up and further reading.
Overall a really good look into the alt-right pipeline from what feels like to me an overlooked perspective. A great book to read and discuss.
Wowee this book was utterly fascinating, while simultaneously being quite terrifying. I’ve already recommended it to about three people I know, and I think I’ll continue to do so. If you read and enjoyed Men Who Hate Women by Laura Bates, this is a great book to accompany that.
I really loved how plainly this book was written. It presented all of the facts, while dishing out information in simple and easy to digest language. It really opened my eyes and was super informative and well researched, I managed to follow along easily. The chapters all seemed to flow into one another, and I think the overall structure of the book was great. Some of it did feel a little bit repetitive at times because a lot of chapters cross reference, but that may just be a me problem because I devoured the book so quickly. I was so morbidly fascinated I couldn’t pull myself away. I do think it perhaps needed a glossary (maybe the final version of the book will have this!) to refer to as some of the terminology is very unfamiliar, even for someone who spends a lot of time online.
The information in here was so shocking, but when you dig deeper and look at wider reasoning and context, pieces did start falling into place. As a white woman myself, I think this was a really bizarre yet eye opening exploration of the far right from an inside point of view. So endlessly intriguing, and while it does answer a few questions, I feel like I’ve come away from the book with even more. I don’t think it went into detail enough for me on what’s next in regard to addressing the problem or potential solutions, but that would make for a great follow up and further reading.
Overall a really good look into the alt-right pipeline from what feels like to me an overlooked perspective. A great book to read and discuss.
March 17, 2025
This is a fascinating read and perhaps one of the first truly intersectional book I’ve read concerning feminism, the far-right, and the role of the internet in radicalising and perpetuating dangerous narratives. Whilst literature on far-right groups and books such as ‘Men Who Hate Women by Laura Bates’ are informative, this book highlighted the previously invisible role of women: “Women aren’t just passive baby-makers and housewives within these [far-right] groups - they’re also recruitment tools and powerful propagandists.”
Shearing’s commentary on positionality and in particular their recognition that they were “also blinkered to this [white nationalist] form of benevolent sexism by [their] own access to white womanhood, believing women to be more progressive… [as Shearing has] never been on the receiving end of white womens hatred, tendency towards violence or desire for power” was striking. I found the exploration of how as a white woman you can be ‘oppressed’ by the system but equally (and sometimes unknowingly) have access to and perpetuate the systemic power of white womanhood powerful and encouraged me to become more self-critical.
This book also made me question my personal consumption of media and previous naivety that didn’t see the problems behind consuming ‘aesthetic traditional homestead’ videos... increasingly throughout Shearing’s account of research I realised ‘crunchy’ is much closer to nationalist rhetoric that I first thought. I also realised my blindness to the inherently white nature of this content.
Whilst all these points made me realise how far we truly are from an intersectional feminist movement, Pink-Pilled demonstrates how seeing women as people (and with that breaking away from the binaries of aggressor/survivor, etc) offers a step towards critique of systemic structures of power. I think this book should be a must-read for all, in particular young women who have been brought up in (ex-)colonial and majority white countries.
Shearing’s commentary on positionality and in particular their recognition that they were “also blinkered to this [white nationalist] form of benevolent sexism by [their] own access to white womanhood, believing women to be more progressive… [as Shearing has] never been on the receiving end of white womens hatred, tendency towards violence or desire for power” was striking. I found the exploration of how as a white woman you can be ‘oppressed’ by the system but equally (and sometimes unknowingly) have access to and perpetuate the systemic power of white womanhood powerful and encouraged me to become more self-critical.
This book also made me question my personal consumption of media and previous naivety that didn’t see the problems behind consuming ‘aesthetic traditional homestead’ videos... increasingly throughout Shearing’s account of research I realised ‘crunchy’ is much closer to nationalist rhetoric that I first thought. I also realised my blindness to the inherently white nature of this content.
Whilst all these points made me realise how far we truly are from an intersectional feminist movement, Pink-Pilled demonstrates how seeing women as people (and with that breaking away from the binaries of aggressor/survivor, etc) offers a step towards critique of systemic structures of power. I think this book should be a must-read for all, in particular young women who have been brought up in (ex-)colonial and majority white countries.
April 25, 2025
Such a well written and researched book that deals with extremism from a genuinely intersectional lens. Most important is the way it connects far-right radicalisation with Mumsnet terf indoctrination and takes seriously the gender critical movement as extremists
August 30, 2025
Ostatecznie ta książka niestety nie okazała się wybitna, ale i tak cieszę się, że ją przeczytałam. Szczególnie ciekawe były dla mnie uwagi na temat korelacji kultury fitness i radykalnej prawicy.
April 20, 2025
Shearling describes the process and propagation of ‘pink pilling’ - how women are being radicalised into far right ideology.
I find this concept extremely interesting, especially with its feet planted in social media and the rise of ‘tradwife’ content. I think Shearling makes some great points and holds a thought provoking discussion around feminism being weaponised and distorted to make oppression appear as a choice. I also think it’s worth mentioning how she draws attention to the racial element of this type of radicalisation - that it is predominantly ‘nice white women’ who are allowed to occupy this space of female tradwife influencer, rarely black or ethnic minority individuals. Furthermore, I enjoyed her exploration of the female body ideal - thinness, or a slim ‘fit’ aesthetic - being tied to fascism and, as it becomes docile and easily controlled in its deprived state. This is in contrast to the male body ideal - strong, powerful - becoming ‘righteously’ dominant, both in physicality and sociality. I see parallels of these body trends in similar political circumstances throughout history, reinforcing the idea that this is no coincidence. Women being controlled again, and internalising this rhetoric - sigh.
However, I personally feel like the book was missing something more ‘meaty’, but given that I can’t place what that actually is, maybe I should just sit down.
Overall, I would recommend, but I feel, respectfully, that this could have been condensed into a lengthy essay.
I find this concept extremely interesting, especially with its feet planted in social media and the rise of ‘tradwife’ content. I think Shearling makes some great points and holds a thought provoking discussion around feminism being weaponised and distorted to make oppression appear as a choice. I also think it’s worth mentioning how she draws attention to the racial element of this type of radicalisation - that it is predominantly ‘nice white women’ who are allowed to occupy this space of female tradwife influencer, rarely black or ethnic minority individuals. Furthermore, I enjoyed her exploration of the female body ideal - thinness, or a slim ‘fit’ aesthetic - being tied to fascism and, as it becomes docile and easily controlled in its deprived state. This is in contrast to the male body ideal - strong, powerful - becoming ‘righteously’ dominant, both in physicality and sociality. I see parallels of these body trends in similar political circumstances throughout history, reinforcing the idea that this is no coincidence. Women being controlled again, and internalising this rhetoric - sigh.
However, I personally feel like the book was missing something more ‘meaty’, but given that I can’t place what that actually is, maybe I should just sit down.
Overall, I would recommend, but I feel, respectfully, that this could have been condensed into a lengthy essay.
August 7, 2025
Pink-pilled is an intriguing book if you're looking for a "first step" into understanding the topic of women's radicalization to the far right. It's simple to read and benefits from bringing a first-person analysis of far-right forums and channels, as the author posed as a fictional extremist for 18 months to gather evidence for the book.
As a pro, it covers a variety of topics, from women's historical contributions to authoritarianism to an understanding of far-right influencers' policies on social media. The author does a good job of connecting various topics, describing the causes and consequences of radicalization, and proposing interpretations for phenomena that have not been extensively studied.
You should read it if you want a quick overview of the far right's view of women, how they oppose feminism, and the tradwife phenomenon. The dedicated chapters (3 and 4) are by far the most well-organized.
Cons: If you've already read some nonfiction on the topics covered (which range from white supremacy to misogynistic depictions of women), you might not find many of the chapters juicy. While the book is well-researched and provides a variety of sources, ranging from academic studies to journalistic inquiries, interviews, and self-reports of far-right influencers, it occasionally feels "bland," as it frequently cites themes that it deliberately does not deepen and builds connections that feel like a "long shot."
It also fails to keep some of its promises. A good example of this is Chapter 5, which is supposed to deepen the definition of "woman" and "wife" but ends up with a drive-along of several short topics, some of which are not that relevant, such as the role of men in climate injustice. In a similar way, Chapter 7 promises to provide some insights into how far-right language is rooted in pop culture, yet it actually expands on suggestions for addressing women's radicalization as a society.
Still, I would definitely recommend this book to anyone, as it is quick to read and full of insights that may encourage you to explore other books on similar topics.
As a pro, it covers a variety of topics, from women's historical contributions to authoritarianism to an understanding of far-right influencers' policies on social media. The author does a good job of connecting various topics, describing the causes and consequences of radicalization, and proposing interpretations for phenomena that have not been extensively studied.
You should read it if you want a quick overview of the far right's view of women, how they oppose feminism, and the tradwife phenomenon. The dedicated chapters (3 and 4) are by far the most well-organized.
Cons: If you've already read some nonfiction on the topics covered (which range from white supremacy to misogynistic depictions of women), you might not find many of the chapters juicy. While the book is well-researched and provides a variety of sources, ranging from academic studies to journalistic inquiries, interviews, and self-reports of far-right influencers, it occasionally feels "bland," as it frequently cites themes that it deliberately does not deepen and builds connections that feel like a "long shot."
It also fails to keep some of its promises. A good example of this is Chapter 5, which is supposed to deepen the definition of "woman" and "wife" but ends up with a drive-along of several short topics, some of which are not that relevant, such as the role of men in climate injustice. In a similar way, Chapter 7 promises to provide some insights into how far-right language is rooted in pop culture, yet it actually expands on suggestions for addressing women's radicalization as a society.
Still, I would definitely recommend this book to anyone, as it is quick to read and full of insights that may encourage you to explore other books on similar topics.
October 29, 2025
I was really captivated by the point that Shearing makes about tradwifery and the far right’s vision for women offering a respite from the trauma of being a wage labourer in this current economic system. We must be vigilant of those offering us easy answers, easy, individualistic escapes from the struggle of capitalism - blame the feminists, blame the migrants, blame the queer people. This book made me so mad and I think that was the point.
January 7, 2026
having only every read business/econ non-fiction in the past LORD was it good to read something that genuinely interested me. honestly such an eye opening book especially with how easy radicalisation is now with online platforms and would highly recommend this book to anyone
April 17, 2025
3.5*
Tbh I expected more! It felt a bit repetitive at times and just A Lot Of Facts And Information, lacking more thought-provoking analysis.
Having quite recently read Dworkin's Right wing women + Laura Bates' Men who hate women, this just didn't really provide a lot of new insights for me. AND ALSO there were way too many abbreviations/initialisms to keep track of
Tbh I expected more! It felt a bit repetitive at times and just A Lot Of Facts And Information, lacking more thought-provoking analysis.
Having quite recently read Dworkin's Right wing women + Laura Bates' Men who hate women, this just didn't really provide a lot of new insights for me. AND ALSO there were way too many abbreviations/initialisms to keep track of
July 28, 2025
Amazing book, everyone should read this. Such a detailed account of how women get involved with the far right. Scary to know that this is happening on such a large scale and is growing in popularity every day.
I love how the end of the book suggests ways in which we can fight back against this to try and stop the cycle. I am going to suggest this to everyone. Fantastic author, I will definitely be reading more of their work.
I love how the end of the book suggests ways in which we can fight back against this to try and stop the cycle. I am going to suggest this to everyone. Fantastic author, I will definitely be reading more of their work.
August 23, 2025
3.5 stars would have loved to see some more in-depth analysis and details about these infiltrated chatrooms etc.
October 14, 2025
4.5 stars
this book is for the people that want to know the nitty gritty of the why. WHY would women join the far right when it in no way serves their interests and wellbeing as a woman? there’s so much underneath this question that I’d never thought of, especially the ways in which women engage with content or beliefs online that pull them further and further in. well researched, intersectional, and eye opening
this book is for the people that want to know the nitty gritty of the why. WHY would women join the far right when it in no way serves their interests and wellbeing as a woman? there’s so much underneath this question that I’d never thought of, especially the ways in which women engage with content or beliefs online that pull them further and further in. well researched, intersectional, and eye opening
March 2, 2025
4.5 so so so good! especially the last line of this book wow i was chuckling. such a concise and digestible exploration of women in the far & alt-right with so many interesting talking points centred around technology. am going to be recommending this to everyone!!!
July 1, 2025
Really informative and thought provoking about women’s involvement in far right movements historically. It made me realize a couple of social media pages and trends that I have come across that seemed innocent, but actually had a darker intention.
December 18, 2025
I did find this book interesting and learnt a lot, however I found it difficult to follow the author's writing style and i felt that they often jumped around different points before fully delving into one specific discussion
August 30, 2025
so so interesting to finally read something discussing how women contribute to right wing propaganda and how they may be victims but are also contributing to the destruction of others
September 9, 2025
Fascinating, very well written. Would benefit from a better conclusion/summary though, I finished it thinking that the answer to all its questions is just "it's complicated", which is true but not very satisfying.
October 10, 2025
Poorly structured/edited and, with maybe one or two exceptions remains completely superficial. No in-depth analysis or discussion whatsoever
soft-dnf-reading-later
January 7, 2026Soft DNF. There is so much I want to annotate in this lol
September 3, 2025
A well put together book providing a comprehensive overview of familiar concepts, as well as much needed new perspectives on the far-right.
January 6, 2026
3.5
Review to come…
Review to come…
Read
January 15, 2026this is a great read if you can get through the 75 page introduction to every far right internet subculture and dogwhistle you’re sick of hearing about!
April 26, 2025
It’s rare that a book that promises as little as
Pink-Pilled: Women and the Far Right
doesn’t live up to what’s on the tin. It might just have been that my expectations were wrong, but when the book promised to be about women within the political far-right, I kinda expected an analysis of why women join political movements that is usually framed as an almost exclusively masculine space, if not in gender, then in form. Instead, Pink-Pilled reads more like a summery of the various working of the far-right (or any political movement that matter), with a soft focus on how women have played a role in, for example, propagandizing for the far-right.
The most space women take up in Lois Shearing’s analysis is in the beginning of the book, where Shearing looks at how women are framed in the far-right discourse. But even that analysis seems kinda lacking. Various female figures from all over the far-right spectrum is touched upon, from the identarian Lauren Southern to the Christian traditionalism of Bethany Beal and Kristen Clark, but at no point are any of the female influencers and personality spoken to. Doing a media analysis of their output is all well and good, but that only seems to be part of the equation. Throughout the book I kept asking where the voice of these far-right women was.
I know Shearing is probably trying to balance between analyzing the far-right, while not giving a voice to the far-right. But Shearing didn’t have to ask any women about how they’re securing a future for white children. All Shearing would have to ask why any given female influencer decided to work as a mouthpiece for a political cause that’s hostile to feminism’s idea of women’s place in society. Shearing speculates on a lot of reasons. From ressentiment over coercion to love, Shearing talks a lot about why women would, for example, chose to submit to a husband, God or both rather than have the same agency as a man.
My own expertise in this area is limited, as I’m neither the gender nor of the political affiliation that the content is aimed at, but from what little I know it seems that Shearing’s reasoning is trying to either attribute reasons to the women’s choice or remove agency from the women engaging in far-right politics. Let’s take the trend of tradwives as an example, women who chose to be homemakers, raise their children and prepare meals while their significant other earns the money to support them and their children. One could, as Shearing does, argue that this choice is one of unremitting subservience, rather than the material expression of biological essentialism as the far-right argues. But why would it be one or the other?
The tradwife voices I’ve heard have framed their choice as an almost existential choice. As Jean-Paul Sartre famously put it, we are condemned to be free. And that freedom, in the tradition of Søren Kierkegaard, is fucking terrifying and bound to carry with it some kind of anxiety. With that framing I would consider the choice of the tradwife life as a choice of freedom from choices. You pick a role that limits the amount of choice you have and as such free yourself. It’s like the people that chose to have a collection of vinyl records rather than Spotify, or one who chooses to buy DVD’s rather than suffer choice paralysis on Netflix each and every night. Sartre might have argued that such a choice is made in bad fair, but I would hold that such a choice isn’t strange and is not as irrational as Shearing would have you think.
I think it’s a shame that Shearing never considers this option, as this both affords the women actual agency and makes for a much more open-ended discussion than the one in Pink-Pilled.
With the lack of interviews with female far-right influencers, a complete lack of focus on far-right women in particular and the lack of proper analysis, forcing Pink-Pilled into a strictly feminist framing, the book never really delivers what was promised. What Shearing set out to do is very interesting and arguably important, but the goal was just never reached.
The most space women take up in Lois Shearing’s analysis is in the beginning of the book, where Shearing looks at how women are framed in the far-right discourse. But even that analysis seems kinda lacking. Various female figures from all over the far-right spectrum is touched upon, from the identarian Lauren Southern to the Christian traditionalism of Bethany Beal and Kristen Clark, but at no point are any of the female influencers and personality spoken to. Doing a media analysis of their output is all well and good, but that only seems to be part of the equation. Throughout the book I kept asking where the voice of these far-right women was.
I know Shearing is probably trying to balance between analyzing the far-right, while not giving a voice to the far-right. But Shearing didn’t have to ask any women about how they’re securing a future for white children. All Shearing would have to ask why any given female influencer decided to work as a mouthpiece for a political cause that’s hostile to feminism’s idea of women’s place in society. Shearing speculates on a lot of reasons. From ressentiment over coercion to love, Shearing talks a lot about why women would, for example, chose to submit to a husband, God or both rather than have the same agency as a man.
My own expertise in this area is limited, as I’m neither the gender nor of the political affiliation that the content is aimed at, but from what little I know it seems that Shearing’s reasoning is trying to either attribute reasons to the women’s choice or remove agency from the women engaging in far-right politics. Let’s take the trend of tradwives as an example, women who chose to be homemakers, raise their children and prepare meals while their significant other earns the money to support them and their children. One could, as Shearing does, argue that this choice is one of unremitting subservience, rather than the material expression of biological essentialism as the far-right argues. But why would it be one or the other?
The tradwife voices I’ve heard have framed their choice as an almost existential choice. As Jean-Paul Sartre famously put it, we are condemned to be free. And that freedom, in the tradition of Søren Kierkegaard, is fucking terrifying and bound to carry with it some kind of anxiety. With that framing I would consider the choice of the tradwife life as a choice of freedom from choices. You pick a role that limits the amount of choice you have and as such free yourself. It’s like the people that chose to have a collection of vinyl records rather than Spotify, or one who chooses to buy DVD’s rather than suffer choice paralysis on Netflix each and every night. Sartre might have argued that such a choice is made in bad fair, but I would hold that such a choice isn’t strange and is not as irrational as Shearing would have you think.
I think it’s a shame that Shearing never considers this option, as this both affords the women actual agency and makes for a much more open-ended discussion than the one in Pink-Pilled.
With the lack of interviews with female far-right influencers, a complete lack of focus on far-right women in particular and the lack of proper analysis, forcing Pink-Pilled into a strictly feminist framing, the book never really delivers what was promised. What Shearing set out to do is very interesting and arguably important, but the goal was just never reached.
January 25, 2026
was not always the most pleasant reading experience (extremely academic tone) and Very slow going, but i learned so much from this book. i was already aware of a lot of the political aspects discussed but this helped give words to what i had observed and also gave me a deeper understanding of the psychological and sociological reasons for why someone might be led down the far-right pipeline — which, the author remarks, is not so much a pipeline as an ocean. this is a book that one would expect to be bleak due to its subject matter, but somehow felt strangely hopeful?
October 14, 2025
fascinating look at women on the far-right, very up to date with the rise of trad wives and the ways online radicalization targets women and the paradoxical utility of women to these misogynistic movements. a few too many typos and grammar issues, and a few too many citations of the ADL as a reliable source… but apart from that i enjoyed it and learned a lot
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