“... då man inte kan ändra er och ni alla är inombords glorifierande horor, helt ärligt. Jag har mer respekt för en gatuhora, än en vanlig tjej.” En kritisk diskursanalys av antifeministiska diskurser på Flashback och Reddit.

Abstract

The fall of 2017 marked a global turning point in which millions of women shared their stories and experiences regarding sexual harassment and assaults in connection with the global #MeToo movement. Questions about gender, power and sexual abuse took a bigger space in the public sphere which was followed by reactions, both positive and negative. The negative reactions partly grew into a parallel discourse, questioning the movements legitimacy, blaming women for being dishonest, and the disbelief of feminism grew into antifeminism. The discussion about antifeminism turned to online forums such as Flashback and Reddit, where anonymous users could voice their opinions in an environment with like minded people. The posts on these forums contain mistrust, skepticism, ideological polarization, and the emergence of a new discursive figure: the male victim. Antifeminism is an ideological movement that opposes feminism and the societal changes it advocates. This study explores the evolution of antifeminist discourses on online forums in Sweden and The United States from 2015 to 2025, with a particular focus on the impact of the #MeToo movement. By conducting a critical discourse analysis of user-generated content on Flashback and Reddit, the thesis investigates how resistance to feminist ideas manifests through linguistic strategies, ideological narratives and identity constructions in anonymous online spaces. The analysis highlights how antifeminist exposure often emerges as emotional responses to feminist mobilization and how these reactions are shaped by political, cultural and media contexts. The study seeks to deepen the understanding of how antifeminist discourses are reproduced, formed and spread in digital online spaces. Because of the user-generated function of these forums they are important arenas for analyzing how antifeminist ideas are expressed, reinforced, and normalized online. The study applies theories of discourse, hegemony, appraisal and echo chambers to understand the reinforcement of antifeminist ideologies. A comparative perspective between two countries, Sweden and The United States, demonstrates transnational parallels and context-specific variations providing valuable insights into how gender, power, and resistance interact within contemporary digital public spheres in different parts of the world, an analysis that spans the years 2015 to 2025 and highlights developments over time, something that we found missing in previous research. The research questions asked are: 1. How are antifeminist discourses constructed and articulated in digital forums in Sweden and the United States in connection with the #MeToo movement? 2. What similarities and differences can be identified in the antifeminist discourses on Flashback and Reddit? 3. How has antifeminist discourse changed in digital forums from 2015 to the present in each respective country? The results show that antifeminist resistance is constructed through consistent use of offensive and derogatory language, targeting both women and feminism. The discourse has shifted over the years, from emotionally charged and aggressive expression to more ideologically grounded and pseudo-scientific rhetoric. Different contexts, such as national and political, influence how these discourses evolve, revealing both transnational patterns and culturally specific variations in expression, rhetoric and ideological framing. This study shows that anonymous digital platforms act as echo chambers that both legitimize and reinforce antifeminist sentiments and ideologies. Gaining insight into these discourses is essential for understanding how contemporary views on gender and power are shaped in the aftermath of the #MeToo movement. It is therefore vital to examine how such digital discourses are formed and maintained.