An examination of research on autistic radicalization shows a preoccupation with direct entry into incel and blackpill communities, missing the beginning of radicalization via engagement with manosphere content. This article combines affect theory, particularly Berlant’s concept of ‘cruel optimism’, Connell’s gender order theory, recent literature on autistic sensory experiences, and autistic stigma to make the case that autistic men and boys are motivated to seek out masculine instruction to avoid the mental and physical harms associated with said stigmatization. This purportedly instructive content instead integrates cruelly optimistic attachments to hegemonic masculine embodiment with preexisting attachments to neurotypical performance. Furthermore, the internalized ableist epistemologies inherent in masking performances are likewise easily integrated with hyper-individualist and essentialist manosphere rhetoric. As manosphere content is predicated upon highlighting masculine, and by extension, neurotypical insecurities, these instructions will inevitably fail to result in the societal acceptance and internal emotional security that viewers seek. The negative feelings from these contradictions are redirected out onto mainstream society and women by manosphere rhetoric. This creates a situation where the subject is incentivized to further isolate themselves within anti-feminine communities, leaving them vulnerable to further radicalization into incel and blackpill subcultures. This article provides a novel perspective on how the perceived need to integrate hegemonic masculine performance into autistic camouflage represents a vector for radicalization via the manosphere.
Jordan Etherington (2026) studied this question.