“’Will You Destroy My Life? OMG, Yes!’”: A Thematic and Multimodal Analysis of MGTOW Memes

This paper provides a thematic and multimodal analysis of memes circulated within the Men Going Their Own Way (MGTOW) community, a male-separatist group in the manosphere. Drawing on a corpus of 300 popular memes from Tumblr, the study examines how MGTOW uses humour and visual rhetoric to propagate misogynistic ideologies. The analysis reveals that MGTOW memes frequently depict women as manipulative, promiscuous, and financially exploitative, aligning their behaviour with stereotypical notions of 'female nature'. The themes of marriage and divorce are portrayed as detrimental to men, and the group's ideology advocates for disengagement from relationships. Additionally, MGTOW memes target men who do not conform to their worldview, depicting them as subservient to women. Feminism is positioned as a primary antagonist, with MGTOW claiming that it has disrupted traditional gender roles and contributed to societal decline. Through these multimodal representations, the study highlights how MGTOW normalises passive harassment and reinforces gendered power imbalances. This research contributes to the growing body of literature on online misogyny, offering a critical understanding of the digital culture that supports toxic masculinities within the manosphere.