In a first, the Southern Poverty Law Center added two "male supremacy" groups to its list of hate groups.
But what is male supremacy? The SPLC says the movement "misrepresents all women as genetically inferior, manipulative and stupid and reduces them to their reproductive or sexual function."
The specific groups added to the SPLC's hate group list are A Voice for Men and Return of Kings. The former group claims it doesn't hate women but instead focuses on "men's health." Stories on its site do talk about things like mental and physical health for men, but writers have also claimed violence against women is oftentimes perpetrated by women and that men are the only people who can advance civilization.
Meanwhile, one of the founders of "Return of Kings" has advocated for repealing women's suffrage and the legalization of rape on private property. The author later claimed the latter story was satire.
Followers of the male supremacist movement sometimes call themselves "Red Pillers"; the name comes from the plot of "The Matrix." The red pill is said to give users an awareness of larger conspiracy, and for more than 250,000 followers of The Red Pill subreddit, that conspiracy is often feminism or "gynocentrism."
Last year, a former follower of the red pill movement told the New Statesman it was a cult. Another former follower said: "You can't criticize anything because people will quickly try to diminish you. So I really believed every little thing."
And those beliefs can overlap with racist and white supremacist movements. In many cases, followers find their way to the so-called alt-right. Despite overlaps in the communities, both Return of Kings and A Voice for Men have either criticized or tried to separate themselves from that movement.
