SOCIAL MACHISMO: A CONCEPTUAL PROPOSAL FOR UNDERSTANDING REACTIVE MASCULINITIES IN DIGITAL CULTURE

Abstract

The transformation of gender relations, the expansion of digital culture, and the growing influence of digital platforms on identity formation have intensified academic interest in contemporary masculinities. Within this context, online communities associated with the so-called manosphere, including the Redpill movement, have gained increasing attention in debates on gender, sociability, and digital communication. Although these phenomena have been examined from different disciplinary perspectives, existing studies have predominantly focused on specific dimensions, such as gender power relations, misogyny, men's movements, or platform dynamics. This article proposes the concept of Social Machísmo (Machoísmo Social) as an original analytical category for understanding processes of male identity reconstruction mediated by digital technologies. This theoretical essay adopts a qualitative approach based on a narrative review of national and international literature on masculinities, digital culture, gender studies, and platform communication. Drawing upon the works of Connell, Kimmel, Castells, van Dijck, Gillespie, Ging, and Van Valkenburgh, the paper develops an original analytical framework. It argues that Social Machismo can be understood as a sociocultural process emerging from the interaction between social transformations, individual experiences, algorithmic mediation, and the collective production of narratives about masculinity in digital environments. As a theoretical contribution, the article presents a four-dimensional analytical model integrating structural, discursive, technological, and identity-based perspectives. It concludes that the proposed concept should be understood as an interpretative hypothesis open to empirical investigation and further theoretical refinement.