Tanner, S., & Gillardin, F. (2025). Toxic Communication on TikTok: Sigma Masculinities and Gendered Disinformation. Social Media + Society, 11(1).
Link: https://doi.org/10.1177/20563051251313844
Open access: Yes
Notes: Hegemonic and toxic masculinity has found in online spaces a fertile ground to spread harmful ideologies that justify and normalize violence against those deemed other. As a whole, this space has been named ‘the manosphere.’ In this paper, Tanner and Gillardin explore one particular aspect of the manosphere: Sigma masculinities, self-defined as “the ideal type of dominant and controlling masculinity toward the feminine and non-binary gender categories” (p. 2). Here, the authors explore how TikTok enables and expands toxic discourses concerning sigma masculinities. To achieve this, they analyze TikTok content marked with sigma masculinities hashtags, relying on the analytical framework on ecologies of violence to ground their findings. In their findings, they note a series of practices of toxic communication by sigma-males (disinterest, rejection, humiliation, and hate) in the context of a supposed gender crisis (expanded by people such as Andrew Tate) and with platform grammars that favor humor and a cinematic aesthetic and references (e.g., Fight Club, The Boys). Their findings stand as a nuanced and rich socio-technical reading of toxic communication emerging from the manosphere, intertwining complex maps of ideologies, disinformation, and gender violence. Indeed, as they conclude, harmful discourses are not just a problem of one type of person (the so-called sigma male) enacting violence, but rather a symptom of complex and overarching cultural and ideological movements: “In the conception of hegemonic masculinity, the sigma toxic communication represents not only a type-person or an assemblage of toxic traits but rather a form of multiple masculinities evolving in the context of a perceived gender crisis.”
Abstract: A growing body of research highlights digital platforms like TikTok’s pivotal role in shaping meaning for their users, particularly regarding gender perceptions. With TikTok increasingly serving as a search engine for teens, understanding how opinions are formed necessitates examining online content and interactions. Our article focuses on the construction of masculinity and gender dynamics with sigma videos on TikTok, emphasizing the digital practices that foster toxic communication. We define toxic communication as the deliberate framing and intensification of gender relations through the lens of male control and domination, alongside the denigration, devaluation, or defamation of feminine and non-binary identities associated with hegemonic masculinity. Adopting a socio-technical approach, we utilize a digital qualitative method of immersive observation to collect and analyze videos, posts, hashtags, and gender-related content. Our findings reveal that sigma toxic communication manifests in a spectrum ranging from subtle humor to explicit violence. This diversity of content functions as a “ready-to-think” framework, potentially appealing to a wide range of men across varying tastes, ages, and attitudes toward gender while perpetuating narratives that reflect and reinforce entrenched patterns of male dominance.
