Lightnews — Scholar-powered news

Alex DiBranco @alexdibranco.bsky.social · 1d

Looking forward to today's chat!

Institute for Research on Male Supremacism @irms.bsky.social · 5d

Join us for a fireside chat with Dr.Cynthia Miller-Idriss to discuss her new book Man Up: The New Misogyny & the Rise of Violent Extremism on Wednesday, 10/8/2025 at 11 am est. This is a virtual event and you can register for the chat via this link american.zoom.us/meeting/regi... .

Reposted by Alex DiBranco

Institute for Research on Male Supremacism @irms.bsky.social · 20d

Remember that @karenattiah.bsky.social is offering her own independent course on Race, Media, and International Affairs online after Columbia cancelled her class in the crackdown on "DEI," a.k.a. accurate discussion of race, gender, and discrimination. www.resistancesummerschool.com/fall-2025-re...

1 1

Reposted by Alex DiBranco

Senthorun S. Raj @senthorun.bsky.social · Apr 16

This is your ongoing reminder that anti-migrant (“illegals”) and anti-trans politics (“gender ideology”) are current anchors of several authoritarian governments. People who tolerate, even selectively, such politics are facilitating the rise of fascism. This is why solidarity is key to oppose this.

6 360 1K

Alex DiBranco @alexdibranco.bsky.social · Apr 26

Last day of the #IRMS2025 conference! I'm mulling over what I want to include in my closing remarks today--a lot of thoughts from the last 3 days at the disinformation summit and talking with people concerned about male supremacism there.

2

Alex DiBranco @alexdibranco.bsky.social · Apr 25

I learned from someone at the disinformation summit about this library within Minecraft, that helps journalists globally circumvent censorship.

www.minecraft.net/en-us/articl...

www.minecraft.net

1

Alex DiBranco @alexdibranco.bsky.social · Apr 25

I'm thinking about how Netflix’s Adolescence sets up the murdered girl as having bullied the perpetrator, despite that not having been the situation in the acts of misogynist violence that have occurred in the real world

1

Alex DiBranco @alexdibranco.bsky.social · Apr 24

Melissa Gira Grant discusses opinion pieces on the manosphere that focus on the suffering of men, while ignoring the disproportionate suffering and violence encountered by women and trans people, instead telling them to placate men. #IRMS2025

1 1

Alex DiBranco @alexdibranco.bsky.social · Apr 24

Little girls are not being obedient, are not being respectable -Soraya Chemaly discusses the threat to white male supremacism of girls not adhering to the subservient position these supremacist movements rely on. #IRMS2025

1

Reposted by Alex DiBranco

Institute for Research on Male Supremacism @irms.bsky.social · Apr 24

Follow our amazing keynote speakers here:

@melissagiragrant.com
@sorayachemaly.bsky.social
@aliadastagir.bsky.social

And our chair, @kylietcheung.bsky.social of @jezebeldotcom.bsky.social

And follow us for our continuing work to challenge male supremacism!

Institute for Research on Male Supremacism @irms.bsky.social · Apr 24

It's time for the Keynote Panel: "Resistance and Thriving: Confronting Male Supremacism and Authoritarianism," featuring Soraya Chemaly, Melissa Gira Grant, and Alia Dastagir. Stay tuned for updates! #IRMS2025

1 4

Alex DiBranco @alexdibranco.bsky.social · Apr 24

Hopping onto the keynote panel at 11pm from Cambridge, UK, where I just finished a day at the summit on disinformation! I'm tired but I'm excited for this discussion.

Institute for Research on Male Supremacism @irms.bsky.social · Apr 24

It's time for the Keynote Panel: "Resistance and Thriving: Confronting Male Supremacism and Authoritarianism," featuring Soraya Chemaly, Melissa Gira Grant, and Alia Dastagir. Stay tuned for updates! #IRMS2025

3

Alex DiBranco @alexdibranco.bsky.social · Apr 24

So tired I'm swapping hoping for hopping

Alex DiBranco @alexdibranco.bsky.social · Apr 24

This is such an important topic right now, and an amazing slate of all IRMS fellows and mentees.

Institute for Research on Male Supremacism @irms.bsky.social · Apr 24

Our next panel is titled ‘Biological Essentialism in Supremacist Views of Gender, Race, and Sexuality’, featuring important research on ways oppressive politics are reinforced through intersecting systems of power. #IRMS2025

See below for live updates from the panel:

1 1 3

Reposted by Alex DiBranco

Institute for Research on Male Supremacism @irms.bsky.social · Apr 24

🌍✨ Today’s the day!
Welcome to #IRMS2025 — our virtual global gathering on confronting male supremacism begins today! Whether you’re joining from your morning coffee or late-night tea, we’re so glad you’re here. 📲 Stay tuned here for updates & highlights all day.
Let’s go! #IRMS2025 #IRMSConf

5 5

Alex DiBranco @alexdibranco.bsky.social · Apr 23

I've been exploring my neurodivergence over the last two years, & regretting (angrily) it took until my mid-30s, as I lacked exposure to resources that would help me understand myself.

When we should be encouraging access to education around neurodivergence, this aims to create a chilling effect.

ACLU @aclu.org · Apr 23

An autism "registry" culled from private medical records could potentially violate federal privacy laws and runs the risk of abuse.

It also harkens back to a time when disabled people were labeled, segregated, and excluded. We won't go back.

RFK Jr’s autism study collecting Americans’ private medical records

The National Institutes of Health claims it is fulfilling RFK’s promise to find cause of autism by September

www.theguardian.com

Reposted by Alex DiBranco

Emma Heaney @riislover667.bsky.social · Apr 23

“TERFism, like all fascist discourses and all imperial and settler-colonial horizons, imagines itself upside-down, as somehow preyed-upon, bullied, colonized, and at risk of genocidal erasure at the hands of the subjugated group it dehumanizes.”

Sophie Lewis @reproutopia.bsky.social · Apr 23

The UK Supreme Court’s transphobic ruling on the definition of woman last week is a defeat for all women—even, ultimately, the self-described feminists celebrating it, and the women who will gain in the short term from their alliance with the carceral state.

my latest for @thenation.com

The UK's Anti-Trans Ruling Is a Defeat for All Women

Even the self-described feminists celebrating the Supreme Court's attempt to banish trans people from womanhood will pay a heavy price.

www.thenation.com

6 24

Reposted by Alex DiBranco

Jorge @vintagemillennial.bsky.social · Apr 23

I got a chance to listen to the pre conference panel earlier today. The panelists were fantastic. The conversations around the ways culture and the media (tv, film, podcasts) have been driving the manosphere deeper into antifeminism and misogyny were stellar. #IRMS2025 @irms.bsky.social

Jorge @vintagemillennial.bsky.social · Apr 13

Just signed up for the upcoming 2025 Male Supremacism Studies Conference on 4/24-4/26--it's virtual!

I expect the research presentations will be more timely and relevant than ever before.

www.theirms.org/conference

www.zeffy.com/en-US/ticket...

2025 Male Supremacism Studies Conference

Male Supremacism Studies Conference 2025 (MSSC)Our interdisciplinary virtual conference is held April 24-26, 2025, with panels and discussions from researchers, policy-makers, and activists working at...

www.zeffy.com

2 8

Reposted by Alex DiBranco

Crystal Frasier @amazonchique.bsky.social · Apr 23

Who could have possibly predicted that TERFS would immediately pivot from transmisogyny to overt racism?

Oh, wait. It was trans women. Trans women said this is exactly what would happen.

moif @moif-velocita.bsky.social · Apr 21

UK TERFs quickly moving onto their next victims

#TERFisland #UK #xenophobia #ScratchATERF #transphobia

Image shows 'gender ciritical' activists standing in front of the statue of suffragette Millicent Fawcett, in London and holding up signs urging the gender critical community to target foreigners, to protect 'women' from sexual assault

22 650 2K

Alex DiBranco @alexdibranco.bsky.social · Apr 23

At a disinformation summit, musing over a question that often comes to mind: is social media disinformation greater than that of past media? For instance, yellow journalism, where two white men who controlled major media decided to start a war, regardless of accuracy.

Historians?

1 1

Reposted by Alex DiBranco

Institute for Research on Male Supremacism @irms.bsky.social · Apr 22

The first preconference roundtable starts in a little more than half a day! Register now to join.

The preconference roundtables are not included in the main conference replays, though we hope to be able to share part of the discussion for #IRMS2025 conference registrants unable to attend live.

Dr Elsa Bengtsson Meuller @elsabmeuller.bsky.social · Apr 22

✨ Tomorrow, we are kicking off the IRMS conference with a preconference day consisting of two important roundtables: one on the topic of online cult communities targeting youth, and one on male supremacy influencing/extending through culture (TV, food, etc).

More information and how to join below 👇🏻

Institute for Research on Male Supremacism @irms.bsky.social · Apr 18

We're super excited to offer an extra perk for all registrants. Register today to gain full access to our live roundtable sessions hosted on April 23rd, 2025. This pre-conference roundtable is something you do NOT want to miss! www.theirms.org/conference #IRMS2025 #IRMSConf

2 2

Alex DiBranco @alexdibranco.bsky.social · Apr 22

As we continue under an authoritarian supremacist system, we must support resistance, & remember that when an institution shuts a door in our face—no matter how “prestigious”—we don’t have to give in. We can use other means to reach, educate, inspire, & form new communities to meet these needs.

2

Alex DiBranco @alexdibranco.bsky.social · Apr 22

I and other IRMS Fellows and Mentees have also participated in radical resistance education led by other organizations, such as the CRT Summer School hosted by @aapf.bsky.social and contributing to toolkits by @wstatescenter.bsky.social

1 2 4

Alex DiBranco @alexdibranco.bsky.social · Apr 22

We’ve run Anti-Supremacist Training Institutes, & are gearing up to produce a historically-informed toolkit emphasizing creative cultural & educational approaches to long-term change, highlighting the significance of actions taken by groups like @dragstoryhour.bsky.social and @popmobpdx.bsky.social

1 2 3

Alex DiBranco @alexdibranco.bsky.social · Apr 22

We host events like the #IRMS2025 male supremacism studies conference, starting Wednesday, where we talk plenty about censored “DEI” research terms, like transgender and LGBT, with sessions covering white supremacy, abortion criminalization, harassment & abuse, & more.
www.theirms.org/conference

Call for Proposals: 2025 Male Supremacism Studies Conference — Institute for Research on Male Supremacism

www.theirms.org

1

Alex DiBranco @alexdibranco.bsky.social · Apr 22

We pursue extra-academic education through our global mentorship program, where we offer our own curriculum led by IRMS fellows. The first sessions focus on dehumanization & entitlement as the foundations of supremacism; mentee and fellow applications are open now. www.theirms.org/mentorship-p...

Apply for Mentorship — Institute for Research on Male Supremacism

www.theirms.org

1 1 1

Alex DiBranco @alexdibranco.bsky.social · Apr 22

I did not want @irms.bsky.social to be at the mercy of a university administration not fully invested in our values. We were created by a group of then- grad students, mostly women, because the study of male supremacism was lacking in academic spaces, so we already saw the flaws.

1 1 1