The term “redpilled” comes from the 1999 film The Matrix, where the main character, Neo, must choose between a red pill to learn a harsh truth or a blue pill to live in blissful ignorance. This term is now being used online to mean that those who have “taken the red pill” believe they have awakened to the hidden truth that society is biased against men and oppresses them to favor women, while those who have not are “blue-pilled” and considered naive or brainwashed by feminism and “political correctness.” Every online platform is flooded with red-pill influencers who glorify misogyny and reject empathy as weakness.

“[Being redpilled] is used to describe a mindset where someone believes society is stacked against men, especially when it comes to dating, gender roles, and relationships,” explains Jill Murphy, chief content officer for Common Sense Media. “People in these online communities often claim that women are manipulative, overly focused on money and looks, and that feminism, and in general, female empowerment, has gone too far.”

What does it mean for my teen son to be “redpilled”?

The red pill ideology is a shared belief system across a wide range of male-supremacist online communities and subcultures known as the “manosphere,” which includes:

• Men’s Rights Activists (MRAs), who assert that feminism has disadvantaged men.
• Involuntary Celibates (Incels), who blame women for their lack of sexual relationships. These are mostly young men who feel rejected, resentful, and entitled to sex and relationships. Incel ideology often dehumanizes women and glorifies violence as a form of revenge or reclamation of power.
• Pick-up artists (PUAs), who teach tactics for manipulating women into sex.
• Men Going Their Own Way (MGTOW), who advocate for men to avoid women and society entirely. 

Online Redpill Communities Promote Sexist and Racist Ideas

Redpill content appears all over social media, from video platforms like TikTok to public community forums like Reddit and Discord. Oftentimes, young men who join redpill communities are exposed to misogynistic ideas, because a main tenet of the redpill belief system is that men are disenfranchised in a society that they feel favors women. Redpill language is overtly sexist, and often racist or hateful toward other marginalized groups. In general, their ideology is that feminism has ruined gender roles, men must dominate to thrive, women are manipulative and untrustworthy, and emotional vulnerability is weakness.

Why Is This Happening to Boys and Young Men?

Many teen boys are identifying as redpilled, which can be shocking to parents who feel that their values don’t align with these types of beliefs. There are several reasons that teen boys find the redpill community very appealing:

Adolescence is confusing. Being a teenager can be isolating, confusing, and an emotional rollercoaster. Today’s teenagers as a whole are experiencing larger amounts of loneliness, depression and anxiety which makes the more susceptible to radical ideas. Many boys are uncertain of who they are and are looking for a group or place to fit in. Red pill influencers speak directly to a boy’s feelings of insecurity and can make them feel they are being understood and heard. The red pill community provides a brotherhood — a group with shared language and a strong identity where teens feel seen, validated, and part of something larger than themselves.

Boys spend a lot of time online where red pill content can pop up. What can start as an attempt to find friends online can quickly spiral into an unhealthy situation. Algorithms are pushing controversial subjects, and teen boys do not have the maturity or life experience to realize they are being manipulated.

The messages promise strength and success. Many young men feel disempowered or left behind in a world where traditional male roles are no longer guaranteed. Red pill influencers like Andrew Tate lure boys in with a promise of power: If you act like an “alpha male,” you’ll win respect, control, and women. It also gives boys a sense of superiority over others, especially girls. Redpill culture offers rules for being a ‘real man,’ which can feel stabilizing to those who feel lost or unsure of how to act in modern relationships.

It provides a clear, simplistic worldview. Redpill culture offers confused young men a black-and-white worldview—men are alphas or betas; women are only looking to increase their status; and relationships are transactions. Redpilled boys and young men may interpret feminism not as a push for equality but as a threat to male identity.

Redpill culture allows boys to avoid accountability. The ideology gives young men a scapegoat to explain their disappointments, especially in dating, employment, or social status. Instead of viewing their problems as personal, or something they have to work on, they can blame a ‘rigged’ society. By externalizing their struggles, they can feel a sense of purpose and righteous anger rather than feeling shame or like a failure.

Next Steps…

This week we wanted to explain what “redpilled” means and why it happens. In next week’s blog, we will be explaining the signs to look for and what parents can do if their teen has been “redpilled.”