Lois Shearing: Pink-Pilled

Manchester University Press, 2025, softcover, 288 pages, 12.9 x 19.8 cm

A daring investigation into how women are recruited by the far right online. As the far right has gained popularity and acceptance around the world, its ranks have swelled with an unlikely category of members: women. Women play significant roles in far-right movements, acting as propagandists, prizes to be won and mother-warriors of the nation. But up to now their activities have been largely overlooked. In Pink-pilled, journalist Lois Shearing interviews leading experts and infiltrates communities of tradwives and femtrolls to provide a cutting-edge account of how the far right uses the internet to recruit women. Shining a light on women’s experiences withinthese movements, Shearing reveals horrifying examples of misogyny and violence. Understanding how and why women join movements that explicitly aim to restrict their autonomy is essential if we want to fight back. Pink-pilled offers key insights for countering women’s radicalisation and building communities resistant to far-right thought.