Revenge of the Nerds : Recidivist Masculinity, Identity Politics and the Online ‘Culture Wars’

Abstract

This paper is a longform commentary and analysis of Angela Nagle's recent work Kill All Normies Online culture wars from 4chan and Tumblr to Trump and the alt-right. It explores the work's relevance to 'Extreme Masculinities', and places it within the context of the contemporary political situation. The work's main thesis on the aesthetic and libidinal forms and characteristics of the 'Alt-Right' are heavily interrogated and placed within the historical context of previous crises in masculinity. This analysis proceeds to further explore the existence of this contemporary crisis through the broader spectrum of identity politics, and its problematic ideological conflicts and consequences. This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 License.