“Mason thinks he’s such a Chad, but he’s nothing but a beta cuck. He better red pill, or he’s never gonna land a Stacy.” If that sentence has you scratching your head, don’t worry. It just means you’re not fluent in the language of the manosphere.
It’s hard to deny the growing popularity of this toxic movement among adolescents, which has grown over the last several years and reached popular consciousness through Netflix’s Adolescence. Enter: this manosphere glossary.
Although your life might be happier knowing as little as possible about the manosphere, if you have a kid, you should familiarize yourself with some of its terms so you can spot whether your child is being influenced by it.
Alpha: Alphas are dominant men who overpower others and have their pick of sexual partners.
Awalt: Awalt is an acronym for All Women Are Like That. It represents the manosphere belief that women are predictable and stereotypical in the way they behave — for example, that they want to “marry up,” are manipulative, and only want to date Chads (see below).
Beta: Betas are the opposite of alphas. They’re men who are weak, unattractive, and submissive.
Chad: A Chad is a virile, uber-masculine, and powerful man who women flock to — aka an ultimate alpha. A “gigachad” is the most alpha of all the alpha males.
Cuck: Cuck is a shortening of “cuckold.” In the manosphere, it refers to a man whose wife has been unfaithful, particularly a beta whose female partner has been with an alpha male. It’s typically used as an insult and can also refer to men who derive sexual pleasure from allowing their wife to sleep with another man.
Incels: “Incel” is a mashup of “involuntary celibate.” Men who self-identify as incels are unable to find a sexual partner, despite feeling entitled to one, and blame women for their loneliness.
Pickup artist (PUA): Pickup artists share strategies to manipulate or coerce women into sex.
Red pill/blue pill: These terms have been co-opted from The Matrix. In the manosphere, a red pill is a person who has “woken up” to the fact that society actually discriminates against men, not women. A blue pill refers to a person who either has yet to realize this “fact” or actively works to convert red-pillers back to being so-called sheep.
Sigma male: As opposed to an alpha male or beta male, the sigma male is a lone wolf who operates outside of social structures. While not necessarily negative, the use of this term can indicate that your child is consuming content in or around the manosphere.
Sexual market value (SMV): In the messed-up universe of the manosphere, a person’s worth is measured by their sexual desirability, or their “sexual market value.”
Sexual marketplace (SMP): Lest you get the impression that the manosphere sees people as anything besides pieces of meat, I introduce to you the sexual marketplace, a metaphorical place where people flaunt themselves and compete for romantic and sexual partners.
Soy/soyboi: The term soy is taken from the soybean and means any perceived characteristic or behavior that isn’t manly enough. A soyboi is a male who lacks sufficiently manly traits.
Stacy: A Stacy is an idealized version of femininity, according to manosphere standards. They are ultra attractive, desirable, and promiscuous, but also vapid. Stacys are considered unattainable to any man who isn’t a Chad.
Succubus: Incels have taken this character from folklore and twisted it to mean a woman who gets her sexual needs met by betas without regard to the harm it may cause them.
Wizard: A wizard is a male over the age of 30 who has never had sex. The term can be used as both an insult (in the pickup artist community), or an honorific (in the incel community).
The manosphere is a toxic online movement filled with misogynistic terms. If you want to make sure your little Chad hasn’t taken the red pill and gone all Awalt with their belief system, it’s wise to familiarize yourself with this manosphere glossary.
For help monitoring your child online to keep them safe — and safely away from the manosphere — BrightCanary is your best option on Apple devices. The app uses advanced technology to scan your child’s activity online and sends you a notification when they encounter anything worrisome on the apps they use most. Download BrightCanary today to get started for free.
Want to stay on top of other terms teens use? Check out our emoji guide and common teen dating slang terms.
