“White Power Barbie” is one way to label American women joining the alt-right movement. This guest post explores some of the reasons why American women become violent.

“It mattered so much that she died for it.” A Trump flag wrapped around her like a superhero cape, Ashli Babbitt was fatally shot as she attempted to enter the Speaker’s Lobby. She was among the many insurrectionists that stormed the Capitol building on January 6th. Like the others, Babbitt’s social media posts reveal an unwavering belief in the false claims of a stolen election pushed by former president Donald Trump and online conspiracy theorists.

She died believing that she was fighting for the American people. It is a distorted and radicalizing idea inspired by words like that of President Trump: “We fight like hell. And if you don’t fight like hell, you’re not going to have a country anymore”. 

As this supposed “patriotic” cause mattered to Ashli Babbitt, it mattered to the more than 400 defendants charged with crimes related to the insurrection. The success of this radicalization is a cause for alarm and deserving of a deeper, more nuanced analysis.

Extremism Goes Viral

The far-right is the dominant terrorist threat to the United States, accounting for about two-thirds of all attacks and plots in 2020.

The alt-right is a significant part of this threat. According to the Southern Poverty Law Center, the political objective of the alt-right is the preservation and protection of the “white identity” from multiculturalism. It is a “repackaging of white supremacy” and a purposefully expansive ideology intended to go mainstream.

In the first four years of the Trump presidency, the alt-right movement has evolved and emboldened. 

At the 2017 Unite the Right rally, hosted by the leaders of the alt-right, crowds of white men marched on the streets of Charlottesville, Virginia chanting “You will not replace us”. 

Four years later, at the storming of the Capitol, the crowd looked noticeably different. Some of the same alt-right figures from Charlottesville were present in Washington DC. It was larger and notably, among the many white men were a significant number of white women. Of the more than 400 defendants so far, 45 women have been charged. 

Online to Offline

White women have always participated in far-right extremism. Yet, until now women were not significantly present on the frontlines or involved in violence. Moreover, as far-right extremism becomes a greater threat, more women are joining. 

The question then arises: What causes people, specifically women, to join far-right extremism?

The answer is the Internet. There were about 400 individuals at the Capitol on January 6th but many more are justifying and supporting this insurrection online. Months of intense online disinformation of a stolen election incited the insurrection. On January 6th, the attack was unprecedented in the number of comments, photos, and videos posted by insurrectionists. The insurrection now serves as propaganda for online radicalization and recruitment by far-right extremists.

The alt-right is distinguished by its extensive online presence. There is greater potential for violent extremism because the movement is accessible, and more individuals are at risk of radicalization. The alt-right’s online presence is precisely what makes it a threat.

Social Media Influencers of the Alt-Right

Women are increasingly visible players in the alt-right. Like at the insurrection, they do not commit violent extremism in equal numbers to men. However, they are more active in an equally important role, the justification of violent extremism. There is no violent extremism without a justifying ideology.

The women of the alt-right actively construct and promote alt-right ideology. Some women have become outspoken figures in their effort to radicalize and recruit women and girls online. Lana Lokteff, Brittany Sellner, and Ayla Stewart are successful propagandists and recruiters for the alt-right. All these women are young and attractive white women with popular social media profiles. 

Owing to the idea that women are inherently peaceful, these women give an innocent face to an extremist ideology. Yet, they have the capability to push alt-right messaging to millions of social media users. The appearance of innocence and peace underestimates their violent extremist ideology, making these women a threat that is hidden in plain sight.

Women like men, seek the achievement of the alt-right’s political objective, a white nation. Lana Lokteff, Brittany Sellner, and Ayla Stewart center their social media profiles on discussions of politics. 

On January 6, Lana Lokteff tweeted “‘Well behaved’ people don’t make history.” and replied to a video of the Capitol being violently broken into with “Politicians need to be reminded who they are supposed to serve. They aren’t Gods. They need to be held accountable by the people.”.

Here, the justification of an insurrection that killed five is projected as patriotism and democracy. Their power lies in their ability to characterize the alt-right as a movement based not in hatred but self-defense in the protection of the white identity.

Nationalism is, interestingly, framed in a gendered context. The “moral order of the white family”, a representation of the nation, must be protected from multiculturalism, feminism, and queerness. This framing radicalizes and mobilizes men, the protectors of the white family. The connection between nationalism and the household also brings women of the alt-right into the political discussion. 

Referencing the nurturing role of women, Ayla Stewart commented, “Women see downtrodden people as their children and want to be very motherly toward them and throw open their borders”. She criticizes this perspective, instead viewing these “downtrodden people” as a threat to the white family. 

Women in the alt-right support a white nation because it will protect their children and the “moral order of white family values”. Utilizing fear, online propaganda effectively radicalizes and mobilizes women to support the political objective of a white nation.

Gender Empowerment

The work of alt-right women must be understood in a gendered context. Propaganda must paint the alt-right as empowering and respectful of women. 

At a live streamed event, Lana Lokteff said, “It was women that got Trump elected. And, I guess, to be really edgy, it was women that got Hitler elected”. 

Lokteff argues women are the real changemakers. She believes women are a necessary asset to the political objective. To expand and advance toward a white nation, the alt-right needs women. It must, therefore, appeal to women as a freeing and empowering movement.

The traditional patriarchal values of the alt-right are twisted to be empowering. Mothers are respected and idealized. Women are valuable because they are life givers and responsible for indoctrinating alt-right values to their children, the future of the white race. 

Ayla Stewart exemplifies this ideal as a mother to many children. She posts frequently about motherhood and the respect it brings: “The legacy of a man lies within the womb of his woman”. In this statement, the powerful men of a patriarchal society are dependent on women. The future of the movement and the white race is therefore dependent on women.

The Community

A sense of belonging and the promise of meaningful relationships with like-minded people attracts men and women to the alt-right. Women seek community, sisterhood, and love, “a refuge where white women can embrace their femininity and their racial heritage without shame”. 

Online interactions between Lana Lokteff, Brittany Sellner, and Ayla Stewart exemplify the happiness found in alt-right sisterhood. The social media interactions behind the alt-right, QAnon, conspiracies of a stolen election, organizing the insurrection, and more also contribute to this sense of community. 

The alt-right is positioned as an environment in which relationships are more natural and easy because of a shared ideology. The community of the alt-right is presented as one in which women can find true personal connection and happiness.

Lessons Learned

Women are the new face of the alt-right.

The social media influencers of the alt-right apply modern, innovative methods to successfully radicalize and recruit on the Internet. Giving an innocent face to an extremist ideology, these women characterize the alt-right as a necessary movement of self-defense, an appealing and radicalizing framing. By constructing a political, gendered, and personal narrative, their propaganda appeals to the complex factors that motivate women to join the alt-right. 

Women as alt-right social media influencers or violent extremists are an extremist threat and must be considered as such.

To counter the far-right, the most dominant terror threat in the United States, it is not enough to examine violent extremism. Women, often underestimated figures, construct the extremist ideology that motivates these attacks. They are responsible for the growing numbers of the alt-right and its increasing threat. Women of the alt-right have access to millions of social media influencers and a well-developed, successful strategy of radicalization and recruitment. Counterterrorism cannot be limited to violent extremism; it is necessary to understand and counter the factors that drive violence. 

At the center of the ideological factor driving violent extremism are women.

Guest post by Mansi Patel, a young international affairs scholar and a passionate advocate for gender equality.