• Recent research explored the complex interplay of gender and extremist theories within Australian and New Zealand online communities
• The study found misogynistic gender orders are informed by a conjugal order that privileges heterosexuality and enforces a hierarchy of masculinities and femininities
• This research contributes to the growing body of literature on gendered narratives espoused by the far and extreme right, with global implications

A recent study by a Charles Sturt University-led research team has combined natural language processing tools with expert qualitative analysis to explore the complex interplay of gender and extremist theories within online communities.

The research is by Senior Lecturer in Terrorism and Security Studies in the Charles Sturt Australian Graduate School of Policing and Security (AGSPS) Dr Kristy Campion and her colleagues Dr Justin Bonest Phillips (University of Waikato, NZ) and Dr Kiri Ingram (formerly with the AGSPS, now with the University of Queensland).

Their research examined ‘4chan’ (and other anonymous) online message boards, which are well known for housing far and extreme right-wing individuals, some of whom have gone on to commit terrorist attacks.

Dr Campion said of the many 4chan boards, /pol/ (politically incorrect) is likely the most academically scrutinised. It is a board that is infamous for its white supremacist content.

“Research on /pol/ has subsequently produced a wide array of contributions, ranging from examinations of prevalent textual narratives and visual analyses that connect memes with violence, to mapping extreme/far right subcultures on the platform and its ideological neighbours,” Dr Campion said.

“Focusing on a case study of posts and replies from Australian and New Zealand (ANZ) users on the controversial platform 4chan, the research analyses a geo-located dataset of nearly 300,000 posts and replies spanning from 2016 to 2019.”

The study employed a mixed-methods approach to investigate how ANZ /pol/ users conceptualise (1) women ─ and by extension, gender ─ and (2) sexual and gender-based violence.

“Our research used automated natural language tools such as word embeddings and topic modelling, and qualitative analyses, to identify how trans-Tasman users discuss and understand these critical concepts at scale,” she said.

Key highlights of the study include:

• ‘Gender Constructs’: Research found that discussions around gender and violence are framed within narratives depicting an existential struggle between in-groups (attaching positive values) and out-groups (attaching negative values), with the latter perceived as the source of crisis.

• ‘Racial and Gendered Identities’: In-group identities are racially identified and highly gendered, establishing proscriptive standards for masculinity and femininity. Masculine identity is characterised by dominance and control, while feminine identity is constrained to serve a ‘white’ racial future.

• ‘Encouragement of Violence’: Our findings suggest that sexual and gender-based violence is not only warranted but also celebrated among ANZ posters, reinforcing extreme right-wing ideologies and normalising harmful gendered constructs.

“We argue that these misogynistic gender orders are informed by a conjugal order that privileges heterosexuality and enforces a hierarchy of masculinities and femininities,” Dr Campion said.

“The ‘in-group’, typically articulated as ideologically and ethnically compatible white individuals, perceives itself as facing decline or extinction, often proposing various solutions to this perceived crisis.

“Conversely, the ‘out-group’ ─ including individuals with differing sexual and moral values, immigrants, and religious and ethnic minorities ─ is viewed as the source of this crisis, thereby justifying them as targets of violence, both sexual and otherwise.”

Dr Campion said this research contributes to the growing body of literature on gendered narratives espoused by the far and extreme right, with implications that extend beyond Australia and New Zealand.

“These findings represent a significant advancement in scholarly understanding of how gender is constructed in extreme online communities and how these constructs are weaponised to shape, police, and enforce gendered behaviour,” she said.

“The study sets the stage for further exploration of the implications of these narratives in broader societal contexts.”

In the annual The Australian Research Magazine Dr Campion was listed as the Top Researcher in her field, Military Studies (that is, ‘Security’), in Australia for 2025.

Dr Campion was the only Charles Sturt University academic recognised on the list.

The Australian determines this ranking by calculating ‘Impact Scores’ for Australian researchers and institutions across 250 fields of research by tallying the number of citations their papers have received in the top 20 journals of each field over the past five years using Google Scholar data. The top-scoring individual and institution in each field are named leaders.