Guru/Prophet: An Affective Analysis of Reactionary YouTube Content
Cultural Studies PhD Dissertation Defence - Jordan Etherington
Event Details
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Tuesday, July 29, 2025
1:00 PM - 4:00 PM
Zoom
The Cultural Studies Graduate Program is excited to announce the upcoming PhD defence by Jordan Etherington of their thesis entitled Guru/Prophet: An Affective Analysis of Reactionary YouTube Content
Examining Committee:
Liam Mitchell (Supervisor), Michael Epp, Steven Downing
External Examiner: Gregory Seigworth (Millersville)
Internal Examiner: Nael Bhanji
Chair: Joshua Synenko
Abstract
This dissertation sought to examine how reactionary influencers on YouTube are able to create ‘gateways’ towards audience tolerance and even desire to enact violence against marginalized groups, particularly those groups relating to gender performance. for the purposes of YouTube moderation. This dissertation uses the perspectives of affect theorists Ahmed, Berlant, and Tomkins, and the gender theories of Connell and Butler to divide the examined influencers into two categories, gurus and prophets. Prophets, such as Tucker Carlson or the Prager U platform, presented already existing hegemonic narratives about gender norms as ontological truths that were key to the coherence of both society and individual identity. Meanwhile, gurus like Andrew Tate presented themselves as teachers whose ability to embody hegemonic masculine norms gave them both the wisdom and authority to convert loyal viewers into successful men like them. Both categories of reactionary influencer were examined with a focus on both rhetoric and modelling of masculinity and the performance thereof. While both categories worked to align viewers with fascist ideology through emphasizing hatred, fear, and anger towards real-world events while connecting feelings of hope, joy, and desire to quasi-gnostic mythic perspectives around masculine sovereignty, they presented significant differences in method and target audience. This has significant implications for attempts at deradicalization and resistance to the increasing tide of fascism in mainstream society. Another significant finding was that affective connections to reactionary beliefs were almost all found to originate with mainstream narratives around gender norms, particularly with regards to masculine success and authority under capitalism. Overall, this dissertation’s findings strongly counter mainstream assumptions that extremist reactionary ideology comes from a discrete fringe source rather than as a direct result of existence within a vicious capitalist social system that prioritizes White male comfort over the ability of ethnic and gender minorities to express any shred of agency.
Keywords: Affect theory, Ahmed, Berlant, Butler, Connell, content analysis, Fascism, gender performativity, gender theory, hegemony, Manosphere, masculinity studies, online content, radicalization, right-wing extremism, semiotics, , Tomkins, YouTube.
Contact Info
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