Dating can be a tough pill to swallow.
A new study published in the journal Personal Relationships has uncovered some of the deceptive tactics “Red Pill” subscribers use to manipulate women — many of which align with the “Dark Triad” personality type, research suggested.
In the face of women’s protests for bodily autonomy and equal opportunity across genders, disaffected men are gathering in anonymous internet forums to revel in anti-feminist rhetoric. There emerged the Red Pill community, encompassing a global network of men who collect across various social media platforms to trade secrets of male chauvinism, including how to tame women in marital submission.
The term “red pill” refers to a visual metaphor depicted in the 1999 sci-fi thriller “The Matrix,” in which the film’s hero is asked to choose between taking a red or blue pill, with the latter representing illusions and the former leading to the uncomfortable truth.
On social media, however, to “take the red pill” has come to refer to men who have come to believe that traditional gender roles are being threatened by feminist values that dominate the mainstream.
Speaking to the ex-partners of red pill men, the new research revealed a significant overlap between their deceptive tactics and “Dark Triad” traits: narcissism, Machiavellianism, and psychopathy.
Look out for these 4 most common warning signs of a red pill dude in the dating pool.
Love-bombing
It may sound sweet, but “love-bombing” is a power move. The survey showed that red pill men will push to escalate a relationship and overwhelm a woman with compliments, gifts and grand romantic gestures. However, beneath the flattery is a desire to gain psychological control over a partner, experts warn, and a textbook trait of narcissistic personality disorder.
Prioritizing sex
Sex makes the world go ’round for red pillers. The women surveyed agreed that sex was regarded as a top priority in the relationship, often feeling pressured to meet their red pill partners’ needs at the expense of their own. As sex produces hormones to encourage bonding between partners, red pill men were seen leveraging sex to reinforce more control over their partners who felt increasingly obligated to please them.
Coaxing
The concept of “coaxing” can look like ingratiation or guilt-tripping. Red pill men employ these psychological tactics to manipulate their partner’s emotions and control their decisions, often threatening abandonment to make women more eager to comply — a tactic called the “dread game.” Red pill partners may also use passive-aggressive comments to signal disapproval or reinforce their expectations.
Vanity
Beauty is in the eye of the red piller — who puts the “alpha” male on a pedestal. The ex-partners of red pill men reported a narcissistic preoccupation with looks, social status, intellectual superiority and financial success. Many women surveyed recalled their red pill partner’s frequent habit of flaunting wealth or touting achievements.
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