Soy boy
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Soy boy, also known as Nu-Male,[1] is a pejorative which is often used in right-wing online communities to describe men perceived as lacking masculine characteristics. The term bears many similarities and has been compared to the slang term "cuck", another term popularly used as an insult for male femininity by right-wing online communities.[2] The term is based on the presence of phytoestrogen contained within soybeans, which have led some to conclude that soy products feminize men who consume them.
History
According to a study by Canadian researchers published in November 2009, soy products contain the second highest relative phytoestrogen content after nuts and oilseeds.[3] In April 2010, an article by Dr. Mark Messina of the School of Public Health in Loma Linda, California revealed that soy consumption has no effect on the levels and quality of male sperm.[4] The earliest archived use of the term "soyboy" as a pejorative on 4chan was submitted to a thread on the /tv/ (television & film) board on April 18 2017.[5]
Usage
The term is often used as an epithet by internet trolls,[6] mostly from the alt-right.[6] It is often targeted at perceived social justice warriors, vegans, and similar groups.[7] On January 2019, when Donald Trump temporarily suspending the longest government shutdown in U.S., people on the internet, especially on Twitter, started calling him a soy boy or a cuck.[8] The term has also been used in online debates about the fashion appeal of cargo shorts.[9]
The term has also been used by racist and anti-semitic groups to criticize and emasculate liberal men in an attempt to win adherents to their ideology. [10]
In a related trend, in 2017 some 4chan users began eating raw onions with the belief that it would boost their testosterone, despite the lack of medical evidence for this.[11]
Reception
On October 26 2017, conservative writer Will Sommer posted an article titled "How soy boy became the far right's favorite insult" to Medium.[12] Mic published an op-ed by writer Chris Caesar titled "How 'soy boy' became the alt-right's new favorite insult."[13] Also on October 27, The Daily Dot published an article titled "‘Soy boys’ is the far-right’s newest favorite insult."[14]
See also
References
- ^ Beck, Chris. "The Rise of Nu-Males and Soy Boys". Splice Today.
- ^ Hosie, Rachel. "Soy Boy: What is this new online insult used by the far right?". The Independent.
- ^ Thompson, Lilian U.; Boucher, Beatrice A.; Liu, Zhen; Cotterchio, Michelle; Kreiger, Nancy (June 17, 2006). "Phytoestrogen content of foods consumed in Canada, including isoflavones, lignans, and coumestan". Nutrition and Cancer. 54 (2): 184–201. doi:10.1207/s15327914nc5402_5. PMID 16898863.
- ^ Messina, Mark (May 1, 2010). "Soybean isoflavone exposure does not have feminizing effects on men: a critical examination of the clinical evidence". Fertility and Sterility. 93 (7): 2095–2104. doi:10.1016/j.fertnstert.2010.03.002. PMID 20378106.
- ^ Castrodale, Jelisa (September 19, 2018). "A Brief History of Jerks Using Tofu-Eating as an Insult".
- ^ a b "Are you a soy boy?". October 28, 2017.
- ^ Reynolds, George (October 25, 2019). "Why do people hate vegans?" – via www.theguardian.com.
- ^ "Everyone thinks Trump is a 'cuck' for caving on shutdown". The Daily Dot. January 25, 2019.
- ^ Jennings, Rebecca (April 18, 2019). "The latest debate on right-wing Twitter: are cargo shorts for "real men" or "soy boys?"". Vox.
- ^ Schroeder, Joanna (October 12, 2019). "Opinion | Racists Are Recruiting. Watch Your White Sons" – via NYTimes.com.
- ^ "Does eating raw onions boost your testosterone? 4chan thinks so". Los Angeles Times. November 27, 2017.
- ^ Sommer, Will (October 26, 2017). "How "soy boy" became the far right's favorite new insult". Medium.
- ^ Caesar, Chris. "How "soy boy" became the alt-right's favorite new insult". Mic.
- ^ "'Soy boys' is the far-right's newest favorite insult". The Daily Dot. October 27, 2017.