Study Highlights Role of Misogynistic Extremism in Hot Yoga Shooting

March 16, 2022 by Alexa Hornbeck
Study Highlights Role of Misogynistic Extremism in Hot Yoga Shooting
A person is transported from the scene of a shooting, Friday, Nov. 2, 2018, in Tallahassee, Fla. A shooter killed one person and critically wounded four others at a yoga studio in Florida's capital before killing himself Friday, officials said. (Tori Schneider/Tallahassee Democrat via AP)

WASHINGTON — On Nov. 2, 2018, Maura Binkley, a 21-year-old Florida State college student, was attending a hot yoga studio session in Tallahassee, Florida, when a 40-year-old man entered the studio with a gun and opened fire. The attacker killed Binkley, one other woman and injured four others.

A case study released on Tuesday from the U.S. Secret Service’s National Threat Assessment Center examines the role misogynistic extremism played in the shooting and other violence against women.

“Misogyny frequently appears in more prevalent acts of violence, including stalking and domestic abuse. Responding to the threat posed by these beliefs requires collaboration across multiple community systems, including law enforcement, courts, mental health providers, and domestic violence and hate crime advocacy groups,” the report states.

According to the study, “the attacker was motivated to carry out violence by his inability to develop or maintain relationships with women, along with his perception of women’s societal power over men.”  

It is reported the attacker had expressed violent fantasies toward women for most of his life, sexually harassed and assaulted multiple women and written songs and essays about his hatred of women, people of color, Jewish people and LGBTQ people. 

The Tallahassee attacker also openly identified with the views of another male attacker in Isla Vista, California, who self-identified as what is called an incel. In 2014, the Isla Vista attacker fatally shot three women at a Santa Barbara Alpha Phi sorority house, which the Isla Vista attacker said represented, “everything [he] hated about the female gender.”

According to the report, in the late 1990s the incel label was created by a Canadian woman who formed an internet peer support forum for people who experience “involuntary celibacy.” Later shortened to incel, the term described those who are sexually deprived due to social awkwardness, marginalization or mental illness.

The Secret Service report highlights the increased number of incel communities popping up online that support extreme misogyny or hatred of women.

By the early 2000s, these online communities became dominated by the voices of young heterosexual men with vindictive and aggressive views towards women.

The online network of incels — termed the “manosphere” — consists of blogs and forums that promote male-dominant views, extreme anti-female feelings, sexual objectification of women and in some cases encourage violence against women. 

Throughout the study, behavioral assessment themes like motive, mental health history, interpersonal difficulties and other themes are provided to understand the background of the Hot Yoga Tallahassee attacker. 

According to the report, these behavioral themes are seen in the backgrounds of other attackers and should be the focus of community-level violence prevention efforts to identify and intervene with those who pose a risk of engaging in targeted violence.

Prior to the release of the Secret Service case study, Everytown for Gun Safety, an American nonprofit organization that advocates against gun violence, released a report on misogynistic extremism and gun violence.

“The Tallahassee shooting, and other shootings we identify in the report, show a common thread in hatred or violence against women before the actual act,” said Megan O’ Toole, deputy director of research at Everytown for Gun Safety, in an email to The Well News. 

The Everytown for Gun Safety report examines six shootings in the U.S. connected to extreme misogyny. It includes the hot yoga shooting incident in Tallahassee. 

The report emphasizes the impact that misogyny-driven violence has on public safety and on women and survivors. 

“Victims of hate crimes often report heightened nervousness and feel less safe for longer than victims of other crimes. As long as this violence goes unaddressed, the threat of it is enough to terrorize women, survivors of violence and entire communities,” said O’Toole.

The report finds that the online “manosphere” reinforces the idea that men are socially and individually disadvantaged. These spaces commonly support solutions to this problem ranging from dehumanizing and objectifying women, to carrying out deadly acts of terrorism. 

“Although there are many ways to address these behaviors, our research shows that access to a weapon as deadly as a firearm is a key part of attacks by these extremists,” continued O’Toole.

The report cites evidence that among the many reasons people purchase firearms, one is a sense of empowerment from gun ownership. Survey data collected from young men also shows that threats to masculinity and social status are associated with both attraction to firearms and fantasies about mass murder.

O’Toole said that Extreme Risk laws, which have passed in 19 states, can result in the temporary removal of weapons by family, friends or law enforcement who are aware of the threat.

“While not every attacker shows such public signs, we believe reports like ours and like the new Secret Service report can help law enforcement officials further identify patterns to look for,” said O’Toole.

Alexa can be reached at [email protected] 

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  • extremism
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  • National Threat Assessment Center
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