The ‘Red Pill’ and the Sigma Male

To ‘red pill’ someone is to reveal reality to them. Their previous reality — their ‘illusion’ — is dramatically transformed without altering anything but the individual’s perspective. The term, which was popularized by the prescient sci-fi film The Matrix, is now used by online alt-right groups to describe the process of indoctrination. Mencius Moldbug, for instance (who is credited with beginning this trend), introduces his blog, ‘Unqualified Reservations’, with the following disclaimer:

UNQUALIFIED RESERVATIONS is a strange blog: its goal is to cure your brain. We’ve all seen The Matrix. We know about red pills. Many claim to sell them. You can go, for example, to any bookstore, and ask the guy behind the counter for some Noam Chomsky. What you’ll get is blue pills soaked in Red #3.

Since we provide the genuine article, UR is pretty much the anti-Chomsky. (As a broad generalization, UR’s stance in any controversy will be the opposite of Chomsky’s.) Take one of our red pills — heck, split one in half — and you’ll be in a completely different world (Moldbug)

Crucially, Moldbug and others describe the red pill as a difficult pill to swallow. The alternative — the blue pill — is easy to assimilate. It is default mode — comfortable and familiar. By contrast, the red pill is counterintuitive. It must overcome natural resistances. In his…