The Longhouse

About

The Longhouse is a slang expression and a metaphorical concept popularized among the far-right and alt-right used to refer to a matriarchal society that is distinguished by suppressing non-conformity by canceling individuals, avoidance of direct conflict, and valuing safety (including emotional safety) over privacy and individualism, among other things. The expression has been used similarly to "living in the pod" and is used to describe the societal order that the far-right strives to alter or exit. Starting in 2023, the phrase saw spread on iFunny, Twitter and 4chan, appearing in various memes.

Origin

Historically, the longhouse is a large, single-hall communal dwelling met in various parts of the world including Asia, Europe and North America, built since the Neolithic period.

In 2018, far-right Internet personality and writer Bronze Age Pervert published the book Bronze Age Mindset, which contained criticisms of modern society.^[1] In the book, Bronze Age Pervert compares the modern leftist males to the dwellers of the longhouse, "browbeaten and ruled by obese mammies who instilled in them socialism and feminism" (extracts shown below).

Most of those so-called males of the longhouse age were probably similar to the modern leftist “herb” who doesn’t lift. Which is why those societies were so easily conquered.

Spread

Around 2021, the metaphorical concept of the longhouse offered in Bronze Age Mindset started appearing in online discussions of modern society, initially on 4chan^[2][3][4] and other imageboards and later on Twitter and iFunny. On June 28th, 2021, iFunny^[5] user Wicklow posted the earliest discovered meme about The Longhouse, an I Hate the Antichrist meme that received 14 smiles in tow years (shown below, left). On January 22nd, 2022, iFunny^[6] user GeorgenoonsGhost posted a similar meme that received over 70 smiles in one year (shown below, right).

The expression saw further spread in online discussions pertaining to modern society through 2022. For example, on June 6th, 2022, rightwing political activist Jack Posobiec used the phrase in a tweet^[7] that gained over 800 retweets and 4,300 likes.

On February 16th, 2023, anonymous writer L0m3z published an essay explaining and exploring the concept.^[13]

Starting in late February 2023, the expression achieved recognition on iFunny, inspiring memes that referenced the concept. For example, on May 16th, 2023, iFunny^[8] user Bloodtheism posted a meme that received over 330 smiles in two months (shown below, left). On June 9th, 2023, Twitter^[9] user @LastThings4 posted a The Northman / Marvel One-Liners meme that received over 230 retweets and 3,500 likes in one month (shown below, right). A June 10th iFunny^[10] repost of the meme received over 4,300 smiles in the same period.

The metaphorical concept saw a surge in use on Twitter following the release of the 2023 film Barbie, primarily in connection with the plotline of Ken, portrayed by Ryan Gosling, who gets inspired by the patriarchy of the real world revolts against the matriarchy of Barbiedland by establishing Kendom. Online, the plotline has been compared with "exiting the longhouse" (examples^[11][12] shown below).

Various Examples

Search Interest

External References