Dora the Explorer, the cute Nickelodeon cartoon character, is teaching kids what it means to be “Sigma,” a slang term describing an extremely toxic male archetype which originates in the darkest corners of the so-called “manosphere.”
“Hola, grown-ups! Today I have a super cool word for you! Sigma,” a 3D rendered version of Dora says in a video uploaded to the official Dora the Explorer Instagram account yesterday. “‘Sigma’ is a word for someone who’s confident, independent, and does things their own way! Think of it as someone who’s a leader and a trendsetter. Let’s say your friend is doing their own thing, focusing on their goals, and not worrying about what others think. You can say, ‘you’re such a SIGMA!’”
As Dora explains this, the video cuts to different Nickelodeon characters like Spongebob Squarepants and Aang, the main character from Avatar: The Last Airbender. The video, which was also shared from the official Nickelodeon Instagram account, has 2.8 million views, 156,000 likes, and almost 7,000 comments, most of which are incredulous or joking about Dora defining a term even mildly online users recognize as inappropriate for children.
“Dora that’s not even Spanish you’re losing the PLOT,” one user said.
Dora’s definition of Sigma isn’t wrong, but it’s missing some very important context. In the world of toxic masculinity, incelhood, and the manosphere, men fit into one of a few rigid categories. There are Beta males, who are viewed as weak, effeminate, and generally losers who can’t get women, and Alpha males who are strong, masculine, and can dominate women as well as other beta males. And then there are Sigma males, who are so masculine they ascend these categories and the normal social hierarchies and become something more powerful. It is very similar and sometimes overlaps with the community of “Men Going Their Own Way” (MGTOW).
Know Your Meme attributes the origin of the term to the far-right misogynist and white supremacist Theodore Beale, known mostly for his online persona Vox Day. In 2010, Beale defined Sigmas on his blog as:
To be fair, Sigma went through another evolution before Dora’s video. It is now part of the “brainrot” meta meme, which takes a bunch of online terms like Skibidi, Rizz, and Sigma, and blends them all into a soup which is regurgitate in various forms to express that you spent too much time on the internet and can prove that by referencing these words.
I don’t know if Nickelodeon or the people in charge of these social media accounts are ignorant of Sigma’s origin, if they don’t care, or if it’s some irony-poisoned cynical wink at an audience that is obviously responding to the provocation.
I can easily imagine this being a case of brands trying to be and online for engagement but going too far, especially because it’s working—this post is getting a lot more engagement than most things the Dora account has posted.
It also reminds me of something that’s been bugging me for months but I have not had an excuse to write about yet, which is that the TV brand TCL has been promoting its products with ads calling their customers “gooners” and inviting them to “goon” with their TVs. Technically, TCL is an official partner with the Arsenal Football Club, which has called its fans gooners for years, but the TCL posts are obviously playing on the fact that today, at least online, “gooning” more commonly refers to the practice of hedonistic masturbation and excessive porn consumption. TCL also invites its customers to be “Alpha.”
Ultimately it doesn’t matter if the Dora post is a mistake that can’t tell the difference between skibidi toilet and a racist Pepe the Frog, or if it’s an ironic joke. While the video addresses “grown-ups,” Dora is a giant kids media brand, and she is currently introducing them to a toxic philosophy that glorifies misogyny and the desire to be above and outside social relationships.
Nickelodeon did not respond to a request for comment.
