Incel: A Convoluted Self Fulfilling Prophecy in The Echo of Hegemonic Masculinity

“Humanity… All of my suffering on this world has been at the hands of humanity, particularly women. It has made me realize just how brutal and twisted humanity is as a species. All I ever wanted was to fit in and live a happy life amongst humanity, but I was cast out and rejected, forced to endure an existence of loneliness and insignificance, all because the females of the human species were incapable of seeing the value in me”
– My Twisted World, Elliot Rodger

The internet is such a wild, free, and open space. Its foundation was arguably limitless, akin to the Wild West before institutional and popular demand came to crack down and regulate it. Perhaps the major feature of the internet, the big Pandora’s box mankind unlocked, is online anonymity. People can speak up about anything without revealing their identity. However, without jurisdictions, it can often be a place for many things that deviates from the legal and normative societal standards such as human trafficking, distribution of porn contents without consent, illegal communities or subcultural movements, etc. Talking about subcultural movements, the past few years has seen concerns over the supposed uprising of the ‘incel’ subculture which has resulted in some related events of violence, in some cases murder. These have caused many great concerns and some countries such as Canada and the United States have abolished it and labeled as an act of terrorism¹ Hoffman, Bruce; Ware, Jacob; Shapiro, Ezra (2020). “Assessing the Threat of Incel Violence”. Studies in Conflict & Terrorism. 43 (7): 565–587. doi:10.1080/1057610X.2020.1751459. ISSN 1057-610X. S2CID 218781135 .

Since 2014, there have been at least six mass murders globally, resulting in a total of 44 deaths, which have been committed by men who have either self-identified as incels or who had mentioned incel-related names and themes in their private writings or Internet postings² “Incels (Involuntary celibates)”. Anti-Defamation League. July 30, 2020. Archived from the original on July 31, 2020. Retrieved August 1, 2020. . Incel communities have been criticized by the media and researchers for being misogynistic, encouraging violence, spreading extremist views, and radicalizing their members³ Taub, Amanda (May 9, 2018). “On Social Media’s Fringes, Growing Extremism Targets Women”. The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Archived from the original on May 14, 2018. Retrieved May 14, 2018. . On paper, their ideology seems to be aligned with the right-wing movement in the United States: endorsing male supremacy. These alignments thus increased society’s resentment towards the subgroup.

However, are those predicaments paved the way for this subcultural upbringing? Or are there really other constituents that drove these repercussions?

The New Man of 4Chan

This subculture’s history can be traced back from 1993 when a Canadian university student, known as Alana, created a website to discuss her sexual inactivity with other people on the network. The website is called “Alana’s Involuntary Celibacy Project” and was primarily used by people of all genders to share their thoughts and experiences regarding their struggles of having a romantic relationship. The website was reportedly a relatively friendly place, where there was probably a bit of anger and some men were a bit clueless about how women are unique, individual humans, but in general, it was a supportive place. Alana left the community after some years due to eventually finding success in her romantic and social life⁴ Baker, Peter (March 1, 2016). “The Woman Who Accidentally Started the Incel Movement”. Elle. Archived from the original on April 24, 2018. Retrieved April 24, 2018. .

However, the sparks of the current incel movement that are considered to be the root of violence happened in the 2010s. In 2014, there was this case of Elliot Rodger who had reportedly killed six people on 23 May in 2014. He stabbed two of his roommates and another man was stabbed to death by Rodger, shot three girls outside a sorority house in Santa Barbara in which two of them died, and shot a deli which killed his last victim. After that, he attempted suicide. Before this act, he had posted a Youtube video and a manifesto titled “My Twisted World”, where he tells of his rejections, loneliness, and sense of insignificance. He wrote about how he ultimately performed the killings “because the females of the human species were incapable of seeing the value in me”, and he described that his life was full of sadness, anger, and hatred. It was this incident that brought the incel community and subculture to mainstream attention⁵ Beauchamp, Zack (April 25, 2018). “Incel, the misogynist ideology that inspired the deadly Toronto attack, explained”. Vox. New York City: Vox Media. Archived from the original on May 5, 2018. Retrieved May 5, 2018. .

Incidences such as this resulted in a shift in the incel movement, from a supportive community to a toxic and dangerous ideology⁶ Høiland, T. (2019). Incels and the stories they tell. 117. . What was initially a community built for the sharing of romantic experiences and expressing innate social awkwardness had become a place of male frustration and anger toward female individuals. Throughout social media platforms such as Reddit and 4chan, pockets of inceldom have grown and hailed Rodgers as a martyr. Several followed in Rodger’s footsteps, with several acts of terror following the original incident, such as the 2015 Umpqua Community College shooting, the 2018 Toronto van attack, and most recently the 2020 Toronto machete attack⁷ Hoffman, Bruce; Ware, Jacob; Shapiro, Ezra (2020). “Assessing the Threat of Incel Violence”. Studies in Conflict & Terrorism. 43 (7): 565–587. doi:10.1080/1057610X.2020.1751459. ISSN 1057-610X. S2CID 218781135. .

This supposedly diverse community of socially awkward people were then narrowed and only filled with white teenage and adolescent males who expressed hatred towards women and sexually successful men, as well as self-hatred and bizarre humor⁸ Baffler, T. (2016). The New Man of 4chan. 30(30), 64–76. . They are often described to be a freakish/nerd male individual who is socially awkward, depressed, and is facing a quarter-life crisis with substandard physical appearances. They are mostly unemployed and alone in their bedroom and haven’t got the chance to socialize in the outside world. The internal interactions surrounding the community are generated through internet jargon or memes because they spend most of their time on the internet in which they have bridled the language of it. This interaction was not only for means of communication but also for spreading their message and flexing their superiority in the digital society⁹ Gothard, K., Dodds, P. S., & Danforth, C. M. (2019). Exploring Incel Language and Subreddit Activity on Reddit. 1–29. .

Their main cause was mainly to eliminate the “Chads” (sexually active and successful men) and “Stacys”(sexually active and successful women), to assert the Beta Male dominance as a response to their sexual deprivation¹⁰ Gothard, K., Dodds, P. S., & Danforth, C. M. (2019). Exploring Incel Language and Subreddit Activity on Reddit. 1–29. . The term Alpha and Beta are commonly used as fundamental for them to classify people based on their gender roles. The Alpha Male is often associated with strong and independent men who perfectly assert their masculinity, while Beta is associated with weak and reliant ones who don’t seem perfectly aligned with masculine values. Incels are also pretty much valued traditional gender norms and despised any deviations in it so that’s why they also abhor the feminist movement. Because it supports female independence and drives out their strong characteristics to the point that women become Alpha Male-esque, they scorn it to the point that they have somewhat aligned with the right-wing ideology¹¹ Jaki, S., De Smedt, T., Gwóźdź, M., Panchal, R., Rossa, A., & De Pauw, G. (2019). Online hatred of women in the Incels.me forum. Journal of Language Aggression and Conflict, 7(2), 240–268. https://doi.org/10.1075/jlac.00026.jak .

The Alignment with the Right and Its Initial Philosophy

Because of their belief in traditional gender roles and incessant hate towards the feminist movement, they are often reportedly aligned with right-wing values. The subculture has even been politically ridden by some far-right agendas and maneuvered into supporting them. For example in Germany, there have been repeated cases of blackmailing towards left-wing politician Anne Helm by the alleged German incel community¹⁴ DW.COM. 2020. Germany: The Right-Wing Hatred Of Women | DW | 28.07.2020. [online] Available at: <https://www.dw.com/en/the-right-wing-hatred-of-women-in-germany/a-54357050> [Accessed 10 October 2020]. and a mass shooting by Tobias Rathjen who accused Donald Trump because he stole his populist slogans¹⁵ Bostock, B., 2020. The Mass Shooter Who Killed 9 In Germany Published A Racist Manifesto Where He Identified As An Incel And Accused Trump Of Stealing His Populist Slogans. [online] Insider. Available at: <https://www.insider.com/hanau-terrorist-manifesto-shows-non-white-hatred-incel-trump-theft-2020-2> [Accessed 10 October 2020]. . Left-wing media outlets then reported more of the acts of violence perpetrated by incels to monger the fear of this right-wing movement. However, even though incel’s ideals are strikingly aligned with the right, they are not directly associated with any political group. They are supposedly independent of any political allegiance, with values only to embrace the Beta Male dominance (which will be discussed further in this article). Some of its members can be aligned to the right-wing, but it’s not limited to one political group¹⁶ Høiland, T. (2019). Incels and the stories they tell. 117. . It can be anyone, that has a feeling of hatred towards any sexually successful individual and retorts to violence as an act of justice.

Incel’s initial ideals were driven by the fact that most of its community members lack the social skills needed to interact with the society which has driven them to be an outcast, reject, or the slums of it¹⁷ Reeve, Elle. (2018). This is what the life of an Incel looks like. Vice.com. Retrieved from: https://news.vice.com/en_us/article/7xqw3g/this-is-what-the-life-of-an-incel-looks-like . Almost all of them have an inability to imitate the general mannerisms and behaviors to pass the current consensus’s normal standards. Because of those conundrums, they lack the requirements needed for attempting a romantic relationship¹⁸ Høiland, T. (2019). Incels and the stories they tell. 117. . But not all of them lack social ability, rather some valued romantic and sexual desire highly in their life. The first case of Elliot Rodger’s violence was driven by his desperation for romantic and sexual fulfillment, to the point that he became envious of others’ successful relationships. Back in his teenage days in high school, he was stunned by how most of his acquaintances have lost their virginity. He was then furious about his failed attempts at relationships and pouring all of his resentment into his act of murder, claiming that “humanity is unjust, and I am here to make it equal”¹⁹ Rodger, E. (2014). My Twisted World: The Story of Elliot Rodger. 141. http://abclocal.go.com/three/kabc/kabc/My-Twisted-World.pdf .

One of their main narratives is how they viewed female individuals as a god, the ultimate judgment in a male’s worth. Because of that, males are doing everything they can to get the approval of females. This is because the sexual relationship gives men value. Moreover, women judge men on their looks, money, and status in society. There is no one discussing why the value of a man lies in his sexual success. In light of these comments, it’s not completely clear why women would judge a man on his ability to sleep with other women. If we follow the evolutionary psychological and sociobiological views of incels, where women are nature’s judgment casters as they decide who gets to breed, it should also mean that females seek a long-term, faithful partner that can provide safety²⁰ Høiland, T. (2019). Incels and the stories they tell. 117. . Thus, a woman would not value a man of the number of conquests, as this would imply instability. It should be noted that there are benefits of sexual activity which include good health and better quality of life. That’s why incels are compulsively thriving for it, that the fact they lack quality of life and addressing it into sexual relationships²¹ Fileborn, B., Hinchliff, S., Lyons, A., Heywood, W., Minichiello, V., Brown, G., Malta, S., Barrett, C., & Crameri, P. (2017). The Importance of Sex and the Meaning of Sex and Sexual Pleasure for Men Aged 60 and Older Who Engage in Heterosexual Relationships: Findings from a Qualitative Interview Study. Archives of Sexual Behavior, 46(7), 2097–2110. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10508-016-0918-9 .

The Pursuit for Acceptance

In the eye of an incel, a woman is a god that must be pleased and attained for affection. They value relationships deeper than most of the general consensus, which became embedded in their philosophy. Their obsessiveness toward women draws a salient similarity on how the behavior of Arabs and Indians in pre-Islamic civilization who prize the excrement of camels and cows as sacred animals. It’s similar to how in modern civilizations, thousands of adult men pay pretty women for their excrement and urine. It also strikingly resembles the FinDom (a sexual fetish of money slavery, where the submissive gives money to the dominant) when men used to pay tithes to churches but they get nothing in return, besides being on the good side with God. Thus, men make women into godly creatures through their obsession with them²² Høiland, T. (2019). Incels and the stories they tell. 117. .

This posits a new predicament: hegemonic masculinity. Hegemonic masculinity contorts on how men are considered successful by how they cope with attracting women and fulfilling their romantic and sexual desires. This is why incels view that being rich with no partner was less attractive than a middle-class individual who had successful romantic and sexual experiences. They are subordinating themselves, non-hegemonic masculinity to hegemonic masculinity by embracing the Alpha and Beta terminology. Because they’re often considered as having more feminine traits, they lack the necessary factors in having a successful romantic relationship. This inequality is often the reason why hypergamy prevails²³ Høiland, T. (2019). Incels and the stories they tell. 117. .

Females also often devalue those incels as derogatory and not worth giving their eternal life for. The resurgence of feminism also played a huge factor in how females are becoming independent and strong-willed, not subordinate to the males. They won’t need men as they can live individually with a galloping career progression, in which it disparages the male dependency. That’s why incels are often addressing their resistance toward this movement. Both are likely to devalue each other in a way that leads to a continuous cycle of devaluation in which they don’t see both as human at all. This lack of acceptance seeped into incels’ mind in which it becomes alarming that initiated the root of violent acts toward females and sexually successful males²⁴ Ging, Debbie. (2017) Alphas, Betas, and Incels: Theorizing the Masculinities of the Manosphere.” Men and Masculinities 2017, p. 1097184X1770640. http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/1097184X17706401 .

Mental Disorders and The Pertinent Psychological Issue

Another missing enigma that contributed to this ardent uprising is the fact that some of the incel community are contrived by their background mental disorder. The terminology is called “Mentalcel”, which is a different breed from the normal ones and whose “inceldom” have been feigned by the unhealthy psychological state such as Asperger syndrome, schizophrenia, dementia, PTSD, AVPD (avoidant personality disorder), body dysmorphic disorder, neuroticism, anxiety, autism, and social awkwardness²⁵ Conley, J. (n.d.). Running Head: DIGITAL MISOGYNY AND INCELS Efficacy, Nihilism, and Toxic Masculinity Online: Digital Misogyny in the Incel Subculture Jacob Conley The Ohio State University. . Studies have found that men with mental health conditions are twice more likely than women with mental health conditions to go sexless. That’s why some of the incels are often generated by these mental men.

Some members of the incel community also suffer from serious psychological issues and may be at greater risk to commit suicide or violence, as was the case with Elliot Rodger. Rodger does not represent the incel community as a whole. Still, research on Rodger has provided insights into how incels may come to commit violent acts. Despite the potential benefits of positive psychological approaches, there is to date a dearth of studies on Rodger using respective theories. One such theory that may help fill this gap is the hope theory. In the hope theory, trait hope is conceptualized as one’s ability to create goals, routes towards these goals, and respective thoughts related to motivation and self-efficacy. People low in trait hope are at greater risk of facing issues such as, among others, depression and loneliness as compared to people high in trait hope²⁶ Conley, J. (n.d.). Running Head: DIGITAL MISOGYNY AND INCELS Efficacy, Nihilism, and Toxic Masculinity Online: Digital Misogyny in the Incel Subculture Jacob Conley The Ohio State University. . These issues are similar to those that Rodger described in his manifesto.

Social Rejection and Harsh Environment

Because of their act of terror, deviant behavior, and detachment from general society, they’re often judged negatively or being avoided for social interactions. The insurgence of media information regarding the subculture has always been painted negative which strengthens the incessant hate towards them. However, many of those failed to realize that these kinds of rejection might have resulted in the makings of an incel and thus continuously repeating this vicious cycle²⁷ Ehman, Anandi C, and Gross, Alan M. (2019). Sexual Cyberbullying: Review, Critique, & Future Directions. Aggression and Violent Behavior, 2019 (44), p. 80-87. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.avb.2018.11.001 . For example, in the case of Eliott Rodger, he was often bullied by his high school acquaintances because he had no girlfriend nor he failed to attract any of his female acquaintances. He’s also often being bullied because of his social awkwardness and inability to connect with others in a general situation. That culmination of bullying situations then sparked his allegiance to the inceldom and started the violent propaganda²⁸ Rodger, E. (2014). My Twisted World: The Story of Elliot Rodger. 141. http://abclocal.go.com/three/kabc/kabc/My-Twisted-World.pdf .

Incels can also stem from bad-looking people based on general standards. Fat and ugly people are often bullied from their childhood. They had trauma in that resentment which hinders their social interaction skills and develops the social awkwardness. Because of that, they’ll get bullied in their entire childhood and teenage life, starting from physical unappreciation, constant shunning, resisted social interaction which leads to awkwardness, another resentment, and the vicious cycle gets repeated on and on in their entire life²⁹ Høiland, T. (2019). Incels and the stories they tell. 117. . Not only physical underappreciation, but most of the incels can also stem from substandard mental conditions, which can also result in another rejection because of how many children appear by not having the capabilities to understand any of those. All of those can be easily tackled if there are sufficient mental supports from adults to prevent any of those happening. Because naturally, children need to fully learn how to comply with others and not to arrogantly denigrate others with deviant physical or mental qualities³⁰ Fileborn, B., Hinchliff, S., Lyons, A., Heywood, W., Minichiello, V., Brown, G., Malta, S., Barrett, C., & Crameri, P. (2017). The Importance of Sex and the Meaning of Sex and Sexual Pleasure for Men Aged 60 and Older Who Engage in Heterosexual Relationships: Findings from a Qualitative Interview Study. Archives of Sexual Behavior, 46(7), 2097–2110. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10508-016-0918-9 .

Another factor that can galvanize any individual to walk the path of inceldom is the lack of parental support and appreciation. In the case of Eliott Rodger, he wrote on his manifesto on how he lacked the sufficient amount of affection that his parents were supposed to give. His father was a movie director and photographer in which he spent almost no time spent with him. He conjectured that his father was an idiot for splurging out bad movie investments in the time of financial crisis, which has kind of affected their economic condition so that he worked much harder³¹ Rodger, E. (2014). My Twisted World: The Story of Elliot Rodger. 141. http://abclocal.go.com/three/kabc/kabc/My-Twisted-World.pdf . This lack of affection among both social and parental groups has seeped into continual loneliness and depression thus frustrates them into delving further into the inceldom. As the Dalai Lama puts it:

“We can live without religion and meditation, but we cannot survive without human affection”³² Mark, T. H. E., Good, O. F. A., & Being, H. (2007). By His Holiness the Dalai Lama. November, 40–41. .

They Need Our Help

The existence of this incel movement has raised big questions regarding how our society has not treated every individual equally as a part of a living complex. Of course, it can be derived from the fact that we are a very judgemental species. Because when an individual is considered deviant and has substandard qualities, they are often shunned and mistreated to the point that they don’t feel a part of a communal group. With the existence of the internet, connections became unlimited and safe so that deviant individuals can partake in any communities, one being the example is the incel. Once was supposedly created for civil discussions of romantic relationships where individuals can share their dreadful experiences have become a place for misogynistic propaganda. Many acts of violence have been agitated under the banners of inceldom which have aroused fears for many individuals with normal and successful romantic and sexual relationships.

And what did we do other than fear-mongering? Nothing! We feared them more and shunned them more. Even the government has labeled them as a group of terrorism that needs to be banished. Is that the best option to invigorate? No. What we should do is to prevent any more of the future generations from succumbing to its ideals and values. Adults should give an adequate amount of care toward their children to prevent them from delving into a grandiose of depression, loneliness, and anger that is resuscitated by the lack of affection. Anyone inside of the incel community should be reminded that sexual needs are not the only source of happiness that they could gather and struggle into, as social values lie much broader than that. Everyone outside the community, however, should reach out and give a helping hand so that incels can get out of their paranoia of unacceptance and not shunned and forgotten by the masses. As a communal species, we should’ve shown all kinds of affection to our brethren not by being superficially judgemental to the accepted standards. Accept, value, and treat them as human beings, not some inferior creatures that only seek for fulfilling their sexual lusts. With all of those, we might be hindering the future developments of this community, or rejuvenating them as to how it was intendedly built for.

Editor: Miftah Rasheed Amir, Rama Vandika Daniswara

Illustrator: Saffana Putri