Incels.

Two weeks ago, or it will be two weeks ago when this is posted, in my fourth block class, Practicum in Literary Arts, we began to discuss Manifestos. A Manifesto is a public written statement declaring the intentions, motives, or views of its user (individual, group, political party, organization). The second I heard the word “Manifesto,” my mind went back to when I first learned what it meant. A few years ago, I learned of Elliot Rodger and his manifesto. Elliot Rodger, the “incel hero”. This brings me to the topic of my blog today, incels.

An “Incel” is an involuntarily celibate man who expresses extreme resentment toward those who are not. Incels typically express their frustrations of being unable to form romantic attachments as hostility and misogyny towards women. This is ironic because a woman created the term incel through her website, “Alana’s Involuntary Celibacy Project.”  The purpose of the online community was to provide a safe space for individuals, both male and female, who found it difficult to form romantic connections. Throughout the years, the term began to be used primarily by men in online communities. These men created ideologies that men, particularly white men, were entitled to romance.

Incel’s viewed themselves as “Beta males”, the opposite of the “Chads.” Chads represent the attractive, financially and socially successful men. “Stacys” are the women who desire “Chads”. Incel culture has been linked to several acts of terrorism against women, most notably Elliot Rodger. Due to acts of violence associated with the Incel community, the Southern Poverty Law Center has classified Incels as a hate group. Additionally, the U.S Secret Service’s National Threat Assessment declared the community as a growing terrorism threat.

The Incel community is scary, dangerous, and quite sad. It’s not something anyone should be associated with. Not only does the community encourage misogyny, nihilism, hate, and violence, but it’s also terrible for the mental health of those involved. Shocker, right? Researchers have found that 75% of incels could be clinically diagnosed with severe or moderate depression. 45% may have severe anxiety. I would also like to clarify that not all incels are violent; however, being a part of the community has led to violent acts.  

“Looksmaxxing”, in current years, has become more popular online. At this point, I’m sure everyone reading this has heard of it. “Looksmaxxing” originates from Incel culture, and it is truly terrifying to me how common it has become. Young men, start with looksmaxxing, look further into it, and find the incel community.  Honestly, this all goes way deeper than I will be able to get into with a single blog post, as there is so much to this horrifying community.

Thank you for reading, have a lovely day.