Misery Implicitly Loves Company: Implicit Homophily and Bully Victimization

Abstract

This study focuses on the formation of bullied individuals’ friendships and romantic relationships. Individuals bullied in their past may be more likely to form connections with those who share similar oppressive experiences. Thus, we investigated the possibility that implicit homophily underlies the formation of interpersonal relationships amongst previously bullied individuals. Moreover, we investigated whether these individuals were aware of their friends’ and romantic partners’ similarly oppressive experiences prior to initiating the relationship. Our findings suggest that the young adults in our sample bullied in grade school are significantly more likely to have a close friend and or significant other who also experienced bullying. The findings of this study contribute to the relatively small, yet growing, body of research on implicit homophily, add to research extending homophily processes to bullies and victims, and are in line with research suggesting that deselection (a form of induced homophily) can coexist with homophily by personal preference.

The Phenomenon of Involuntary Celibates (Incels) in Internet Meme Culture: A Reflection of Masculine Domination

“…In addition, due to the circulation of heteronormative masculinity which emphasized men to possess the idealized masculine facial features, a man who lacked in following features eventually got socially outcasted even bullied by his peer group. Regarding women's preference, women may reject bullied potential partners to find a mate who can better protect them (an evolutionarily based strategy) or avoid social repercussions from being associated with a socially undesirable partner (Saraf et al, 2021). In conclusion, correlating the depiction of a man with a lack of chin appearance or sharpness or "Chinlet" (Figure 6), leads to social persecution ("Leave her alone") and previous statement of women's preference towards a man whose is targeted as a bullied man, describes Incels' sense of rejection based on his lack of desired or idealized heteronormative masculinity by society, which later affects his attractiveness towards women and leads to devaluation towards him.…”