Taking the black pill: An empirical analysis of the “Incel”.

Abstract

Men who perform hybrid masculinities claim distance from masculine hegemony while actually reproducing patriarchal power. In this article, we analyze the Incel community through a lens of hybrid masculinities, as originally proposed by Ging. The Incels are a self-proclaimed group of beta males who claim a position at the bottom of the social hierarchy due to their continued romantic and sexual rejection by women. We performed a content analysis of a sample of 400 top-rated posts from the Incel forum on Reddit called r/Braincels. Incels performed a specific version of hybrid masculinity in which they claim lower status than women while also calling other men weak and powerless using comparisons to women. Incels also showed negative outcomes associated with these masculinities, as evidenced by posts reporting violent hatred of both themselves and women. This research provides insight into the ways that masculinities develop in online contexts. Public Significance StatementPosters on a Reddit forum dedicated to the involuntarily celibate ("Incel") community used the language of social justice to claim that they do not have access to traditional masculine status. However, they also looked down on other men who do not conform to these same masculine standards. Individuals in this community also discussed feelings of violence and hatred directed at women and themselves.

Is There Really a Sex Recession? Period and Cohort Effects on Sexual Inactivity Among American Men, 2006–2019

“…Regardless, the evidence here lends support to claims that unemployed men who have yet to establish residential independence from their parents have less currency in the heterosexual dating market. While population surveys like the NSFG are not well-equipped to identify and study fringe subcultures, the general narrative regarding socially disengaged men emerging from the nascent body of media coverage (Dickson, 2020) and research (Glace et al, 2021;Preston et al, 2021) on incels is generally supported here.…”

Toxic language in online incel communities

“…The authors report an increase in incel-related activity on YouTube, and that incelrelated videos attract a substantially larger number of negative comments compared to other videos. Glace et al (2021) performed a content analysis of 400 top-rated posts from /r/ Braincels and found that hostile sexism was an inductive theme in the conversations, including shaming women's appearances, degrading women for engaging in sexual activity, suggesting that women make false claims of rape and misogyny, asserting that women's only value is sexuality, and dehumanization of women. Another inductive theme identified by the authors was suicidality/meaninglessness.…”

“…One of the most well-known is offender is Elliot Rodger, a young man who killed six people in Southern California after posting a video online in which he stated that his violent actions were motivated by his experiences of social rejection, especially romantic rejection from women. Rodger later died by suicide and became seen as a martyr by many in the incel community (Glace et al 2021). Another attack was done by self-identified incel in Toronto, Canada, who drove a van into a crowd of people, killing 10 (Beauchamp 2019).…”

Psychosocial Characteristics of Involuntary Celibates (Incels): A Review of Empirical Research and Assessment of the Potential Implications of Research on Adult Virginity and Late Sexual Onset

“…A quarter (25%) of threads analyzed in one study contained ''it's over'', reflecting users' lack of hope of escaping their predicament, a view also expressed by discussion of the blackpill (Jaki et al, 2019). Congruent with this fatalistic outlook, several members of these forums have openly discussed their suicidal thoughts and plans online (Baele, Brace, & Coan, 2019;Cottee, 2020;Daly & Laskovtsov, 2021;G. Glace, T. L. Dover, & J. G. Zatkin, 2021;Hoffman et al, 2020;Jaki et al, 2019;Jones, 2020;Maxwell et al, 2020;Rubertsson, 2019;Speckhard et al, 2021;Williams, 2020).…”