The Rage of Lonely Men: Loneliness and Misogyny in the Online Movement of “Involuntary Celibates” (Incels)

Abstract

In this article, we investigate the relationship between loneliness and misogyny amongst the online movement of “involuntary celibates” (incels) that has become widely known through several violent attacks. While loneliness plays a prominent role in the incels’ self-descriptions, we lack a comprehensive analysis of their experience of loneliness and its role in their radicalization. Our article offers such an analysis. We analyze how loneliness is felt, described, and implicitly understood by incels, investigate the normative presumptions underlying their experiences, and critically reflect on the political function of their discourse of loneliness. We claim that it is the affective mechanism of ressentiment that transforms loneliness into antagonistic emotions and show how loneliness is exacerbated rather than alleviated through the incel community. Finally, we point to the relevance of our analysis for contemporary philosophical and feminist loneliness studies.

Incels, autism, and hopelessness: affective incorporation of online interaction as a challenge for phenomenological psychopathology

“…Krueger argues that bodily-affective and epistemic disorientation do not necessarily occur together, but in the case of incels the distinction between them is not clear-cut. Even if adopting the black-pill philosophy could be characterized as an epistemic change (presented as rational and scientific) in one’s former familiarity and taken-for-grantedness, it clearly involves affective dimensions, ranging from hopelessness, disappointment, and sorrow to antagonistic emotions such as anger, hatred, misogyny, and ressentiment ( Tietjen and Tirkkonen, 2023 ).…”

“…If we assume that the fundamental hopelessness of ever finding a romantic partner resembles the felt consequences of a “non-death” loss, we could also assume that they would entail similar ways of coping, namely striving for communal support in overcoming the situation. However, a number of studies ( Maxwell et al, 2020 ; Helm et al, 2022 ; Regehr, 2022 ; Tietjen and Tirkkonen, 2023 ) suggest that incels “immunize” themselves instead against any prospect of alleviating their condition. Anyone who would provide encouragement or comfort lacks understanding and is considered a “normie,” which is irreconcilable with being a member of the incel community.…”

“…In addition, incels who seek to change their situation by going on speed dating events, for instance, or paying for the services of “pick-up artists,” are accused of “red pill” behavior (believing they can improve their situation) and lying about their incel status. Similarly, incels who recount an everyday conversation with a woman are “put in their place” by their fellow community members for “bragging” ( Kates, 2021 ; Tietjen and Tirkkonen, 2023 ).…”

Ressentiment in the Manosphere: Conceptions of Morality and Avenues for Resistance in the Incel Hatred Pipeline

“…Recent studies on incels have shed light on the widespread prevalence of moral devaluation and the propagation of moral emotions like hatred, anger, and resentment within the insular online spheres of the incel community. These online spaces often serve as "gateway portals to hatred" [18][19][20][21][22] as documented in the literature.…”

Enough with the incels! A literary cry for help from female insings (involuntary single).

“…In the past decade, involuntary celibate (incels) men gained public notoriety after the terrorist attacks of a few extremists (Costello & Buss, 2023; Tietjen & Tirkkonen, 2023). Scholars are making sense of the incel phenomenon (e.g., Baselic, 2022; Blake & Brooks, 2023; Brooks, Russo-Batterham, et al, 2022; Costello et al, 2022, 2023; Hoffman et al, 2020; Räsänen, 2023; Sparks et al, 2022, 2024)—for instance, through explaining why, when men’s and women’s evolved mate preferences play out in the modern West, the lowest-value men become excluded from mating.…”