The incel threat [View all]

[Celerity]

During the pandemic, the male supremacist movement has grown and radicalised. Now it's moving from chat groups offline — and becomes more violent

https://www.ips-journal.eu/topics/democracy-and-society/the-incel-threat-5571/




In 2017, about six women were killed intentionally by people they knew — every hour. Of the 87,000 women killed that year, fewer than half were killed by strangers. Femicide takes different forms, and different concepts are used around the world. But while the differences between ‘femicide’ and ‘feminicidio’, for example, are not merely linguistic but also cultural, there is some agreement on significant key elements. Generally, femicide refers to ‘the killing of women and girls because they are females, i.e. because of their gender’. These killings result from unequal power structures rooted in ‘traditional’ gender roles, customs, and mindsets. And they are the tip of the iceberg in terms of gender-based violence against women and girls.

Given this dire state of affairs, it is painful to consider that some men are trying to justify their hate and violence against women. Shortly after a 22-year-old gunman murdered five people on the streets of Plymouth in the UK, news reports emerged linking him to the obscure, largely-online ‘incel’ movement. ‘Women are arrogant and entitled beyond belief’, the killer had posted on social media shortly before the attack, describing himself as ‘bitter and jealous’ and seemingly confirming his allegiance to the movement.

What are incels?

The incel ideology is based on the concept of involuntary celibacy — the idea that certain physical, biological, social, and mental characteristics prevent men from having access to some kind of sexual marketplace. That marketplace, they claim, is dominated by so-called ‘Chads’ and ‘Stacys’, who exclude incels from participating. The result is an embittered community of male forum-dwellers who perceive themselves as social outcasts and turn their ire primarily against women, but also men and romantic couples. Unlike most acts of femicide, many incels do not attack women they know — in line with broader terrorist targeting preferences, the victims are typically randomly selected.

On the complex domestic extremism and terrorism stage, incels occupy a curious space. They do not appear to pose the same threat as white supremacists or Salafi-jihadists, yet they inflame fear and intense discussion. And their often-bizarre creed transcends assumed ideological boundaries. A far-right extremist who attacked a synagogue and kebab shop in Germany, for instance, repeated several tropes common in incel chatrooms. But regardless of how we understand them ideologically, violent elements of the movement retain a threat of terrorism against Western communities.

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