Incels are fascinating for many researchers, for a variety of reasons. Sociology, psychology, anthropology – all fields that are attempting to learn as much as we can about the people who commit atrocious acts of violence because of this label they’ve applied to themselves. The Vox article does a good job of sifting through the mass amount of trolling that people tend to do when they know no one is looking and points out the thought patterns and possible reasons why this community has members that can be incited towards violence and assault. The community is very closed in, for reasons that become apparent very quickly, and it takes quite a lot of work to learn anything in-depth.
For me, the most stunning revelation was the original roots of the community. It didn’t come on my radar for a long time, and at that point it was folded in with MRA’s and MGTOW’s that I was researching. The original incel board was begun by a woman – liberal and queer, who no longer identifies as involuntarily celibate. Alana originated the first forum in the late 90’s and stepped back in the early 2000’s. She now works for social justice causes and has begun a website called “Love, not anger” aimed at helping people move beyond the label and life of being involuntarily celibate.
While I think that many persons who are members of the community might take issue with some of the assumptions made and information laid out in the article, I have to give credit to the author who seemed to present an empathetic view of those who would be drawn to these spaces in the first place. While I can empathize with the awkwardness, rejection, and isolation, I cannot empathize with the extremes that it’s gone to for many of these men (and women) because I don’t have the experiences they do. That is, I’ve never struggled in the area of seeking companionship or being intimate with a partner.
In my personal research, I’ve not been able to really answer any questions, but find myself having more and more of them. From a psychology POV, I think it’s fascinating to see how the echo chamber works. As social creatures, we will always seek out groups of peers that have similar issues as we do. I think that it’s worthwhile for those who feel socially inept or frustrated and confused by dating to have a place to talk about it freely, but at what point do we determine if the extremes are problematic? And are the problematic for society are large or simply for a small group of persons? When we remove the filter of real life against the backdrop of anonymity that the web and dark web provide, bravado becomes more extreme. The question that I would really like to have answered is at what point is the bravado a red flag of violence, and I know that there’s really no way to answer that with clinical certainty.
Cardinal Point 