Incel

An incel (/ˈɪnsɛl/ IN-sel, an abbreviation of "involuntary celibate") is a member of an online subculture of people who define themselves as unable to get a romantic or sexual partner despite desiring one. Discussions in incel forums are often characterized by resentment and hatred, misogyny, misanthropy, self-pity and self-loathing, racism, a sense of entitlement to sex, and the endorsement of violence against women and sexually active people. The American Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC) described the subculture as "part of the online male supremacist ecosystem" that is included in their list of hate groups. Incels are mostly male and heterosexual, and are often white. Estimates of the overall size of the subculture vary greatly, ranging from thousands to hundreds of thousands of individuals.

Incel communities are a part of the broader manosphere, a loose collection of misogynist movements that also includes men's rights activists (MRAs), Men Going Their Own Way (MGTOW), pickup artists (PUAs), and fathers' rights groups. Journalists for The New York Times in 2018 wrote that involuntary celibacy is an adaptation of the idea of "male supremacy" and that the communities have evolved into a movement "made up of people—some celibate, some not—who believe that women should be treated as sexual objects with few rights."

Since 2014, multiple mass killings have been perpetrated by self-identified incels, as well as other instances of violence or attempted violence. After the 2018 Toronto van attack, incel communities have been repeatedly criticized by researchers and the media for being misogynistic, encouraging violence, spreading extremist views, and radicalizing their members.

Incel communities became more extremist and focused on violence from the late 2010s. This has been attributed to factors including influences from overlapping online hate groups and the rise of the Alt-Right and white supremacist groups. The misogynistic and violent rhetoric of some incels has led to numerous bans from websites and webhosts. Incel communities continue to exist on more lenient platforms including 4chan, 8chan, Voat, and Gab, as well as on web forums created specifically for the topic. More extremist incels have increasingly migrated to obscure locations including gaming chat services and the dark web to avoid site shutdowns and the self-censorship that has developed among some incel communities as an effort to avoid drawing scrutiny from law enforcement or website service providers.

Noted incels

• Alek Minassian
• Andrew Tate (Though Tate has never identified as being apart of the incel community, he often uses incel terminology and promotes incel ideologies.)
• Armando Hernandez, Jr.
• Bryan Isaack Clyde
• Christine Weston Chandler
• Christopher Cleary
• Christopher Harper-Mercer
• Cole Carini
• Coty Scott Taylor
• Elliot Rodger
• George Sodini
• Jake Davison
• Nathan Larson
• Nick Fuentes
• Scott Beierle
• Sheldon Bentley
• Tobias Rathjen
• William Atchison