Interviews on Incel Identity and Radicalisation

In recent years, a disturbing trend has emerged with a series of attacks carried out by individuals identifying themselves as incels. These acts of physical violence, however, are not the only concerning aspect associated with the incel subculture. Proliferation of digital violence against women by incels has also become a growing threat (Hoffman, Ware, and Shapiro 2020, 565; Kaiser 2020, 79). Incel subculture propagates a deeply misogynistic and hateful ideology that partly legitimises and promotes violence (Baele, Brace, and Coan 2021, 1667; Kaiser 2020, 32). The term incel stands for the self-described status as involuntary celibate, the description of the state is called inceldom. Within the digital landscape, the incel community finds its place within the broader manosphere, a loosely connected network of online communities that primarily focus on misogyny (Kaiser 2020).

The emergence of the incel movement poses new challenges to the research field and practitioners: their interactions are largely happening in online spaces which makes it difficult to reach its members for any type of intervention. Furthermore, their ideology is incoherent and often closely connected to the individual mental health challenges posed to their respective followers. This text aims to contextualise the emerging threat, pinpoint the need for further research in this matter and propose practitioners’ interventions that might address it. Utilising findings from three narrative interviews held with individuals identifying as involuntary celibate.

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