Canada’s deadliest car ramming attack was carried out by a Facebook post which called for an “Incel rebellion”. Minutes later, a young man drove a rental van onto a busy Toronto sidewalk, killing 10 people and injuring 15 others. This tactical was advocated by al-Qaeda, supported by ISIS, and popular with other jihadi terrorists. In this case, however, the attack was undertaken by someone who shared an entirely different ideology, the violent misogyny associated with involuntary celibates, or Incels.
Incels are a group of “heterosexual men who blame women and society for their lack of romantic success.” Originally a lonely heart online club for both men and women, Incels as a group has evolved become a pessimistic, misogynistic and exclusively masculine micro-culture. Lacking a clear political motive, the first Incel attacks were not identified as terrorism. However, as the movement grows and matures, its political motivations – and its impact – begin to coalesce into a nascent political movement. platform centered on the justification of male domination and the decline of women’s rights. The group thrives in the Manosphere, a series of difficult to moderate websites, online chat rooms and blogs that create a digital ecosystem where misogyny and anti-feminism are the norm. Graeme Wood writing: “These communities become, like ISIS, instruments of conscience annihilation, and the lone losers within them become desensitized and, ultimately, morally inverted. »
In order to make sense of the world they find themselves in, Incels have developed a worldview that organizes society along a sexual model. hierarchy based on physical characteristics. Attractive men and women or “Chads” and “Stacy” are at the top, average men and women or “norms” and “Becky” are in the middle, and unlucky genetic losers or “Incels” are at the bottom. This unequal sexual hierarchy is the result of feminism and the sexual revolution, which gave women more freedom in choosing their sexual partners. Women – whom Incels view as exploitative, superficial, manipulative and essentially subhuman – use access to sex as a lever of control, giving sex to attractive Chads, bartering sex with normies in exchange for material gains and completely denying sex to Incels.
Excluded from the sexual market, Incels believe that feminism and its benefactors deny them access to the female body when they want it and prevent them from achieving the ideal life as described by patriarchy. ideals. This worldview has come to be known as TheRedPill. The Incels who took TheRedPill shed light on the existing gynarchy in which we live, where feminism exploits and oppresses men. Everyone is considered BluePilled (i.e. oblivious to the unequal system and the plight of incels.)
To help them navigate the feminist gynarchy in which they feel trapped, Incels have adopted a suite of strategies known as “hope, coping, or rope.” “Hope” is the idea that there is an opportunity for Incels to increase their desirability. This includes working on their appearance (looksmaxxing), going to the gym (gymmaxxing), earning more money (moneymaxxing), or even getting a pet (petmaxxing). This option gives some freedom of action to individual Incels, but does nothing to address their broader systemic grievances. Incels can also “cope” with their situation by distracting themselves from it by playing video games, spending time on Incel forums, or consuming pornography, thereby reducing its negative impact on their lives. However, the result of this strategy is persistent isolation and loneliness. The third “rope” strategy highlights the pessimism and despair that underlies much of Incel ideology. This option refers to an individual who abandons all efforts to improve their situation; that is, lie down and rot or commit suicide.
For most Incels, these three strategies are the cornerstone of their survival in a world that they find, at best, unfairly aligned against them and, at worst, unbearable. For a small number of Incels, however, a fourth option has emerged: rebellion. This is when Incels translate their violent online fantasies into real-world actions to make the plight of Incels visible to the rest of the world.
The idea of an Incel or Beta Rebellion is loosely based on the idea that
If we (Incels) cannot solve our problems, we must DESTROY our problems… One day, incels will realize their true strength and numbers, and overthrow this oppressive feminist system.
Initially a fantasy, this idea has become more prominent as Incel communities have evolved, grown, and become increasingly prominent. extreme thanks to the emergence of TheBlackpill. THE Black Pill maintains the RedPilled worldview of Incels but rejects any aspect of self-help, believing that no amount of effort will compensate for bad genetics. For those who are BlackPilled, the only solution is change at a societal level.
Blackpilled Incels’ desire for collective action sparked the formation of a nascent sociopolitical movement. ideology which can lead to unified, and likely violent, political action. Previously, most discussions around Incel violence failed to identify it as terrorism. Indeed, at first glance, Incels do not have a political agenda. Rhetoric on Incel forums revolves around airing personal grievances and diatribes against women, feminism, and their supporters. But even here, the seeds of a violent political ideology predominate. Incels want normies (that is, everyone who is not them) to suffer and live in constant conditions. fear. Some Incels openly advocate committing acts of violence against civilians, encouraging each other to “go to the ER” or become a “hero” (emphasizing the initials of Elliot Rodger, a well-known Incel who murdered six in Isla Vista, California). Like an incel succinctly say it: “(I)t’s a political movement, my friend. We talk about how people act and how they should be governed, that’s politics. » What makes this political movement particularly dangerous is that BlackPilled Incels feel like they no longer have anything to live for. They are therefore often willing to die in their efforts to terrorize society into addressing their plight. By imposing their ideology on others through the commission or threat of violence, violent Incel misogyny becomes intensely policy.
Even terrorism experts Initially skeptical of the threat posed by Incels, they now recognize that they must be taken seriously by law enforcement and the counterterrorism community. As of 2018, the Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC), the National Consortium for the Study of Terrorism and Responses to Terrorism (START), and the Anti-Defamation League all began to view male supremacy as an extremist ideology. In January 2019, a young man was arrested for planning a massacre during a women’s march. The day before, he had job on Facebook, “I plan to shoot up a public place… kill as many girls as I see.” He ultimately pleaded guilty to a charge of attempted terroristic threat, in what could be the First of all US terrorism-related sentence handed down for crime motivated by Incel ideology. In 2020, a teenager identified as an Incel was accused with terrorism after stabbing a woman to death in Canada. The Royal Canadian Mounted Police emphasized that “terrorism takes many forms and it is important to note that it is not limited to any particular group, religion or ideology.” In February 2021, the Australian Security Intelligence Organization recognized that the left-right spectrum of terrorist ideologies was no longer fit for purpose and that there was a need to recognize niche issues as drivers of terrorist acts. Here he specifically mentioned violent misogynists like Incels. This growing recognition that Incel violence is considered political violence indicates that this is a group of actors with an emerging political footprint that must be addressed.
Further Reading on International Electronic Relations
