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28/07/2021
CONCLUSION PAPER
RAN C&N – The Incel Phenomenon
17-18 June 2021, online event
The Incel Phenomenon: Exploring
Internal and External Issues Around
Involuntary Celibates
Key outcomes
The incel phenomenon is being studied more and more, from a P/CVE perspective as well. As there are links between
certain parts of the incel movement to (other) types of extremism, it is important to try to understand what is going
on in this mostly online world. During the RAN Communication and Narratives (C&N) Working Group meeting on
the incel phenomenon, the focus was on exploring the underlying issues and root causes that result in the potential
threat incels pose to themselves and others1.
Key meeting outcomes:
1. While not all incels are violent, incels’ online ecosystem breeds and encourages extreme attitudes
related to suicide, interpersonal violence and violent misogyny. Awareness of the depth of the underlying
issues is crucial to be able to acknowledge their grievances and needs (e.g. societal pressures/norms,
identity, belonging, security, ostracism, etc.).
2. The incel ideology differs from many other (extremist) ideologies or communities. While issues
like isolation, loneliness and mental health, and dealing with bullying can also be underlying concerns in
other ideologies, they are very much present at the forefront of the incel community/ideology. They feel
they did not choose their identity, but were forced into it.
3. A whole-of-society approach is needed by training all first line practitioners (not only the ones with a
focus on P/CVE) on the topic of incels. The aim is to raise awareness and start discussing underlying
issues early on (primary prevention) with a focus on the risk of suicide, using an empathetic approach and
trying to strengthen the internal locus of control.
4. Regarding treatment, it is important to recognise incels’ trauma/very real grievances while not
encouraging their ideology. Work on mental health awareness and against the stigma amongst incels.
Portray self-help as a strength, not a weakness.
1
For more general background on incels, their terminology and ideology, see the conclusion paper of the RAN Small-Scale meeting
on Incels and Moonshot’s Guide to Symbols and Terminology about incels.
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An online P/CVE approach for local authorities: challenges, tips & tricks
Page 2 of 10
5. When proposing alternative narratives, offer alternative representations of masculinity (that are not the
typical alpha man stereotype, but are seen as masculine/attractive) and convey that many people feel overwhelmed
by social and moral uncertainty, ‘chaos’ and injustice, and these are normal reactions to a complex world.
Highlights of the discussion
The two-day meeting on the incel phenomenon had lively discussions in both Q&A sessions and the chat, and an
interactive part using online collaboration tool Miro2. The insights and highlights presented below are therefore not
only based on the presentations, but also on the input from all participants.
Background on incels & their ideology
Incel is a portmanteau for ‘Involuntary Celibate’. Incels believe they are unable to access sex, mainly due to genetic
factors, evolutionary predetermined processes of mate selection and societal structures. They believe women find
them unattractive and that women are only interested in handsome ‘alpha males’ (also called ‘Chads’). The ‘80/20
Rule’ is commonly mentioned amongst incels, meaning that the most attractive 20% of men have monopolised 80%
of women. Since 2014, multiple public violent incidents (i.e. mass-shootings) have been tied to incels in the United
States and Canada. Because of this, the phenomenon has gained the attention of P/CVE in Europe too.
Several important insights on incels and their ideology are:
● In contrast to common perception, incels are a diverse group in terms of sexual orientation, race or
ethnic background and religion. Moreover, while the surface issue is the interest in sex, this is certainly
not the only matter incels are interested in as the surface issue has deep-rooted perceived grievances.
● The incel ideology is centred around the idea of ‘the Black pill’.3 Incels believe their perceived inability to
have sex and/or a romantic relationship is predetermined by genetics and society. This is rooted in ideas
of hypergamy (women are only interested in the most attractive and successful men) and gynocentrism
(modern society is structured in a way that benefits women, and thereby oppresses men – especially
those deemed to be lesser, i.e. an incel).
● The worldview of incels is based on an external locus of control. They believe their situation and what
happens to them is outside of their own control, thereby blaming everyone and everything else (women,
attractive men, society) for their misery. This belief of not being in control ties into underlying mental
health issues like anxiety and depression that will be discussed later.
● The incel ideology can be seen as part of the online ‘Manosphere’, a collection of online spaces
promoting masculinity and misogyny, and opposing feminism. Other communities in the Manosphere are,
for example, Men Going Their Own Way (MGTOW) and pick-up artists (PUA).4
2
Miro is a tool that allows multiple participants to actively collaborate in an online environment, for example by simultaneously
writing and moving post-its on a virtual board. For more information, see https://miro.com/app/dashboard/.
3
The term ‘Black pill’ is derived from the concept of Red Pill and Blue Pill. The terms ‘red pill’ and ‘blue pill’ refer to a choice
between the willingness to learn a potentially unsettling or life-changing truth by taking the red pill, or remaining in contented
ignorance with the blue pill. The term Red Pill is commonly used in the Manosphere, regarding men ‘waking up’ to the ‘real’
world where women are better off than men. ‘Black pill’ is then a more extreme version of red pill, as it includes the view that
men are unable to change their position. See also Moonshot’s Guide to Symbols and Terminology about incels.
4
Men Going Their Own Way (MGTOW) is an anti-feminist, misogynistic, mostly online community advocating for men to separate
themselves from women and from a society that they believe has been corrupted by feminism (see
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Men_Going_Their_Own_Way). Pick Up Artists is a men’s movement whose goal is seduction and
sexual success with women (see https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pickup_artist).
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Page 3 of 10
The incel community is mainly present online on dedicated websites like incels.is, but also on both mainstream
social media (i.e. YouTube, Facebook, Twitter) and less regulated platforms (i.e. 4chan, 8kun). Several incel forums
or pages (e.g. a sub-Reddit) have already been banned by the platform due to harmful content.
While there have been no public violent incidents related to incels in Europe 5 so far, incel forums are frequented
throughout Europe. Unique users from almost all EU Member States, with a majority in Germany, were found on an
incel forum. Moreover, country-specific themes can be found in the narratives of incels from Europe, for example
the role of height and race. The role of height is related to the above average height of men in some European
countries. According to incels, women are unwilling to date short men. In terms of race, depending on the country,
being a person of colour can either be an advantage or disadvantage according to incels.
Three levels of violence
One of the main insights is that the incel phenomenon is a very broad, complex and deep-rooted problem. It is not
just about the surface issue of public violent incidents of individuals identifying as an incel. In order to further
explain this, three tiers of violence can be identified:
● Personal violence: self-harm and suicidal ideation are common amongst incels. For example, the term
LDAR, or ‘Lay Down And Rot’, is frequently used on incel
forums.6 Moreover, getting self-help or seeking mental health
support are discouraged amongst incels.
● Interpersonal violence: incels are frequently encouraged to
take others with them if they are going to harm themselves,
i.e. that if they commit an attack, this should also harm other
individuals. Moreover, women are harassed by incels both
online and offline. An example is ‘Chadfishing’,7 where an incel
poses as a ‘Chad’ (i.e. the stereotypical handsome alpha male,
according to incels) to get a date with a woman only to scorn
them about this. The ‘Chads’ they pose as are also targeted by
putting down harmful texts under their fake profile (i.e. “I’m a
convicted child molester”). This way, incels can prove that it is
indeed only the looks that matter for a woman that would still
want to date such a person (see image).
● Societal violence: violence aimed at society through mass
shootings, for example intended for attractive women. Since
2014, multiple mass shootings have been tied to incels in the
United States and Canada. Within the incel community, these
mass shooters are often idolised and seen as examples.
Moreover, elements of gamification can be found on incel
forums (i.e. scoreboard ranking of perpetrators).
5
The only incident where it was debated whether the shooter was potentially an incel was the Hanau shooting on 19 February,
2020. However, it was found that while the perpetrator was a male supremacist and misogynist, he had no clear connections to
the incel community or ideology. For more information, see the ICCT publication: https://icct.nl/publication/male-supremacism-
and-the-hanau-terrorist-attack-between-online-misogyny-and-far-right-violence/.
6
Lay Down And Rot is a phrase claiming that self-development, positive behaviour or corrective actions (e.g. looksmaxxing) are
pointless, and that an individual’s situation cannot be improved. To LDAR is to give up on activities that are inconsistent with a
‘rotting’ lifestyle. Acceptable ‘rotting’ behaviour includes browsing incel forums, watching pornography, withdrawing from human
contact and remaining in bed. Source: Moonshot’s Guide to Symbols and Terminology about incels (p.15).
7
‘Chadfishing’ is derived from the term ‘Catfishing’, which is a deceptive activity where a person creates a fictional persona or
fake identity on a social networking service to usually target a specific victim (source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Catfishing).
‘Chadfishing’, then, is specifically impersonating a ‘Chad’ (i.e. an attractive alpha male in the eyes of an incel).
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While societal violence gets the most attention in the public debate, the fact that personal and interpersonal violence
is commonly talked about amongst incels indicates there are underlying mental health and society issues that are
often overlooked.
Social & mental health
In terms of societal pressure, certain issues that are common amongst millennials can be tied to problems incels
experience as well. These are, for example, high expectations from society to perform and pressure from social
media regarding what it means to be successful and attractive. These issues can result in a negative state of mind
and lead to mental health problems that might make individuals more vulnerable to ideologies like incel.
During the meeting, there was a consensus that both
Learning from the Hikikomori phenomenon
mental health issues and potential security issues
are equally important to tackle. This is especially Hikikomori is a phenomenon that originated in Japan.
important from a prevention point of view. If you want It is defined as a phenomenon in which persons
to prevent individuals from identifying as an incel in the become recluses in their own homes, avoiding various
first place, the underlying issues need to be addressed social situations.1 The phenomenon is seen as a
first. The incel ideology and incel forums are especially serious issue in Japan, and it has also been researched
attractive to vulnerable young men. Anxiety and in several European countries in relation to youth who
depression are very common amongst incels. The ETA socially exclude themselves (e.g. France, Italy).
program in Canada run by Yorktown Family Services has Several interesting hikikomori characteristics were
several young individuals involved in incel forums that identified that can potentially be related to the incel
were referred to the program. These young clients: phenomenon:
• often experienced a history of relational trauma • 70-80% of hikikomori are men.
as a result of abuse, neglect, physical and/or • Hikikomori and incels both spend the
emotional trauma within the family system; majority of their time online, avoiding
‘offline’ social interaction.
• exhibit a social skill deficit. For example, poor • Similar underlying issues between hikikomori
boundaries in relationships (tendency to and incels can be found (e.g. the pressure of
overwhelm others and then get rejected), poor social expectations and mental health
recognition of social cues, lack of basic problems like social anxiety disorder).
conversational skills;
Incels could see the hikikomori phenomenon as
• demonstrate highly sexualised behaviour. This another proof of discrimination/alienation of young
included no awareness of boundaries and a men in society (as they become too afraid to leave
distorted view of what healthy relationships are their homes).
(violence and exposure to violence
is normalised).
Moreover, individuals with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) appear to be disproportionally represented in the
incel community (e.g. in an October 2019 user poll on the incels.co website, roughly 1 in 4 of the 550 respondents
stated they were diagnosed with autism). Social communication and interaction impairments (due to ASD) may
cause challenges in making and maintaining peer friendship groups. Because young individuals with ASD experience
higher rates of bullying and rejection by peers in the physical space, the internet is already the “preferred conduit
to the outside world” for many of them. On online forums, so also in incel forums, interaction makes them feel
valued and provides them with an identity – something they did not experience in the offline world. Features of ASD
that would contribute to this include impaired Theory of Mind (ToM, the ability to attribute mental states to ourselves
and others) and rigid thinking.
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Contradictions & ideological cross-over
Some interesting observations were made on how the incel ideology is very ambiguous and actually
contradicts itself. This shows that underlying issues incels experience, like seeking an identity and a sense of
belonging and other insecurities, lead to an ideology that is not clear-cut or based on one central idea. This can be
illustrated with several examples of paradoxes within the incel ideology:
● The incel ideology is based on simultaneously despising and desiring women. Incels actually want to be in
a romantic relationship and have sex with a woman, but at the same time women are also at fault for not
giving incels the opportunity to carry this out.
● Alpha males, or ‘Chads’, are also despised by incels, as they are the ones who get all the attention from
women. At the same time, some of the solutions posed by incels actually include being or becoming more
like a Chad. For example, to become more attractive through plastic surgery (i.e. ‘Looksmaxxing’), to
become more physically attractive by going to the gym (i.e. ‘Gymmaxxing’), or by going to South-East
Asia because, according to incels, even an incel can be a Chad there and get sex (i.e. ‘SEA-maxxing’).
● No one wants to be an incel (as they are involuntary celibate), but incels who try to escape or ‘ascend’ the
community are brought down hard and pulled back in by other members. So, while individuals actually
want to ascend, go on a date with a woman, get a girlfriend, and escape their inceldom, the community of
incels actually prevents individuals from escaping. This is done, for example, by talking down to the
individual (‘your date won’t want you anyway’) or the girl/woman (‘she won’t be attractive anyway’).
Moreover, if an incel succeeds in ‘ascending’, they are completely shut out and often seen as ‘false incels’
(i.e. ‘he was never an incel to begin with’).
● Geographical differences also lead to contradictions. For example, in Germany incels of colour feel they
are being compared to tall, white ‘Aryan Chads’ and complain German girls do not want men of colour,
whereas in Sweden incels feel they are less desirable than men of colour to the point where they advise
incels of colour to visit Sweden for sex tourism purposes.
● Some incels do have sex, but still claim inceldom because they pay for sex, whereas Chads do not have to
do any work at all to get sex.
● The question whether incels are politically motivated also has an ambiguous answer. On the one hand,
some solutions offered by incels are to change society in a way that benefits them (e.g. ‘sexual Marxism’),
some even calling for an incel rebellion. On the other hand, incels want to be seen as a subculture and not
as a political movement. Moreover, the Blackpill ideology and external locus of control ironically would
mean that no action by incels themselves will or can change the system.
Within a marginal group of incels, the incel ideology has cross-overs with extremist ideologies. Connections
with right-wing extremism are mostly seen amongst this group, but there are also some examples of incels with
ties to Islamist extremism. Within this marginal group of incels, the incel ideology could be seen as an overarching
and unifying ideology based on shared grievances (i.e. loneliness) and the central role of misogyny in these
different ideologies.
Recommendations
Deepen the understanding of the phenomenon from a P/CVE perspective
● The incel community is built on a foundation of nihilism and self-hatred. While not all incels are violent,
incels’ online ecosystem breeds and encourages extreme attitudes related to suicide, interpersonal
violence and violent misogyny. Acknowledging that inceldom is not simply about being unable to find a
sexual partner is important – it is about the deep insecurities that many men face today. Awareness of the
depth of the underlying issues is crucial to be able to acknowledge their grievances and needs (e.g.
societal pressures/norms, identity, belonging, security, ostracism, etc.).
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An online P/CVE approach for local authorities: challenges, tips & tricks
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● Incel ideology is different from many other ideologies/communities in how prevalent isolation, loneliness,
mental health issues and dealing with issues like bullying is. They feel they did not choose their identity
but were forced into it.
● First line practitioners need to take the incel ideology and its characteristics seriously.
● Perhaps the idea of what ‘violent extremism’ is should be expanded. A lot of the violence by incels is
self-harm, but this is traditionally not seen as violent extremism.
● Giving former incels a ‘voice’ in research could help to gain trust with the academic and P/CVE community.
● Although some research indicates that people with ASD are overrepresented amongst incels, practitioners
should be careful to note that simply having ASD does not in and of itself make someone vulnerable to
becoming an incel.
Prevention
● In primary prevention, digital media literacy is key and should be taught to young people. As a part of
this, information about the skewed reality of the incel narrative can help to raise resilience amongst
youth.
● It is equally important to demystify sex and sexuality amongst youth in order to help them gain a healthy
perspective on their own body and sexuality, including the important notion of consent in a sexual
relationship and risks related to toxic masculinity.
● On social media, the way identity is portrayed is a misrepresentation of reality that does not set the right
example and paves the way for incel ideology and other problems. However difficult this may be, there is
a need to change the way we engage with each other on social media.
● More focused on the vulnerable target group, there is a need for training first line practitioners on the
topic of incels to raise awareness and to start discussing underlying issues early on (primary prevention).
This training should include:
o distinguishing between the different forms of violence, community interactions, mental health
issues and other characteristics;
o learning to differentiate between trolling (shitposting, provoking) and serious intentions, although
it can be very difficult to make this distinction;
o informing interventionists (psychologists, mentors) about specific misogynistic beliefs held
by incels.
● It is also important to educate caregivers. Inform and engage with family members of potential incels.
They do not need to know the ins and outs of the platforms their children may be using, but they need to
know about certain words that are not acceptable and are part of misogynist / incel terminology.
Getting in contact with (potential) incels
● Regard each individual as someone with unique reasons for identifying as an incel, or to turn violent
against oneself or others. Do not categorise them as a homogenous group.
● Use a holistic outreach in spaces where incels congregate (e.g. video games, chat forums, etc.).
● Investigate forums / platforms where incels are active can be a way to identify incels. On a bigger scale,
natural language processing analysis employing artificial intelligence could be used to examine the web.
This will help identify incels in order to tailor more effective outreach programmes.
Treatment & mental health aspects
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CONCLUSION PAPER
An online P/CVE approach for local authorities: challenges, tips & tricks
Page 7 of 10
● Recognise the incels trauma/grievances while not encouraging the ideology.
● Work on mental health awareness and against the stigma amongst incels. Portray self-help as a strength,
not as a weakness.
● Part of the problem may be the incels’ belief that mental health professionals are mostly/all women, so
dispelling this narrative might be helpful in aiding interventions and help-seeking behaviour. Safely
reintroducing women in a safe environment is important.
● Male role models that support other men who are struggling through positive encouragement can be an
angle to take during treatment, emphasising healthier ideas of masculinities and body image.
● Also, it is advisable to include teachers and family (however, incels tend to have a troubled relationship
with their parents). This would most likely also require training the parents.
Offering alternative narratives
● Counter the stigma with healthier presentations of their problems and issues, offering alternative
representations of masculinity that are neither Chad nor incel.
● Offer positive identities/feelings/experiences to reduce the space for negative feelings to build up.
● Offer a humanising outlook on women and their role in society and relationships.
● Convey the message that it is normal and socially acceptable to feel left out, self-critical, down, anxious or
frustrated, and there are mainstream spaces and places for everyone.
● Convey the message that many people feel overwhelmed by social and moral uncertainty, ‘chaos’ and
injustice, and these are normal reactions to a complex world.
Relevant practices
1. Estimated Time of Arrival (Yorktown Family Services, Canada).
2. The Redirect Method (Moonshot, UK) has also been used to reach out to (potential) incels by visiting
incel forums.
The next two pages provide a summary of the most important recommendations in an infographic.
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CONCLUSION PAPER
An online P/CVE approach for local authorities: challenges, tips & tricks
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CONCLUSION PAPER
An online P/CVE approach for local authorities: challenges, tips & tricks
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Follow up
Suggestions for further elaboration:
● Organise a meeting on how to train first line practitioners on the topic of incels.
● Organise a meeting to further explore the relation between incel ideology and extremist ideologies. What
are the real underlying/overlapping issues that should/could be tackled by prevention? Is the incel
ideology a separate form of extremist ideology?
● A meeting to further explore connections to adjacent fields like Hikikomori, maybe pro-anorexia forums, etc.
Further reading
Speckhard, Anne; Ellenberg, Molly; Morton, Jesse; and Ash, Alexander. "Involuntary Celibates’ Experiences of
and Grievance over Sexual Exclusion and the Potential Threat of Violence Among Those Active in an Online
Incel Forum." Journal of Strategic Security 14, no. 2 (2020): 89-121. DOI: https://doi.org/10.5038/1944-
0472.14.2.1910 Available at: https://scholarcommons.usf.edu/jss/vol14/iss2/5
Christian Mogensen & Stine Helding Rand, Centre for Digital Youth Care. The angry internet, a threat to
gender equality, democracy & well-being (2020). https://cfdp.dk/wp-
content/uploads/2020/11/CFDP_the_angry_internet_ISSUE.pdf
Organization for the Prevention of Violence (Canada). Incels: Background for Practitioners
https://preventviolence.ca/publication/incels-background-for-practitioners/
Daly, S. E., & Laskovtsov, A. (2021). “Goodbye, My Friendcels”: An Analysis of Incel Suicide Posts. CrimRxiv.
https://doi.org/10.21428/cb6ab371.a9564fcd
RAN in Focus podcast on Incels (2021)
Product of the Radicalisation Awareness Network (RAN),
Based on a paper prepared by Alwyn Voogd and Rik Scheele (RAN Staff) after consultation of the
RAN C&N co-leaders Fabian Wichmann and Ross Frenett (assisted by Joost S.)
