Incel, the misogynist ideology that inspired the deadly Toronto attack, explained

[ehrnst]

White straight male entitlement, in yet another form, turns deadly.

On Tuesday afternoon, Facebook confirmed the authenticity of a post in his name, in which he pledged allegiance to something called the “Incel Rebellion.” This is not an organized militant group but rather an ideal developed by the so-called “incel” movement — an online community of men united by their inability to convince women to have sex with them. (“Incel” stands for “involuntarily celibate.”)

Some self-identified incels, as they call themselves, have developed an elaborate sociopolitical explanation for their sexual failures, one that centers on the idea that women are shallow, vicious, and only attracted to hyper-muscular men. They see this as a profound injustice against men like them, who suffer an inherent genetic disadvantage through no fault of their own. A small radical fringe believes that violence, especially against women, is an appropriate response — that an “Incel Rebellion” or “Beta [Male] Uprising” will eventually overturn the sexual status quo.

Minassian is not the first to turn these violent fantasies into reality. In 2014, a sexually frustrated man named Elliot Rodger killed six and wounded 14 in a shooting spree in Santa Barbara, California. He justified his actions in a lengthy and creepy manifesto sent to acquaintances and then widely shared online as retaliation against women as a group for refusing to provide him with the sex he is owed. This man has become a hero to many incels; the Toronto perpetrator praised him as the “Supreme Gentleman” (a term the California shooter coined for himself) in his Facebook post.

Only a tiny percentage of incels seem willing to turn to violence or terrorism, and the movement isn’t a threat on the level of an al-Qaeda or ISIS. But it’s a new kind of danger, a testament to the power of online communities to radicalize frustrated young men based on their most personal and painful grievances.

https://www.vox.com/world/2018/4/25/17277496/incel-toronto-attack-alek-minassian

[malthaussen]

1. "Idiot Movement" is more appropriate. n/t

[vi5]

2. "ideology"

It means "involuntary celibate". Calling it an ideology gives it more credit than it deserves. It's sexually frustrated losers taking it out on everyone else.

[eppur_se_muova]

4. We should at least spell it "idiology".

Those who understand etymology will get it.

[Johnny2X2X]

3. More dangerous than the joke that it seems

People point to the 2 instances where Incel movement members resorted to terrorism, but there are surely many many more instances of rape and other violence against women. These people are sick, they think they are entitled to women's bodies and they have all sorts of delusions around this entitlement. And make no mistake, this line of thinking is reinforced by Conservative thought which in most cases views women as the property of men.

And if these losers spent half the time they do hating women and making excuses for their poor ability to relate to them on getting to know, understand, and respect women, they probably wouldn't be so lonely.

[eppur_se_muova]

5. This is just creepy. Is there *ANY* idea that's so stupid that it can't become a "movement" ? nt

[LeftInTX]

6. "I can't get a date"

Resorts to mass violence.

We had guys in our high school like this. They didn't resort to mass violence, but they could be very difficult to deal with. Stalking was their MO.