From Chads to Blackpills, a Discursive Analysis of the Incel’s Gendered Spectrum of Political Agency

The term “incel” is a portmanteau of the words “involuntary” and “celibate,” and incels as a group represent a new emergent Internet subculture. Often, they’ve been connected to viewpoints and language that promote toxic masculinity, while encouraging violence against women and minorities. Previous research has often highlighted incels’ views on women and the language used to perpetuate their antifeminist viewpoints and ideology. However, little research has been produced on how incels view themselves and other men. This research uses popular conversations from various incel message boards to qualitatively analyze the discourses incels use to convey the stratification of doing gender within their subculture. Incels use sex as a central metaphor to convey ideas about how power and resources should be distributed in society. Findings suggest that incels use a complex “interpretive repertoire” to describe a gendered spectrum of political agency.