What does incel stand for?
Incel stands for "involuntary celibate" – the name assumed by deeply misogynistic men who believe women are to blame for their lack of sexual intimacy. Incels often believe women should be verbally shamed and, in extreme, physically punished with sexual assault, rape or disfigurement. Coming together on internet communities such as Reddit, "incels" categorise society into two camps, the "Chads" (attractive men) and "femoids" or "Stacys" (attractive women who the Chads find attractive).
Why are we talking about them now?
On Monday night, a 25-year-old man drove into pedestrians in Toronto, killing ten people and injuring 15. He was identified as Alex Minassian and, it has been confirmed, an incel. A Facebook post on his page was found saying: "The incel rebellion has already begun. We will overthrow all the Chads and Stacys. All hail the supreme gentleman Elliot Rodger!" On 23 May 2014, in Isla Vista, California, 22-year-old mass shooter Elliot Rodger killed six people and identified as an incel in his notorious, 137-page manifesto released by the New York Times. Some incel communities have now held up Minassian as a hero to their cause. One poster wrote: “Spread that name, speak of his sacrifice for our cause, worship him for he gave his life for our future."
How did this subculture begin?
According to an investigation by Elle magazine in 2016, the first internet incel was actually a woman. Alana, now a 45-year-old management consultant and artist from Toronto, coined the term "involuntary celibate" in 1993 after coming out as bisexual and looking back on years of feeling rejected. She blamed rigid gender norms, and created a website called "Alana's Involuntary Celibacy Project", a forum for people with similar grievances. The only problem was many of these people were men and they had vindictive, aggressive views that did not chime with Alana's. She took down her project, but the community found other web nests: notably, Reddit. Until November last year, this r/incels subreddit had 40,000 users. It incited such extreme violence among women and "rival men" – including trying to persuade one user to castrate his flatmate – that it was eventually banned.
Where are the incels gathering?
Incels continue to speak on anonymous messaging board 4chan and the forum SlutHate, previously called PUAhate, as well as private blogs. IncelTears, another subreddit, uploads screenshots of incel conversations for members to discuss them.