I was thinking about this more and have one further comment - as you have said, correctly, that low status males have existed forever, and have had various names over the years, such as a nerd or geek or the generic loser, it seems to me that 'incel' specifically connotes more than low status. Its closer to creep than loser, and it has been framed (if not maybe even invented self-referentially) by the feminist lobby as being more than low status, but in the case of males, as being potentially dangerous or violent. Now, that is really not true, but tell the woke ideologues that. Its been framed by the bien pensants today as being terrorist-adjacent, so while it was always basically a faux pas to beat up too hard on nerds or geeks, its allowed, even a virtue, as you say, to beat up potential terrorists. Its a really sad state of affairs, and the lack of empathy for what are really mostly harmless losers is going to have blowback. Its basically a self-fulfilling prophecy.
I would add that the term arrived around the same time that the 4chan crowd was heavily slut-shaming the tik-tok and onlyfans girls. Thus the intensity of the response back - how dare you slut shame us, you ... you ... fucking INCEL!!!
Good article. And it needed to be said. Paradoxically I first came across the word incel applied to a woman. It was in the wiki entry for Christine Chubbuck and was 10 - 15 years ago.
It is interesting to note that back then it was an entirely neutral word. All it did was describe a state, one occupied by both men and women. Needless to say, following its meaning being narrowed for weaponization against men, it has since been removed from her wiki.
Incidentally if you haven't seen 'Christine' (2016) - the biopic of Chubbuck starring Rebecca Hall and Michael C Hall - I highly recommend it to you. The performances are excellent, as is the recreation of the 70s aesthetic. I think it would be of interest to you.
Society has adopted feminized values and women value people first and foremost on their sex appeal because sex appealnis their primary function and how women rank each other.
I agree generally . But I think what you’re missing is that incel is applied to people who are angry and misogynistic towards women because of their status
"Incel" becomes a catch-all term for any man that stands up for men's rights, or questions feminism, or discusses men's issues, etc. Of course, the likelihood is that the femifascists that throw the term "incel" around are fem-cels that no sane man will go near.
The FBI targeted "incels", too, calling them "Involuntary Celibate Violent Extremists". Did the FBI ever target BLM or Antifa?
Most of the "violent incels" are on the far left, given their marxist worldview of class-hate and envy.
Incels who are right-of-center hate their situation, but find a way to make peace with it without antagonizing others.
Excellent and insightful commentary as usual. Really, you have called this perfectly, nothing to add, and no it wont end well.
Astute commentary, and yet in retrospect entirely obvious. So why are you the first person to have articulated this?
I was thinking about this more and have one further comment - as you have said, correctly, that low status males have existed forever, and have had various names over the years, such as a nerd or geek or the generic loser, it seems to me that 'incel' specifically connotes more than low status. Its closer to creep than loser, and it has been framed (if not maybe even invented self-referentially) by the feminist lobby as being more than low status, but in the case of males, as being potentially dangerous or violent. Now, that is really not true, but tell the woke ideologues that. Its been framed by the bien pensants today as being terrorist-adjacent, so while it was always basically a faux pas to beat up too hard on nerds or geeks, its allowed, even a virtue, as you say, to beat up potential terrorists. Its a really sad state of affairs, and the lack of empathy for what are really mostly harmless losers is going to have blowback. Its basically a self-fulfilling prophecy.
I would add that the term arrived around the same time that the 4chan crowd was heavily slut-shaming the tik-tok and onlyfans girls. Thus the intensity of the response back - how dare you slut shame us, you ... you ... fucking INCEL!!!
The term arrived well before Tiktok and OnlyFans
Thank you, Andy, excellent article and very timely.
Well done with this piece. Solid daylighting of a reality that many have not yet come to realize.
Good article. And it needed to be said. Paradoxically I first came across the word incel applied to a woman. It was in the wiki entry for Christine Chubbuck and was 10 - 15 years ago.
It is interesting to note that back then it was an entirely neutral word. All it did was describe a state, one occupied by both men and women. Needless to say, following its meaning being narrowed for weaponization against men, it has since been removed from her wiki.
Incidentally if you haven't seen 'Christine' (2016) - the biopic of Chubbuck starring Rebecca Hall and Michael C Hall - I highly recommend it to you. The performances are excellent, as is the recreation of the 70s aesthetic. I think it would be of interest to you.
I have seen it!
They hate undesired men for existing.
Society has adopted feminized values and women value people first and foremost on their sex appeal because sex appealnis their primary function and how women rank each other.
Incels are just pornified bachelors.
They already voted for Trump, so it's not as if the backlash hasn't begun.
I spent enough time unpopular that I don't pick on incels. At some point I'll get old enough I'll be an incel again.
tried to explain this to a then-gf of mine. she couldn't get it, just said "they're creeps" and need to be oppressed by the police.
I agree generally . But I think what you’re missing is that incel is applied to people who are angry and misogynistic towards women because of their status
It is applied fairly indiscriminately against any man who doesn't bow and scrape before contemporary feminist orthodoxy
You lie. It is like when people say "zionist", they don't mean a spesific kind of jew, they mean all jews.
Andy, if you don't want to be labeled an incel, what should we refer to you as?
Call me what you will, but I've got two kids, so def not incel
"Incel" becomes a catch-all term for any man that stands up for men's rights, or questions feminism, or discusses men's issues, etc. Of course, the likelihood is that the femifascists that throw the term "incel" around are fem-cels that no sane man will go near.
I heard a married man say that the quickest way for a man to become an "incel" is to get married.
Considering incel is now a slur, I call men without women womanless men, which is what incel initially meant. Obviously Andy isn’t an incel. And the
incel slur is now even used online for married men and sex-having men.