Exploring Toxic Masculinity: Insights from “Charlottesville: Race and Terror” and “Inside Incel”

Only a couple of years ago the documentaries “Charlottesville: Race and Terror” & “Inside Incel” were showcased and highlighted the instances of toxic masculinity exhibited by the men. In the first one, white supremacists violently fought for the rise of white nationalism and supremacy. Meanwhile, the second short film delved into the incel community and their online networks, where they propagated their ideologies, animosity, and resentment toward women. Despite their different contexts, both of these films depict men resorting to violence as a means to assert their beliefs, driven by underlying fears and insecurities, in their pursuit to uphold power and dominance.

Firstly, the documentary “Charlottesville: Race and Terror” focuses on the unity of people during a rally that occurred in Charlottesville Virginia in 2017. Two different groups of individuals, each with their own perspective, gathered together and violently fought and disagreed about the rise of white nationalism and supremacy. One group was made up of white supremacists, extremists, neo-Nazis and very right-winged people who all assembled to protest against the removal of Robert E. Lee and to promote their supremacist ideas. In the documentary “Charlottesville: Race and Terror”, the white supremacists talked about how they wanted an “ethnic cleansing of America and the destruction of the American way of life”. The other group fought for equality, togetherness and unity. They are counter-protestors, including a variety of people such as Black Lives Matter activists, LGBTQ+ members, and others who stood against racism, misogyny, homophobia and white supremacy. The white supremacists disagreed with their views so they became violent. They spread memes through the internet to promote their beliefs to get other people to join them as well as spreading hate speeches. Moreover, they were yelling, punching people from the other group, walking with torches, carrying pistols and knives and doing a hit-and-run. One of the tactics they were adopting is that camaraderie and trust are built through activism. However, because of the activism of the other group, the white supremacists felt threatened by the counter-protesters. They feared that they would lose their dominance in society and as a result, their masculinity would lessen. To elucidate, one of the gender norms men often aspire to uphold for a sense of masculinity is dominance. However, if they perceive a lack of this masculinity, they may seek alternative means to compensate for this perceived deficiency. In the case of the documentary, the white supremacists resorted to violence and toxic masculinity to intimidate their opponents and reaffirm their power. This can be linked to Michael Kimmel’s text when he talked about the fear of emasculation and homophobia and stated: “Homophobia is the fear that other men will unmask us, emasculate us, reveal to us and the world that we do not measure up, that we are not real men.” (Kimmel 147). From what I understood, Kimmel’s analysis implies that men’s homophobic behaviour stems from underlying feelings of insecurity and inadequacy regarding their own masculinity, as well as being judged by others. By rejecting homosexuality and femininity, they seek to establish dominance and uphold an image of strength and control. In the context of the documentary, the rejection of opposing viewpoints by the white supremacists reflects their sense of vulnerability and diminished power. This rejection mirrors Kimmel’s idea that men may feel less masculine when confronted with expressions of homosexuality or femininity. Essentially, their rejection serves as a defence mechanism to try and preserve their sense of strength and control. Furthermore, while the documentary primarily focuses on racism and white supremacy, misogyny can present itself in diverse ways within these frameworks. Misogyny intersects with the other forms of discrimination the white supremacists bring on, such as racism and homophobia. All these notions that the white supremacists want to take over collectively contribute to maintaining a system of power and dominance established in gender, race, and sexuality. To illustrate, according to Michael Kimmel’s text, “The fear of being seen as a sissy dominates the cultural definitions of manhood” (Kimmel 147). This explains why the white supremacists are misogynists. They are afraid that if women have power, they will lose their dominance. In essence, the documentary illustrates how the fear of losing dominance in society and a sense of masculinity can drive individuals, such as the white supremacists, to resort to violence and toxic behaviour to assert their power. Kimmel’s concept of men’s fear of emasculation and the resulting behaviours, including homophobia and misogyny provides a framework for understanding the motivations behind the actions of the white supremacists in the documentary. In other words, through Michael Kimmel’s analysis and the documentary “Charlottesville: Race and Terror”, it can be ascertained how racism, misogyny, and other forms of discrimination illustrate how fear and insecurity can drive individuals to resort to violence in an attempt to maintain power and dominance. 

This idea of how men resort to violence as a way to compensate for their insecurities and maintain a sense of dominance is also depicted in the episode “Inside Incel” by CBC’s “The Fifth Estate” published on 27th January 2019, similar to the themes explored in the documentary “Charlottesville: Race and Terror.” It explores the world of incels and their online communities where they spread their beliefs, hate and backlash against women. This episode delves into the background of the incel movement, and the dangerous consequences of the extremist’s views. These men are spreading hate and posting awful things about women because they are lonely, miserable and insecure about themselves for being rejected in the past. Moreover, they are struggling with the idea of masculinity in an environment where they feel their sense of stability has been disrupted. As a result, they crave attention and vengeance due to their emotional state, which leads them to express hatred towards women as a way of coping with their feelings. Therefore, they have a lot of anger and want to feel manly so they express this through violence. By posting videos and doing violent actions, it’s feeding the resentment. This can be supported by Kimmel’s text when he says “Violence is often the single most evident marker of manhood.” (Kimmel 148). By acting violently, they are finally able to feel like they fit into the male stereotypes. This citation shows how men want to adhere to certain gender roles and have to follow certain expectations of masculinity. If they can’t meet these standards, they feel unmanly. Men don’t want to be perceived as unmasculine. Hence, they resort to violence and misogynistic beliefs as a way to regain a sense of power. For instance, Alex Minassian was an incel who was in a white van and jumped the curb and ploughed into numerous women in a way to prove he was more powerful. Within the incel community, acts of violence are glorified, thus promoting this aggression. Overall, the exploration of the incel community in “Inside Incel” and the insights provided by Michael Kimmel’s text on masculinity provide insight into the dangerous consequences of toxic masculinity and the normalization of violence and misogyny, which highlights the urgent need for discussions and intervention to address these harmful ideologies and violence. 

Furthermore, in both documentaries, the group’s normalization of violence and misogyny is deeply troubling and morally unjust, as it can potentially encourage even more individuals to view such behaviours as acceptable and normal. This can be linked to William James’ speech when he spoke about Andrew Tate and his influence on young boys. William explained how Andrew Tate is an influencer online who advocates for male supremacy in society, celebrates violence against women and uses awful sexist terms. Moreover, he explained how at a young age, kids nowadays are following online influencers and are being impacted by them, especially in their educational spaces. Since the kids are getting influenced by wrongful ideas, they are propagating these ideas toward one another in classrooms. This relates to the documentaries content because in both “Charlottesville: Race and Terror” and “Inside Incel,” we can see how people with very strong beliefs use the internet to spread their ideas and get more people on their side. The white supremacists in Charlottesville used social media and online groups to plan their protests and share hateful messages. Similarly, incels are part of online communities where they support each other’s negative views about women and talk about violent things they want to do. Overall, the documentaries and the talk about Andrew Tate illustrate the impact of how people are influenced online by amoral views, influencing individuals’ behaviours accordingly. 

In conclusion, Charlottesville: Race and Terror and Inside Incel both are illustrations of how toxic masculinity manifests in violent and hateful behaviours driven by underlying fears and insecurities. In both instances, men resorted to violence as a means to assert their beliefs and maintain a sense of dominance, whether through advocating white supremacy or expressing misogynistic views within the incel community. Through the lens of Michael Kimmel’s analysis of masculinity, we see how men’s fear of emasculation and the pressure to conform to societal gender norms contribute to violent and misogynistic behaviours. The normalization of violence and misogyny within these communities not only reinforces harmful ideologies but also poses a threat to society by influencing impressionable individuals, as highlighted by William James’ discussion on online influencers like Andrew Tate. To make a real difference, society needs to focus on actions that break down oppressive systems and encourage empathy, respect, and understanding among everyone. This means promoting gender equality, fighting extremism online, and providing support for marginalized communities facing discrimination and violence. These documentaries remind us how harmful toxic masculinity can be and why all of us need to take action together to make the world safer and fairer for everyone. By facing these problems directly and talking openly with empathy, we can make a real difference and build a society where everyone can feel safe and accepted, without fear or prejudice.