Exploring the link between incel ideology and extremism

Dalia Tatta

A woman’s place has always been chosen by a man. Her place has always been clear, and inferior until the 20th century, or so we thought. When further examining incel’s beliefs and behaviours as well as the qualities possessed by Charlottesville protesters; we begin to notice the extreme extent they will go to to radicalize these violent behaviours. With the help of Kimmel’s essay, Will James’ speech and both documentaries, I will be examining how the shared beliefs between incels and white supremacists stem from the idea that men use violence in situations where they feel powerless. We illuminate their responsibility for online radicalization of creating violent ideologies. We can further examine this degrading behaviour through interviews with participants, analysis of the documentaries and by examining the online forums used. These equally connect themselves in perspective to Kimmel’s paper and how men are not allowed to be “sissies”.

When interviewing both incels and white supremacy communities we begin to understand that their violent “male” mindset is adopted due to fear of not being man enough. We learn their motivations and how they perceive others. This illuminates the thin line that intersects the similarities and likeness of inceldom and white supremacy. This can be explained by the shared fear of both communities. For incels, their hatred of towards women can be explained by their fear of rejection. This fear of rejection and involuntarily being celibate over time causes them to adopt violent behaviours towards women. In the case of Alex Minassian, he had no one to talk to about this rejection. This lead him to find incel communities online which fueled his hatred for women and fed into the violent ideology brewing in him. Christopher Cantwell, the man the Charlottesville documentary, mainly followed shows that his hatred deeply stems from fear and the need to physically overpower others. When in his hotel room he shows all his guns and knives proudly to spread fear to others. While this is just a projection of his fears of not being man enough or strong enough. Again Cantwell stating he’s not afraid to use them is a desperate attempt to seem powerful as a man should, but when further analyzing him we understand it is a mask of fear. Kimmel develops this idea throughout his text, using examples similar to Chantwell, who feels the need to present themselves as physically powerful. “Manhood is equated with power over women, over other men.”. (Kimmel 49). These two case studies are deeply connected as their ideas of what being a man is is deeply connected to power. Being in power or having power and control over situations allows them to feel manly. Their testimonies allow us to understand why their perception of people of colour and women makes them fear that they no longer have control over their lives and that they inevitably can’t control their environment.

      By highlighting the roles of these ideologies, we understand how they are contributing factors to the mobilization of acts of violence and extremism due to powerlessness. When examining the sources spoken to in the documentary, we begin to reveal how this convergence to incel ideology and white supremacy may have started. When interviewing a former classmate of Alex Minassian, it’s important to note that he was often made fun of and rejected by those around him. From a young age, the bullying already set him as an outcast to the students, especially romantically. The lack of resources for Alex may be what led him to confide in online forums. As mentioned in Will James’ speech, early prevention and education about masculinities at school could have made a difference in Minessians’ future actions. Once incorporated into the forum, his hatred of others and women is fortified and justified by others who feel similarly. As for Christopher, when growing up in the Deep South in secluded white areas, ignorance towards others is a natural occurrence and it is ingrained in the mindset today as well. When speaking to a local of Charlottesville, she mentions how the city is predominantly back and still faces a lot of racism. This goes to show that it is bigger than just one riot; it has been a generational ignorance that was tolerated for too long. Now, others continue to embrace the disgusting extremism. It is important to note that both of these are forms of hatred to a specific group of people and they are both visible minorities. Part of Kimmel’s text dives into this concept, the instinct of men wanting to be alpha and dominate, he develops the idea that “masculinity is about the drive for domination, the drive for power and conquest”. (Kimmel 49). They will do so by any means; which, in this case, is physical domination. Inceldom and white supremacy both share the common interest of violence and extremism to get a message across. All to say, this is being conducted to show power and instill fear in those around them.

      Both groups share misogynistic perspectives and the sense of societal entitlement caused by their need for violence in moments of powerlessness. Through extensive analysis of online forums used by both parties, incel and white supremacy communities, we see why there is significant overlap in ideologies. For the Charlottesville riot, the online thread of racist tweets and the ability of the group to round up thousands online for a riot is beyond. When investigating they demonstrate no remorse or filter for using slurs and expressing extremist opinions. The incel groups online all converge with one another through platforms like Reddit and feed into one another’s degrading thoughts. In essence, both are vicious cycles of hatred through online platforms like Twitter, Facebook, Reddit etc. It is interesting to note that each participant feels entitled to feeling hatred towards others. Instead of speaking to counsellors or doing some self-reflection, the chosen methods of resolution are using violence and imposing fear. Kimmel states, “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). That is why the men interviewed feel the need to overcompensate online. Those spoken to in the documentaries find it easier to self-justify their actions instead of reflecting on the situation and how they are practicing things such as toxic masculinity, misogyny, racism and extremism. It connects itself to the deeper meanings of Will James’s speech that he neglected to include. Overall, the bigger picture comes down to the fact that the online forums undo any positive masculinity that may have been deep down in the participants. These forums fail to encourage how to positively deal with these feelings. Instead, they promote violent self-justifying behaviour.

The nexus between these two case studies allows viewers to see that there is a very thin line between the root beliefs of inceldom and white supremacy. Both stem from the inability to be a macho man. As well as the fear of not being man enough, whether that be due to rejection or fear of physical overpowerment. All of these things are seen as threats hence the whole point for the outlandish behaviour in the first place. Through thorough analysis of the interviews with participants, analyzing the documentaries themselves and digging into these online forums it proves the correlation between feeling powerless and the use of violence. All of these areas intertwine with the ideas of what being a real man is. And these participants allow us to see beyond the many different facades into the insecurities of these men. How they manage to transform their insecurities about manhood into hatred for others where they feel compelled to use force to prove themselves. However, as similarly mentioned by Will James, instead of practicing positive masculinity that does not harm, harass or categorize others in the process, these men continue to hide misogyny, homophobia and aggression behind what they seem to believe are “traditional values”.