Incel culture spreads

'ADOLESCENCE': ENTITLEMENT AND HATRED OF FEMALES

- Thami Kwazi

Here's a culture that's reared its unwelcome head in today's digital age that's equal parts toxic, dangerous and eerily growing in silence. It's called the incel culture.

A term short for "involuntarily celibate," it's associated with an online subculture made up of men who define themselves as unable to find a romantic or sexual partner despite wanting one.

But what makes this group alarming is not their loneliness, it's the entitlement, the bitterness and, often, the hatred directed at women and girls.

Popularized and propelled by figures like social commentator Andrew Tate, a man not exactly known for having loving relationships with women, incel culture has seeped into online platforms where Tate's misogynistic mantras have found loyal followers.

These digital heroes peddle a warped ideology that continues to spread like wildfire among impressionable young minds—even to South African shores.

It's a murky, uncomfortable subject that's difficult to unpack in conversation, let alone in a way that resonates with the public.

That's why Netflix's chilling and thought-provoking series, Adolescence, hits with the force of a lightning bolt.

Co-created and written by Stephen Graham and Jack Thorne (of The Swimmers and