The Rise Of ‘Incel': The New Wave Of Terrorism That Targets You

There’s a new group of extremists gaining ground, targeting females around the world. So what exactly is ‘Incel’? Joshua Joynes investigates…

- Joshua Joynes

Last month, when Alek Minassian allegedly drove his van into a crowd of pedestrians in Toronto, tragically killing 10, it wasn’t declared an act of terrorism, but rather an act of ‘INCEL’ – a disturbing ideology that’s gaining rapid ground. It’s target? Females.

What is ‘Incel’?

“The incel rebellion has begun!” wrote Minassian on Facebook shortly before allegedly crashing a van into pedestrians in Toronto. Those words have since gone viral, but what do they mean?

‘Incel’ is short for ‘involuntary celibate.’ Psychologist Breanna Jayne Sada explains, “’Incels’ are a group of men who identify as being involuntarily unsuccessful with women. They believe that they are genetically inferior in some way and therefore their wishes to be intimate with women are doomed to fail.” In reality? They’re a world of outwardly misogynistic men who blame women for denying them their ‘right’ to sex and relationships. ‘Incels’ work in the deep dark underbelly of the World Wide Web as a group of disgruntled and dangerous men who have turned their social and sexual struggles into a terrifying cult, rooted in hate. They seemingly believe all women are vain and overlook them to choose men purely based on looks and bravado. Internet forums, including Reddit, are littered with posts dedicated to the concept. Last year Reddit banned a large ‘Incel’ focused subreddit community with roughly 40,000 users following a number of shooting by self-proclaimed ‘involuntary celibates’ and people sharing their similar ideologies online.