2024 Theses Master's

Incels and Online Dating: How Incels’ Online Dating Experiences Impact Their Misogynistic Rhetoric

Karamali, Lina

Involuntary celibate, or “incel,” communities online have become more well-known in recent years, primarily as a result of several high-profile instances of incels committing mass violence attacks across the globe. Because much of incel ideology is fueled by failure in romantic and sexual endeavors, it seems likely that the dating world today, a world that resides primarily online and on phone apps, would be inextricably intertwined with incel ideology. The threat that incel violence poses is a gender-based one, whether it is incited by misogyny and targets women or takes its form as self-harm or suicidal ideation toward (overwhelmingly male) incels themselves.

As a result, this study examines the connection between online dating and gender-based violence, investigating whether incels’ experiences on dating apps reinforce their ideology and if those experiences might exacerbate any tendencies toward violent inclinations. Previous research in this realm has been severely limited, and this paper strives to highlight an important connection in incel ideology that could impact the risk of future instances of incel violence.

Through an analysis of data found on the incel forum Incels.is, this study finds that incel experiences on dating apps do reinforce incel ideology and that “chadfishing,” a method of catfishing used by incels to entice women, creates violations of privacy and has potential as a tool for gender-based violence. As a result, this paper makes several recommendations for future actions to mitigate this risk and to provide resources for incels that may help ameliorate the widespread mental health issues and risks of violence within the incel community.