Essay Sample about Incels

INTRODUCTION

In a hypersexualized society, where masculinity has come to be synonymous with sexual prowess, a faction of human beings has risen to the public eye: Incels. Meet the men who are unable to find a sexual partner, and have decided to make that everyone else’s problem. Incel, (or ‘Involuntarily Celibate’) men lack the physical means, good looks, financial status, and/or personality to obtain a girlfriend. Consequently, they form an overdeveloped sense of injustice with their societal position. Culturally, these men are perceived as minor, cringeworthy nuisances at worst; a concept to throw around as an insult towards a jealous ex or a particularly obnoxious public figure. But where do incels get the audacity? Historical standards for male and female sexuality have created a precedent for men to have many sexual partners while simultaneously shaming women for having any at all. These two elements combine to form a sense of male entitlement which may culminate in bitterness, resentment, and ultimately a deadly threat.

INFAMOUS INCELS

The unfortunate truth is that while most remain problematic but physically harmless, however, there is only so much hatred that a human body can hold. On July 21st of 2021, NBC News reported the arrest of the incel, Tres Genco, for a terrorist plot against an Ohio University sorority (Planas 2021). Just under a month later, The Guardian reported Jake Davidson’s murder-suicide of five others and himself after many aggressive rants on forums catering to the self-titled involuntary celibates (Weaver 2021). One of Davidson’s victims was a three-year-old girl. To style incels as victims of bullying that snapped is a gross de-intensification of their threat and their crimes.

WHAT DOES ENTITLEMENT TO SEX MEAN?

The Merriam-Webster dictionary defines entitlement as “the belief that one is deserving of or entitled to certain privileges”. When one considers the space left by that definition, it is easy to see how incels fit into that. The entire concept of ‘involuntary celibacy’ implies that something is being unjustly withheld when in reality, the rules of basic bodily autonomy remind us that every individual is only entitled to their own body, and no one else’s. In the mind of an incel, however, women owe men sex for the simple fact that they exist. When these men are ‘deprived’ of sexual gratification, it is considered an injustice that should be repaid with violence against their perceived bullies (also known more commonly as women who chose not to sleep with them). When you consider it, the real enemy in this crisis is a bloated sense of entitlement. So how do we explain this unfortunate phenomenon?

WHERE DOES ENTITLEMENT TO SEX COME FROM?

Old Hollywood loved to style women as rewards for returning heroes- think “Gone With the Wind”- and that idea of feminine company as a reward for heroic (or just plain good) behavior has persisted (Moore 2022). The common phrase “nice guys finish last” is an echo of that bitter discontent that some men feel when their mediocrity is not rewarded with hot women falling at their feet and begging for their attentions- nevermind the fact that as soon as that phrase is uttered, the man in question is announcing that he feels cheated of something he is not owed in the first place. Regardless, given that the bar for heterosexual male behavior is practically buried in the ground, an alarming trend of the opposite perception has become fashionable. Incels have concluded that if they do not murder women, they deserve certain ‘feminine commodities’ in the same vein as their cinematic idols. Now onto the individual level damages.

THE IMPACT OF ENTITLEMENT ON MEN

“Involuntarily celibate” males report feeling discriminated against by women, society, and men who meet the standards of Hegemonic Masculinity. Those who are Heterosexual, tough, strong, and have success in the fields of sex and/or romance, while also dominating in the financial or social sector. The group that this paper focuses on would be categorized within the realm of Complicit Masculinity, however, unlike a majority of their peers, they fail to benefit from the precedents established by the superior hegemonically masculine men. These failures to achieve ‘normal’ standards of existence result in entrenched feelings of unfairness about their lives and dissatisfaction with their bodies, to the point of obtaining cosmetic alterations to appear more stereotypically masculine (Manne 2021). Similarly, men who have their masculinity called into question will entrench themselves further in the most saturated elements of toxic masculinity. They lean hard into the traits such as devaluing women and worshipping the heterosexual male (Scaptura 2019). In addition to a lack of self-satisfaction, incels will develop resentment towards society, even going so far as to identify with characters like The Joker, who opposes societal norms in a terroristic manner. The Federal Bureau of Investigation went so far as to issue warnings regarding how images from this film might cause the incel community. highlighting the genuine danger of pent-up aggression and anger (Margolin et. al. 2019).

THE IMPACT OF ENTITLEMENT ON WOMEN

The detrimental impact of incel culture does not stop with men. Unfortunately, the double standards of the involuntary celibate reflect directly back on all women. It irks these men that women can freely express their sexuality without including them. In essence, this supports the previous concept that men should have many sexual partners and women should have none until marriage -Who do they propose incels sleep with? Do not suggest each other, or else you will have insinuated that they fall in the subordinate category (aka homosexual men). In any case, women find themself in a tight position where they will be shamed if they choose to sleep around, and blamed if they happen to be the straw that breaks the camel’s back. This victim-blaming is an unfortunate practice common within issues where the aggressor is of a dominant group (racially, financially, politically, etc.), and it is horrific in that it transfers blame from the actor to the victim. The sorority girls preyed upon by Davidson had no obligation to give him the time of day. Tragically, their lack of interest was the cited reason this murderer-to-be hoped to kill 3000 people in one spree, so they have been forced to shoulder some of the blame (Planas). 

CONCLUSION

In conclusion, the concept of involuntary celibacy is entitlement cloaked in a thin veil of shame and pity-mongering. As in all cases of unprovoked violence, the only ones to blame are the aggressors. The society that shaped them with promises of respect, admiration, success, and sex is not without fault. Slut-shaming and victim-blaming do nothing but take weight away from the perpetrators of egregious crimes by pretending that murder was a reasonable reaction to being turned down for a date. The issue of incel culture is not a matter of mental illness exclusively either. It has become a viral plague that breeds in dark web forums and radical blogs, reaching out to infect the unaware and the aware alike. The Russian Roulette analogy adequately portrays the horrific position of never knowing when it is safe to say no. Incels are different from the average threat to women- there are no generic preventative measures to protect against them, any man could react violently to rejection. This is not a pepper spray problem; it is a societal epidemic that no one seems to care enough about yet. Women deserve to feel safe, and men deserve to feel as though they are enough without establishing a body count.