Inceldom and it's proximity to the manosphere has been a hot topic recently following the arrest of influencer Andrew Tate. A niche community that began in the late 1990s, incels have become a small, but vocal minority on the web.
Despite their small numbers, their ideology and lingo has pierced the mainstream. Inceldom has become such a pertinent topic that hit Channel 4 show Hollyoaks currently have a storyline exploring misogyny and it's devastating consequences - with scenes due to come to a dramatic climax this week
READ MORE: Andrew Tate, incels and the manosphere - how the internet is radicalising young men
But what exactly is an incel and what is some of the language they use?
What is an Incel?
Incel is a shortened phrase for ‘involuntary celibate’. The term was was created by a woman named Alana in the late 1990s. She was then in her mid 20s, had just begun dating, and started a website for lonely people who were well into adulthood and were unable to find love or sexual partners. The forum was initially a positive space where like-minded people would visit to talk about their loneliness.
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Alana left the community and as the years progressed the label was co-opted by lonely young men with body image and self-esteem issues who believed they were denied sexual and romantic partners by society - and that women were to blame. Now, within the incel online communities, women are heavily stereotyped, objectified and dehumanised with some incel forums and websites condoning sexual and physical violence towards women.
Incels have also created a unique lexicon used to describe a range of things such as ideologies, race, gender and . The phrases are often derogatory in origin and are used to describe people of different genders and race.
Take a look at some of them below...
AWALT – 'All Women Are Like That' - this is used to generalise women in a negative way.
Beta – This is used to describe a man who is physically or mentally weak and is the opposite of an ‘alpha male'.
Betabuxx – The term is used to describe a man who finds a partner. However, incels believe that the man is financially supporting the woman whilst she finds sexual fulfilment elsewhere, usually with a 'Chad'.
Blackpill - Blackpill is the nihilistic viewpoint that men are systemically oppressed, and think that the only solution to overcome this would be by a drastic change of the society we live in through violent means.
Chad - Chad is used to describe a man who is handsome, intelligent and charismatic. Chads are ultimately the opposites of incels and can be admired and loathed in some circles.
Cope - Another nihilistic ideology. Cope is used to describe people who work to improve themselves by dieting or exercising for example. The idea is that all this is a way to 'cope' with their situation and is a temporary fix.
Cuck - The term was not created by incels, but cuck is an abbreviation of the word cuckold which is used to describe a the husband of an adulterous wife.
Currycel - This is used to describe incels of south Asian descent.
Fakecel - Used to describe an incel who has had sex.
Femoid - A term used to describe women.
Gymcel - An incel who uses exercise and the gym to 'cope'.
Heightcel - An incel who is involuntary celibate because they are short.
Ricecel- A word used to describe incels of east Asian descent.
Stacey - A Stacey is an unintelligent, attractive and promiscuous woman. Memes in incel circles often depict a Stacey and Chad in a relationship together.
Tyrone - A term used to describe a black 'Chad'. Memes usually depict a Tyrone as a racist caricature.
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