incel

plural incels · alternative invcel

1. countableinformalrareuncountable"Involuntary celibacy": the state of being not sexually active despite wishing to be.First known use 20th c.

   Synonyms: incelibacy, love-shyness, fuckstration, AFCdom, AFCness

2. countableuncountableSomeone (especially a man) who desires a sexual relationship but considers themselves unable to attract a partner; (often specifically), a member of an online subculture of people who identify in this way, often adopting resentful or misogynistic attitudes towards women as a result.First known use 21st c.

   Who are the ‘incels’ and how do they relate to Toronto van attack?

   2018 April 25, Alex Hern, https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2018/apr/25/what-is-incel-movement-toronto-van-attack-suspect, The Guardian

   5 more examples

   Though, involuntary celibates (or incels) shouldn't try to rationalize a dateless season or pass off sexual awkwardness as virtue; […]

   2004, Phineas Mollod, Jason Tesauro, The Modern Lover: A Playbook for Suitors, Spouses & Ringless Carousers, Ten Speed Press, published 2004, →ISBN, page 90

   Another study by Donnelly of seventy-seven incels in marriages or long-term relationships in the Journal of Marriage and Family used a web-based questionnaire to ask people why they stayed in their sexless relationships (defined in this case as no sex for six months).

   2009, Luisa Dillner, Love by Numbers: The Hidden Facts Behind Everyone's Relationships, Profile Books, published 2009, →ISBN, page 153

   It is not clear when the term incels was coined, but the link between misogyny and violence against women has emerged on sites where incel communities gather.

   2017 November 9, Christine Hauser, “Reddit Bans ‘Incel’ Group for Inciting Violence Against Women”, in The New York Times

   The incel ideology has already inspired the murders of at least sixteen people.

   2018 May 15, Jia Tolentino, “The Rage of the Incels”, in The New Yorker

   This report finds that the Wiki is a site of attempts to divorce the concept of being an incel from believing in the blackpill, and we argue that this is intended as a means of both expanding the category of incels to make them politically relevant, and dissociating the label ‘incel’ from violent misogyny.

   2023 January 28, Meg Roser, Charlotte Chalker and Tim Squirrell, “Spitting out the blackpill: Evaluating how incels present themselves in their own words on the incel Wiki”, in Institute for Strategic Dialogue, pages 5-6

   Antonyms: volcel

alternative invcel

1. not comparablelifestyleNot having sexual relations despite wishing to.

   People who are 'incel' are often suspected as being gay. It's annoying.

   2001 May 30, Gra - gra, “I love you!”, in alt.support.shyness (Usenet)