"Incel just means involuntarily celibate, not necessarily homicidal maniac."
This is a bit like arguing that Nazi just means national socialist, no? Incel is widely used in a pejorative sense to describe weak, bitter, failed men whose self-loathing has turned--or is just about to turn--into a deep hatred of women.
"Incel just means involuntarily celibate, not necessarily homicidal maniac."
This is a bit like arguing that Nazi just means national socialist, no? Incel is widely used in a pejorative sense to describe weak, bitter, failed men whose self-loathing has turned--or is just about to turn--into a deep hatred of women.
It functions in exactly the same way as terms like "Karen" and "feminazi" and "woke"; to collectivise a bunch of people to avoid the danger of thinking about them seriously and accidentally humanising them.
Maybe you're in a different bubble to me, but I very rarely see the narrative you're describing. The news media very rarely talks about young men in any meaningful, empathetic way. And even more rarely in a positive or productive way.
Incels in the online world have only themselves to blame for their bad reputation considering that forums are chockful of comments and posts praising Eliot Rodger and other killers, what to speak of the general hateful rants about "foids" and others.
The term "incel" was first coined over a decade ago by a WOMAN (if I recall correctly, a lesbian) who used it to describe her situation.
The news media are churning out a lot of pieces about the "epidemic" of loneliness and, get this, sexlessness, of young men today. Especially conservatives and the right wing somehow think sexlessness amongst unmarried men is now somehow a problem.
“Incels in the online world have only themselves to blame for their bad reputation”
I’m not sure how to make this point any clearer than I already have. I’m not defending “incels.” I’m not speaking up for the people idolising Rodger or going on hateful rants about women. I’m trying, in what feels increasingly like a futile effort, to help you see that the vast majority of young men don’t fall into this category.
The commonly understood meanings of words change. “Woke” didn’t always mean what it generally means today. Nor did “Karen.”
I’ve not seen the pieces you’re talking about. Again, we probably get our news from different algorithms. But whether or not you think it’s silly, sexual (and the attendant romantic), relationships are really important to most young men. The changing rules of these relationships, brought on by many factors including the rise of online dating and the unrealistic expectations of social media, are extremely difficult for many men to navigate. And are worth talking about as far as they’re concerned (especially given that men are still almost exclusively *expected* to navigate them).
I strongly suspect the way conservative media is talking about it isn’t the way I’d like to see it talked about. But that doesn’t make the whole issue meaningless.
"I’ve not seen the pieces you’re talking about. Again, we probably get our news from different algorithms. "
I'm not talking about "news" I'm talking about incel forums.
"the vast majority of young men don’t fall into this category."
I work with some to help them develop male friendships, communal living spaces, bond with their families of origin as well as volunteer in their neighborhoods. These are things these young men need and they are doable. Romantic relationships may never happen for many of them and they need to acknowledge that, move on, and create relationships where they can instead of living in a fantasy world that devolves into depression.
"Incel just means involuntarily celibate, not necessarily homicidal maniac."
This is a bit like arguing that Nazi just means national socialist, no? Incel is widely used in a pejorative sense to describe weak, bitter, failed men whose self-loathing has turned--or is just about to turn--into a deep hatred of women.
It functions in exactly the same way as terms like "Karen" and "feminazi" and "woke"; to collectivise a bunch of people to avoid the danger of thinking about them seriously and accidentally humanising them.
Maybe you're in a different bubble to me, but I very rarely see the narrative you're describing. The news media very rarely talks about young men in any meaningful, empathetic way. And even more rarely in a positive or productive way.
Incels in the online world have only themselves to blame for their bad reputation considering that forums are chockful of comments and posts praising Eliot Rodger and other killers, what to speak of the general hateful rants about "foids" and others.
The term "incel" was first coined over a decade ago by a WOMAN (if I recall correctly, a lesbian) who used it to describe her situation.
The news media are churning out a lot of pieces about the "epidemic" of loneliness and, get this, sexlessness, of young men today. Especially conservatives and the right wing somehow think sexlessness amongst unmarried men is now somehow a problem.
“Incels in the online world have only themselves to blame for their bad reputation”
I’m not sure how to make this point any clearer than I already have. I’m not defending “incels.” I’m not speaking up for the people idolising Rodger or going on hateful rants about women. I’m trying, in what feels increasingly like a futile effort, to help you see that the vast majority of young men don’t fall into this category.
The commonly understood meanings of words change. “Woke” didn’t always mean what it generally means today. Nor did “Karen.”
I’ve not seen the pieces you’re talking about. Again, we probably get our news from different algorithms. But whether or not you think it’s silly, sexual (and the attendant romantic), relationships are really important to most young men. The changing rules of these relationships, brought on by many factors including the rise of online dating and the unrealistic expectations of social media, are extremely difficult for many men to navigate. And are worth talking about as far as they’re concerned (especially given that men are still almost exclusively *expected* to navigate them).
I strongly suspect the way conservative media is talking about it isn’t the way I’d like to see it talked about. But that doesn’t make the whole issue meaningless.
"I’ve not seen the pieces you’re talking about. Again, we probably get our news from different algorithms. "
I'm not talking about "news" I'm talking about incel forums.
"the vast majority of young men don’t fall into this category."
I work with some to help them develop male friendships, communal living spaces, bond with their families of origin as well as volunteer in their neighborhoods. These are things these young men need and they are doable. Romantic relationships may never happen for many of them and they need to acknowledge that, move on, and create relationships where they can instead of living in a fantasy world that devolves into depression.