"You Don't Understand. It's Not About Virginity" Sexual Markets, Identity Construction, and Violent Masculinity on an Incel Forum Board
The "manosphere" is an online collection of antifeminists and men's rights activists. Incels, short for involuntary celibates, interact in this space and have been labeled as extreme misogynists, white supremacists, and domestic terrorists. I engage with popular sociological theories of masculinity (including hegemonic, hybrid, and inclusive masculinities) to analyze dominant discourses on the website incels.is. The data for this project are comments from 100 threads randomly sampled from 4,532 total threads posted in 2018. Using a grounded theory approach, I first explore how incels think about sexuality as an economy, devising a scheme that places everyone in a sexual hierarchy based on their "sexual market value." Next, I explore questions of identity, attempting to make sense of who is able to call themselves an incel and who is not. Finally, I draw together ideas of entitlement and victimhood to identify ways that incels perform violence online in an attempt to reassert masculinity. This study ultimately provides a case study to understand ways in which marginalized men still work to reproduce gendered and sexual hierarchies. Disclaimer Incels are often described in the media as extreme misogynists, white supremacists, and domestic terrorists. Their language is often vulgar, graphic, and violent. Acknowledgements First, thank you to my thesis advisor, Dr. Jamie Small, who supported me throughout my entire research process. Your encouragement to continue mulling, generating, and revisiting was invaluable. Next, Dr. Anya Galli Robertson, who was instrumental through my project design, analysis, and writing phases. I don't believe I could have finished this project without your constant, unwavering encouragement. To my thesis cohort members, Ruthey Schultz and Mary McLoughlin, I will forever remember our table in the library, where we worked for hours on our own projects, offered ideas to one another, and reviewed each other's work. Thank you for journeying with me through everything. Thank you to all of the faculty in the Department of Sociology, Anthropology, and Social Work for creating an environment that fosters inquiry and a love of learning. Thank you to all of my friends at UD for listening to my constant talking about this project, and for continuing to love me through it all. And, thank you to my family; your support is endless, and endlessly appreciated.