April 2018. Toronto, Canada. 10 people are killed and 15 are injured in what Alek Minassian dubbed the beginning of the 'incel rebellion'. The killer, a 25-year old male, hailed Elliot Rodger as "the supreme gentleman" on his social media before the attack.
May 2014. Isla Vista, California. 6 people are killed. Elliot Rodger, the perpetrator, is inspired to kill innocent people by one thing: getting a girlfriend and losing his virginity. Despite his obsession with women and seeing them as the gateway to his ultimate gratification, he decides that "he will destroy...all of those beautiful girls [he] desired so much in [his] life, but [could] never have because they despise and loath [him]". His manifesto would be the only remnant of him that remained after his attack He would go on to become a 'saint' to the 'incel' community, and his manifesto would become an 'incel bible' of sorts.
The Past. The Present. The Internet. Ultimately, the "supreme gentleman" is a man who hated women so much that he inspired an online army of men who identify as "involuntary celibates." The Incel identity, self-satisfaction, and worldview revolve around what many consider to be the key element in proving that humans are simply a more advanced animal species: mating.
Ideologically, they believe that women are shallow, vicious, and only attracted to hyper-masculine men, which results in the immense suffering of those who are genetically disadvantaged (them). Radicals like Rodger and Minassian are not the standard for 'incels', but the differentiation relies on two key elements: entitlement and resentment. While most incels feel entitled to sex, radicals have moved past the point of finding support in his 'comrades' and have resigned themselves to pure hatred and extreme condemnation.
Many incels are also Men's rights members, as they see women's freedom to make their own sexual and professional choices as the main culprit for their 'sexual oppression'. The connection between the rise of the white male, conservative violence and these different online communities which serve as free marketing while allowing the group the safe-space to grow is so deep that one report even dubbed Rodger as the first "alt-right" killer.
This is an important connection to make, as it is a specific type of hyper-masculinity that is terrorizing and killing people this way.
Maybe it is not men of color because, even in the presence of hyper-masculinity, the world has constantly reminded them that everything is not theirs for the taking because of the other hierarchies that were made to organize, police, and oppress us. Maybe it is because they are watched and policed more critically and forcefully than others. Maybe it is because the men in positions of power who allow for these things to happen, do not look like them.
Every month. Every year. Everywhere. Hyper-masculinity sits in meetings cursing the women in the room under his breath, begrudgingly hires women for leadership positions because it is trendy, grabs, gropes, pillages, and plunders because after being born and socialized into a world in which he is taught it is his right, he no longer sees the difference between having and not having as his own responsibility. All the while, everyone else must perform the work of life with his interests in mind if they want to live.
