Understanding the Involuntarily Celibate (Incel) Subculture

Last Updated on September 24th, 2026 at 06:00 pm
Originally Published on October 30th, 2023 at 08:00 am

Overview

The incel subculture thrives on reinforcing the beliefs of disillusioned men. I take a look “red-pilled” beliefs on behavior and sentencing outcomes.

Summary

The Involuntarily Celibate, or incel, community sometimes comes to attention after an incident that brings them to the news. However, this is a subculture whose beliefs are becoming more common. It’s time to dig into the research literature on this topic.

Study on Incel Subculture

In a study published in 2022, O’Malley et al studied the incel subculture on two forum sites, one specifically created for incels. The study analyzed over 8,000 posts looking for themes and group norms of the culture.

First some definitions:

  • An incel is a person who is involuntarily celibate. This means they have not had sex for at least six months despite having a desire to have a sexual relationship.

Conversely, what sets an involuntarily celibate individual apart from a non-incel who has not had sex in the past six months are their beliefs.

They become “red-pilled.”

  • They believe we all live under a

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    Reference

    SOURCE RESEARCH

    An Exploration of the Involuntary Celibate (Incel) Subculture Online

    O’Malley, R.L., Holt, K. & Holt, T.J. (2022). An Exploration of the Involuntary Celibate (Incel) Subculture Online. Journal of Interpersonal Violence, 37(7/8)

    DOI: 10.1177/0886260520959625

    Published: 2022
    Research type: Qualitative Study

    View original source →

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