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The Thought Show: Inside The Dark World Of “Incels”

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Factual: Life Stories

Inside the Dark World of ‘Incels’

17/05/2018 GMT

Inside The Dark World Of “Incels”

BBC World Service - The Thought Show, Inside The Dark World Of “Incels”

Inside the dark world of “Incels”, the online subculture of “involuntarily celibate” men.

Inside the dark world of “Incels” – the online subculture of “involuntarily celibate” men; the myth of tulip mania; and the people who get married to themselves.

Last month, ten people were killed in Toronto after a man drove a van into pedestrians. In a Facebook status before the attack, the suspect referred to an "Incel Rebellion”. "Incel" is short for "involuntarily celibate" and refers to groups of men who feel that they can't enter into sexual relationships. They frequently vent anger against sexually successful men ("Chads") and attractive women ("Stacys"). Incel forums include rants aimed at feminism and women, and some encourage violence. We take a closer look at this dark online subculture. 

The story goes that Amsterdam in the 1630s was gripped by a mania for tulip flowers, but then there was a crash in the market. People ended up bankrupt and threw themselves into canals. This story is still being trotted out as a financial market comparison to buying and selling bitcoin. But how much of what we know of the tulip craze is a myth? 

Why do people marry themselves? Is self-marriage the last resort for the lonely and self-obsessed? Or could a commitment to self-love be a radical new rite of passage? Mary-Ann Ochota finds out why this emerging phenomenon is so popular amongst women in particular, and why self-marriage can be either a meaningful act of self-love, or the ultimate cosplay, and sometimes both.

(Photo Caption: Alek Minassian, the 25-year-old suspect in the Toronto van attack. Photo Credit: LinkedIn)

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