Community conversation
Recognising Incels as terrorists acknowledges the hateful and violence ideology behind their violent attacks against women and girls. Incels are heterosexual men who blame women and society for their lack of romantic success. Incel ideology is rooted in the belief that women have too much power in the sexual/romantic sphere and ruin incels’ lives by rejecting them. Incels are the most violent sector of 'the manosphere' (online misogynist community including Men's Rights Activists and Pick Up Artists), and have perpetrated a range of deadly attacks against women. Online chats encourage hate speech and fantasties about gender-based violence including rape and murder. Incels are predominantly white males and most attacks have been in North America, with some in Europe and exceptions in other English-speaking countries, such as the January 2022 attack in New Zealand, where two school girls were pinned to a wall by a car, which was driven by a man who identified as an incel.