Skip to main content

LUP Student Papers

LUND UNIVERSITY LIBRARIES

The Rise of the Incel Violence: A Feminist Exploration of How Incels and Incel Violence are Framed in American Counterterrorism Policies and Strategies

Linderoth, Tove LU (2023) FKVK02 20231
Department of Political Science
Abstract
In recent years incel (involuntary celibate) perpetuated violence has escalated in the United States. Incels are motivated by deeply rooted misogynistic assumptions, which dehumanises women and promotes degradation and violence towards the group. Despite evidence of escalation research shows that there still are limited perceptions of this violence as a serious threat. Drawing from ideas of feminist security theory (FST) this study conducts a feminist critical discourse analysis (FCDA) of incels in US counterterrorism policies and strategies between the years 2015-2022. It aims at answering two main questions: How are incels and incel violence framed in US counterterrorism policies and strategies? Why are they framed as such? The analysis... (More)
In recent years incel (involuntary celibate) perpetuated violence has escalated in the United States. Incels are motivated by deeply rooted misogynistic assumptions, which dehumanises women and promotes degradation and violence towards the group. Despite evidence of escalation research shows that there still are limited perceptions of this violence as a serious threat. Drawing from ideas of feminist security theory (FST) this study conducts a feminist critical discourse analysis (FCDA) of incels in US counterterrorism policies and strategies between the years 2015-2022. It aims at answering two main questions: How are incels and incel violence framed in US counterterrorism policies and strategies? Why are they framed as such? The analysis shows a limited vocabulary and absence of language in describing incel and incel violence, suggesting that underlying power structures that prioritise certain issues over others are at work. The paper concludes that incels and incel violence are not, to a greater extent, framed as a security issue. From a FST perspective this is understood as mechanisms of different types of violence and gendered assumptions that marginalise women in security discourse and praxis. (Less)
Please use this url to cite or link to this publication:
author
Linderoth, Tove LU
supervisor
organization
course
FKVK02 20231
year
type
M2 - Bachelor Degree
subject
keywords
incel (involuntary celibate), incel violence, misogyny, feminist security, counterterrorism
language
English
id
9116964
date added to LUP
2023-08-27 17:14:29
date last changed
2023-08-27 17:14:29
@misc{9116964,
  abstract     = {{In recent years incel (involuntary celibate) perpetuated violence has escalated in the United States. Incels are motivated by deeply rooted misogynistic assumptions, which dehumanises women and promotes degradation and violence towards the group. Despite evidence of escalation research shows that there still are limited perceptions of this violence as a serious threat. Drawing from ideas of feminist security theory (FST) this study conducts a feminist critical discourse analysis (FCDA) of incels in US counterterrorism policies and strategies between the years 2015-2022. It aims at answering two main questions: How are incels and incel violence framed in US counterterrorism policies and strategies? Why are they framed as such? The analysis shows a limited vocabulary and absence of language in describing incel and incel violence, suggesting that underlying power structures that prioritise certain issues over others are at work. The paper concludes that incels and incel violence are not, to a greater extent, framed as a security issue. From a FST perspective this is understood as mechanisms of different types of violence and gendered assumptions that marginalise women in security discourse and praxis.}},
  author       = {{Linderoth, Tove}},
  language     = {{eng}},
  note         = {{Student Paper}},
  title        = {{The Rise of the Incel Violence: A Feminist Exploration of How Incels and Incel Violence are Framed in American Counterterrorism Policies and Strategies}},
  year         = {{2023}},
}