Narrating Male Disposability - A netnographic study on the construction and weaponization of incel narratives
(2025) CCRM20 20251Sociology
- Abstract
- Involuntary celibates, more commonly known as incels, have increasingly drawn scholarly
attention for their expression of fatalism, misogyny, and appraisal of violence. While existing
literature has addressed the risk of radicalization and the ideological content within this online
community, less work has examined how male incels narratively construct their collective
identity and how these narratives function to morally justify violence. Drawing on narrative
theory (Presser, 2016; Mayer, 2014), the concept of homosociality (Lipman-Blumen, 1976; Bird,
1996), and Halpin’s (2022) framework of weaponized subordination, this thesis examines how
incel narratives circulate within online forums, and how it is shaped through collective
... (More) - Involuntary celibates, more commonly known as incels, have increasingly drawn scholarly
attention for their expression of fatalism, misogyny, and appraisal of violence. While existing
literature has addressed the risk of radicalization and the ideological content within this online
community, less work has examined how male incels narratively construct their collective
identity and how these narratives function to morally justify violence. Drawing on narrative
theory (Presser, 2016; Mayer, 2014), the concept of homosociality (Lipman-Blumen, 1976; Bird,
1996), and Halpin’s (2022) framework of weaponized subordination, this thesis examines how
incel narratives circulate within online forums, and how it is shaped through collective
storytelling, affective grievance, and oppositional identity formation. Through a qualitative
netnographic approach, approximately 1,600 user comments across two major incel forums,
Incel.is and Looksmax.org, were collected and analyzed using applied thematic and performance
narrative analysis. The findings in this thesis reveal that incels construct a collective narrative of
a dual-layered exclusion: rejected by women as romantic partners, and dismissed by men as
friends and equals. Further, rather than challenging the systems that exclude them, it is
demonstrated in the analysis how incels use their marginalization to reassert their claims to
hegemonic masculinity. Violence, in this context, is not viewed as a breakdown of order, but a
legitimate path to becoming visible. (Less) - Popular Abstract
- In certain corners of the internet, a group of men who refer to themselves as “incels”, short for
involuntary celibates, have established communities built around shared feelings of romantic
rejection, anger, and isolation. Hidden beneath the misogynistic views, slogans, and controversial
headlines, there is something deeper: a story. This thesis explores how self-identified incels use
storytelling to make sense of their world, to define who they are, and how it is used to justify the
harm that they believe is necessary to be seen.
Through an in-depth analysis of two of the most active incel forums, Incel.is and Looksmax.org,
this thesis examines narratives collectively constructed by incels. It is demonstrated in the
analysis of... (More) - In certain corners of the internet, a group of men who refer to themselves as “incels”, short for
involuntary celibates, have established communities built around shared feelings of romantic
rejection, anger, and isolation. Hidden beneath the misogynistic views, slogans, and controversial
headlines, there is something deeper: a story. This thesis explores how self-identified incels use
storytelling to make sense of their world, to define who they are, and how it is used to justify the
harm that they believe is necessary to be seen.
Through an in-depth analysis of two of the most active incel forums, Incel.is and Looksmax.org,
this thesis examines narratives collectively constructed by incels. It is demonstrated in the
analysis of this study, that incels narrate themselves as invisible figures in society, who are
rejected by women as romantic partners, ignored by men, and are powerless in a society that they
believe only rewards good looks and status. Not only are these narratives emotionally charged,
frequently filled with bitterness, humiliation, and a longing for recognition, but they also allow
incels to form a collective identity based on the idea that the world is fundamentally unfair to
them.
Drawing on theories about masculinity, social exclusion, and storytelling, this thesis highlights
how these collectively constructed narratives do more than explain suffering, they push toward
action. In this context, violence is not portrayed as mindless or random, instead, it is a legitimate
way to force society to acknowledge incels’ existence. That is why figures like Elliot Rodger,
widely regarded as the first “incel terrorist” after killing six people before taking his own life in
2014, are celebrated in these communities. He is remembered not just for the act itself, but for
transcending their invisibility, for transforming pain into power by forcing the world to pay
attention.
This thesis does not excuse or downplay the dangers of incel ideology. Rather, it seeks to expand
existing literature by examining how these communities transform personal grievance into a
collective identity, and how, in the darkest of cases, stories themselves can become weapons. (Less)
Please use this url to cite or link to this publication:
http://lup.lub.lu.se/student-papers/record/9206920
- author
- Regebro, Hampus LU
- supervisor
-
- Erik Hannerz LU
- organization
- course
- CCRM20 20251
- year
- 2025
- type
- H2 - Master's Degree (Two Years)
- subject
- keywords
- Incels, narrative criminology, misogynistic violence, homosociality, weaponized subordination, victimhood.
- language
- English
- id
- 9206920
- date added to LUP
- 2025-06-30 11:57:30
- date last changed
- 2025-06-30 11:57:30
@misc{9206920,
abstract = {{Involuntary celibates, more commonly known as incels, have increasingly drawn scholarly
attention for their expression of fatalism, misogyny, and appraisal of violence. While existing
literature has addressed the risk of radicalization and the ideological content within this online
community, less work has examined how male incels narratively construct their collective
identity and how these narratives function to morally justify violence. Drawing on narrative
theory (Presser, 2016; Mayer, 2014), the concept of homosociality (Lipman-Blumen, 1976; Bird,
1996), and Halpin’s (2022) framework of weaponized subordination, this thesis examines how
incel narratives circulate within online forums, and how it is shaped through collective
storytelling, affective grievance, and oppositional identity formation. Through a qualitative
netnographic approach, approximately 1,600 user comments across two major incel forums,
Incel.is and Looksmax.org, were collected and analyzed using applied thematic and performance
narrative analysis. The findings in this thesis reveal that incels construct a collective narrative of
a dual-layered exclusion: rejected by women as romantic partners, and dismissed by men as
friends and equals. Further, rather than challenging the systems that exclude them, it is
demonstrated in the analysis how incels use their marginalization to reassert their claims to
hegemonic masculinity. Violence, in this context, is not viewed as a breakdown of order, but a
legitimate path to becoming visible.}},
author = {{Regebro, Hampus}},
language = {{eng}},
note = {{Student Paper}},
title = {{Narrating Male Disposability - A netnographic study on the construction and weaponization of incel narratives}},
year = {{2025}},
}