Connecting neoliberal ideology and incel ideology

Abstract

Incels are an online transgressive subculture holding misogynistic views of women, including the belief that women unfairly refuse them sex. While there have been few heinous physical attacks by individuals self-identifying as incels, their ideologies also pose a significant threat to the struggle to end misogyny. This thesis explores and identifies connections between neoliberalism and incel ideologies. A netnographic method was employed to collect qualitative data from a range of social media communities. Six major themes emerged from these data: resentment, hopelessness, coping with ontological insecurity, inauthentic women, significance of sexual relations, and the sexualization and objectification of women. These themes are connected to contemporary features of neoliberal ideology, and finds that incels either acknowledge but reject these neoliberal expectations or incorporate them into their own belief systems.