Recently, the term ‘incel’ has been used as a straw man to justify hatred towards undesirable men, whether they are short, neurodivergent, or ugly. An incel, by definition, is someone who is involuntarily celibate. This definition has expanded over time, and today incels are associated with misogynism, extremist ideologies, and even terrorist attacks.

Today, people are extremely quick to call someone an incel if they are having trouble with women. Why do people do that? Because they don’t want to admit that these so called “incels” are right about heightism, lookism, et cetera, because it’s simply easier to call them incels and not adress the problem. Most importantly, because they hate them. If a short guy is talking about heightism, just call him an incel, all of the studies and arguments will instantly become invalid, because incel=bad. If a school shooting happens, just call the shooter an incel, there’s no need to investigate everything that led him to do it, even if he had mental health issues, because incel=bad. A short guy asks why it is so hard for him to get a girl, he’s an incel. A poorly socialized neurodivergent guy asks why it is so hard for him to get a girl, he’s definitely an incel.

Most of the guys on these groups don’t even know that they are incels or what an incel is, but get caught up in the crossfire and associated with incels when discussing their problems. Painting these groups as incels normalizes any hate targeted to them. They they are using this word, “Incel”, to attack them. It’s no wonder guys on these groups become actual misogynists and extremists, because they were bashed when they needed help. When seeking support, they fall into these pipelines.

The idea of an ‘Incel’ has been so much distorted that some consider them a terrorist group, a threat to women. A study done last year debunks some things associated with incels, one of the main points is violence. “We concur with Lindner that the evidence suggests that extreme inceldom looks more like suicidality than violence toward others.” “The key point is that there does not seem to be compelling evidence, despite a small number of highly florid cases that received tremendous news attention, that incels are particularly prone to violence.” Another study found out that, compared to non-incels, incels have a higher level of depression, anxiety and loneliness, and lower levels of life satisfaction. Incels are a non-issue being portrayed as a threat.

What’s the real threat to women? Most of the violence against women is perpetrated by intimate partners, i.e., not incels. Same thing with rape, 33% of rape cases are commited by intimate partners and 39% by acquaintances, and I’m pretty sure those acquaintances are not incels too, because women get the ick when they see one and not make acquaintances with them. Alcohol is the most used in drug facilitaded in sexual assault cases, so I’m pretty sure these occur in social settings like clubs and parties, places you’ll never see an incel in. A random guy behind a computer screen is not a threat to women.