The Process of Digital Radical Misogyny Examined Through Spiral of Silence and Third Person Theory
Summary: This paper aims to examine the process of digital radicalisation of the male supremacist group, ‘incel.’ This process will be examined through the communication theories of the Spiral of Silence, Third Person Theory and how they connect to specific radicalisation mechanisms.
The Spiral of Silence isolates extreme opinions from the public sphere, on the individual and group level. However, these opinions are allowed to be expressed and flourish in the digital sphere. The Third Person Theory further isolates members and establishes group mentality, which allows for inner-group radicalisation and violent actions through specific mechanisms.
Key Words: Spiral of Silence, Third Person Theory, Social Comparison Theory, Relevant Argument Theory, digital communities, radicalisation, group mentality, misogyny, sexism, communication theories, incel, male supremacy
Introduction
Violence against women is a rampant and systemic public health issue worldwide. Globally, almost one third of women report some form of physical and/or sexual violence by their intimate partner and almost 40% of female murder victims are committed by male intimate partners, according to the World Health Organisation. Men are more likely to perpetrate violence against women if they have low education, a history of child maltreatment, exposure to domestic violence, harmful use of alcohol, and exposure to unequal gender norms including attitudes accepting of violence, and a sense of entitlement over women. Entitlement to a women’s attention and body is an overwhelming issue that affects women’s lives daily and has led to the formation of anger-driven, misogynistic digital communities. One in particular is the “incel” community.
Incel, or “involuntary celibate,” describes a division of men who believe they do not receive the attention from women they believe they deserve. This digital circle is a subset of the ideology and hate group of male supremacy, white supremacy, and the “Manosphere.” This ideology has become an exponentially popular and widespread community within the past few years, flourishing in online forums such as 4chan and Reddit. Although this community is comprised of men from all over the world, the majority are generally caucasian men from Western countries. This community is known for its extreme misogyny and has recently come into the public spotlight after being linked to several terror attacks, school shootings and the rise of the alt-right. Similarly, the common denominator for almost all terrorists and attackers has been a history of domestic violence and hatred of women, according to analysis of FBI data by Everytown for Gun Safety.
This paper will examine the process of radicalisation within digital incel communities through the communication theories Spiral of Silence and Third Person Theory. First, Elliot Rodger will be introduced, who is seen as the most prominent and celebrated incel. The theories will be applied to explain his individual process of radicalisation into violent action. Then, the incel community will be described including the inception, beliefs, and the importance of understanding these groups. Next, the Spiral of Silence will be applied to explain how these men are isolated on a group scale and discover these online communities. Furthermore, Third Person Theory will be used to describe how these beliefs are reinforced and transformed into the perceived absolute truth. Lastly, the two communication theories will be connected to the process of radicalisation within group mentality.
The First Incel: Elliot Rodger
“Infamy is better than total obscurity,” wrote Elliot Rodger, the 22-year-old terrorist from California, in his 141-page manifesto titled, “My Twisted World.” Rodger became infamous for the terrorist attack on the University of California, Santa Barbara in May of 2014. He killed six people before killing himself.
His manifesto, which was released the same day as his rampage, documented his life to display what had brought him to this point; the summarised version is his increasing anger and inability to live because he was “deprived of female pleasure.”
Rodger grew up in southern California in a wealthy and privileged family. He regularly attended Hollywood premieres, wore designer clothes, and drove expensive cars. He showed signs of vengeance from a young age and lashed out when he was rebuffed by authority figures. As he matured, he became obsessed with the perceived benefits of status and wealth. But his severe social anxiety prevented him from approaching those whose interactions he craved, specifically girls and the “cool kids.” He grew angry, resentful, and entitled when they did not pay attention to him, despite his efforts of flashing wealth. He grew up a loner, plagued by social anxiety and fear of judgement. He became obsessed with buying designer clothes and driving nice cars, hoping to attract friends and a girlfriend.
As Rodger’s anger grew, so did his isolation. He dropped out of school, lost friends, and spent more time on his computer, in online games and chatrooms. He frequented Bodybuilding Forum and PUAHate, two forums known for their deeply rooted misogyny and loathing of women.
He viewed sex as the quintessential marker of success for a teenage boy, and decided if he could not have it, no one could. His resentment of women grew as he believed they gave pleasure to those who did not deserve it, those he deemed as “Alpha Males” or “Chads;” aggressive, uncaring, good looking, and stupid men. He referred to himself as the “Ultimate Gentleman,” the polite and educated boy who deserved women’s attention. As his resentment toward women and couples grew, his theories became more radical. “Those girls deserved to be dumped in boiling water for the crime of not giving me the attention and adoration I so rightfully deserve!” (Rodger, 2014).
He began to refer to himself as a god, a superior being, who alone saw the world in its truest form and would punish those he deemed unworthy. He casually described women as “mentally ill,” and “vicious, evil, barbaric animals, and they need to be treated as such,” who should not be allowed to choose their own sexual partners (Rodger, 2014). He believed men are rational, therefore they should be trusted to choose women for the better of humankind, as a form of a sexual marketplace. He dreamt of building concentration camps for women, and claimed “I would take great pleasure and satisfaction in condemning every single woman on earth to starve to death” (Rodger, 2014).
In his manifesto, Rodger asserted “This whole viewpoint and ideology of abolishing sex stems from being deprived of it all my life. If I cannot have it, I will do everything I can to DESTROY IT. My orchestration of the Day of Retribution is my attempt to do everything, in my power, to destroy everything I cannot have. All of those beautiful girls I’ve desired so much in my life, but can never have because they despise and loathe me, I will destroy. All of those popular people who live hedonistic lives of pleasure, I will destroy, because they never accepted me as one of them. I will kill them all and make them suffer, just as they have made me suffer. It is only fair” (Rodger, 2014).
After publishing his manifesto and rambling YouTube videos, Rodger stabbed his two roommates and went on a shooting spree around his university campus, titled his ‘Day of Retribution,’ intending to target a specific sorority house. Rodger killed himself during the rampage.
The Lone Wolf Terrorist: Elliot Rodger and Communication Theories
Elliot Rodger’s process of radicalisation on an individual level can be analysed through the Spiral of Silence and the Third Person Theory. The Spiral of Silence is the theory that opinions viewed to be more popular or societally acceptable will prevail over less popular opinions in the public sphere. “‘Spiral of Silence’ theory predicts that perceptions of a ‘climate of opinion’ formed from mass media presentations encourage some to speak out and express their viewpoints, while others withdraw from public debate” (Noelle-Neumann, 1984). As popular opinions grow and become the norm, the losing opinions will be expressed less often, eventually spiralling into obsoleteness.
Rodger mentions key concepts to the Spiral of Silence theory throughout his manifesto. When describing his ailing relationships, he said “I wisely refrained from revealing any of my political views, of which disturbed most people” (Rodger, 2014). Rodger was aware of his friends’ and family’s discomfort with his violent outbursts and wild rants about women and life, thus he began to self-censor and instead found an outlet online.
“The Spring of 2013 was also the time when I came across the website PUAHate.com. It is a forum full of men who are starved of sex, just like me. Many of them have their own theories of what women are attracted to, and many of them share my hatred of women, though unlike me they would be too cowardly to act on it. Reading the posts on that website only confirmed many of the theories I had about how wicked and degenerate women really are. Most of the people on that website have extremely stupid opinions that I found very frustrating, but I found a few to be quite insightful” (Rodger, 2014).
The more time Rodger spent on these forums, the more Rodger believed to know the absolute truth and his sense of superiority grew. “I am more than human. I am superior to them all. I am Elliot Rodger... Magnificent, glorious, supreme, eminent... Divine! I am the closest thing there is to a living god. Humanity is a disgusting, depraved, and evil species. It is my purpose to punish them all” (Rodger, 2014). Rodger’s supposed superiority allowed him to to see the truth about women and society. “In the midst of my suffering, I have been able to see the world much clearer than others. I have vision that other people lack” (Rodger, 2014). Rodger attempted to share this truth with his friends and family, even going so far as to share blogs and threads. “The website PUAHate is very depressing. It shows just how bleak and cruel the world is due of the evilness of women. I tried to show it to my parents, to give them some sort dose of reality as to why I am so miserable” (Rodger, 2014). Rodger made sweeping claims about the state of the world, based off his limited experiences and interactions with women. “…a consistent finding in the social cognition literature is that individuals make independent judgements about their personal situations and about the general state of the environment” (Mutz, 1989).
His perceived clarity is what prompted him to act on his beliefs and plan his Day of Retribution, which describes the ‘effect’ part of Third Person Theory. “This hypothesis [Third Person Effect] also suggests that people may take significant actions based on these perceptions” (Mutz, 1989). Rodger believed women and couples deserved to be punished for having what he lacked.
“In fully realising these truths about the world, I have created the ultimate and perfect ideology of how a fair and pure world would work” (Rodger, 2014). Rodger’s perfect ideology involved quarantining and starving all women, except for a select few who are kept alive solely for reproductive purposes. He believed men will thrive if there is no chance for sexual competition. The characteristics of lone wolf terrorists were developed and published by Clark McCauley and Sophia Moskalenko in “Toward a Profile of Lone Wolf Terrorists: What Moves an Individual From Radical Opinion to Radical Action” in 2014. They focused on the common components of two kinds of mostly lone actor violent offenders: assassins and school attackers. Their study included 37 incidents of targeted school attacks between 1974 and 2000, with a total of 41 attackers. The report coded 30 of the 41 school attackers as having attacked alone (81%) and four attackers carried out their violence alone, but were reported to have had some kind of assistance planning the attack. Assassination in the United States reviewed 74 incidents between 1949 and 1996 in which 83 people had either attacked (46%), or tried to attack (54% intercepted in the vicinity of the target with a weapon), a prominent person in the United States. Of the 83 assassins, 63 (76%) acted alone. Rodger, and countless other terrorists, fit the four main characteristics developed by McCauley and Moskalenko: grievance, depression, unfreezing, and weapons use outside of the military.
Grievance acts as a form of individualised radicalisation through victimisation. “I am the true victim in all of this. I am the good guy” (Rodger, 2014). There is a perception of persecution, being bullied, threatened, attacked, or rejected. The prevalence of grievance was high for both school attackers (81%) and assassins (67%). Depression, including suicidal tendencies, was coded for the majority of school attackers (78%), and nearly half of assassins (44%). Rodger alluded to specific plans to kill himself throughout his manifesto. “…I will shoot myself in the head with two of my handguns simultaneously. If the gunshots don’t kill me, the deadly drug mixture eventually will” (Rodger, 2014).
Unfreezing refers to a personal disconnection or distinct change, such as a perceived major loss of relationship or status, failure, or triggering experience. “Loss of connection and status leaves an individual with less to lose in radical action, including violence. Almost all school attackers (98%) were coded for unfreezing, and almost half of assassins showed unfreezing.” In an act of desperation, Rodger uploaded a video to YouTube to ask women why they did not like him, however no women responded. “That alone [a response] would have prevented the Day of Retribution, if one girl had just given me one chance. But no... As expected, I got absolutely no response from any girls. The only responses I got were from other men who called me names and made fun of me. Women don’t care about me at all. They won’t even deign to tell my why they’ve mistreated me” (Rodger, 2014). Although Rodger was mistreated by men online, he still put the blame on women.
Lastly, over half of assassins (71%) and school attackers (63%) have had a history of weapons use outside of the military. Rodger was able to obtain guns easily and regularly practiced his aim at gun rangers. “There I was, practicing shooting with real guns because I had a plan to carry out a massacre” (Rodger, 2014).
Rodger is considered the most infamous incel, a movement which has grown exponentially since his attack in 2014. He is regularly hailed as the “Ultimate” or “Supreme Gentleman” by users, “the hERo,” and the anniversary of his attack is celebrated yearly on the blogs. He has inspired several other members to violent outbursts, including the Parkland school shooter in February 2018 and the van attack in Toronto. The terrorist who killed 10 and injured 15 people in Toronto in April 2018, is alleged to have posted a Facebook status shortly before the attack which read, “The Incel Rebellion has already begun! We will overthrow all the Chads and Stacys! All hail Supreme Gentleman Elliot Rodger!”
The Incel Community
Incel, is described as “someone who, for various reasons, cannot enter into a sexual and/or romantic relationship even though they desire such a thing,” by the subreddit /r/braincels. This digital community is a part of the male supremacy ideology that has become rampant in recent years and was recently specified as a hate group. According to the Southern Poverty Law Center [SPLC] website, “Male supremacy misrepresents all women as genetically inferior, manipulative and stupid and reduces them to their reproductive or sexual function — with sex being something that they owe men and that can or even should be coerced out of them. Driven by a biological analysis of women as fundamentally inferior to men, male supremacists malign women specifically for their gender. A thinly veiled desire for the domination of women and a conviction that the current system oppresses men in favour of women are the unifying tenets of the male supremacist worldview.”
The prevalence and coordination of male supremacy, or “manosphere” groups, is widely documented. For example, the #Gamergate campaign in 2014, which aimed to address ethics and diversity in the gaming industry, was hijacked and shifted into a full-blown campaign against women in the video game industry, led by a disgruntled ex-boyfriend of a female video game developer. Men coordinated this digital attack between gaming platforms, YouTube and threads on 4chan and Reddit; and was framed by digital death and rape threats against female gamers and developers. These types of attacks are increasingly unrestrained, and prompted many women to leave social media altogether. Most recently, two Star Wars actresses were harassed so thoroughly and violently by male fans that both chose to delete their online presences altogether.
The incel movement is a subset of male supremacy and the Pick-Up Artist [PUA] movement, which discusses manipulative techniques and strategies to oblige and lure women into sex. There are several PUA subreddits that have more than 250,000 subscribers each. One male supremacist subreddit, titled the Red Pill, has over 270,000 subscribers as of June 2018. This subreddit’s bio is “The Red Pill: Discussion of sexual strategy in a culture increasingly lacking a positive identity for men.” This subreddit was created by Republican New Hampshire State Representative Robert Fisher, who has since resigned from his seat. Fisher once went so far to allege rape was not absolutely terrible because the rapist enjoyed himself, the only value a woman has is her body, and that feminists and most women want to be dominated and raped.
Perhaps the most prominent PUA is Roosh V., who is the founder of the blog “Return of Kings.” Roosh has repeatedly boasted of raping women and regularly publishes articles on his website with headlines such as “When Her No Means Yes,” “The Intellectual Inferiority of Women,” and has even organised a “Fat-Shaming Week” to humiliate women into becoming “more attractive to men.” Roosh has a loyal following of over 40,000 Twitter followers and regularly has over 30,000 views on his YouTube videos. Roosh has since been banned from entering the U.K.
The incel community has formed as a result of the PUA movement, when anger over their predatory and manipulative tactics were unsuccessful. Men who felt deceived by these seduction methods, but still felt entitled to sexual attention from women eventually gathered and began to call themselves “incels.” The content of this first subreddit was so vile that it was banned in November 2017, which featured posts entitled “All Women Are Sluts,” regularly discussed women’s intellectual inferiority and cruelty, and referred to women as “femoids” and “cum-dumpsters.”
Incel also includes the anger from men who feel they are not allocated the sexual partners they believe they deserve. This means they reject women they believe are not up to their standards: usually thin, blonde, caucasian, and obedient. One exchange between three users said: “I have always been against fucking an overweight or obese landwhale in the past however, I am getting desperate and wouldn't mind fucking a landwhale in the near future. If you guys had the chance, would you further lower your standards and fuck a super fat chick?” The proceeding comment read, “No suicide before that happens, it’s over” and the last comment read, “Fat women do not count. You might as well be fucking a tr*nny.” Incels advocate for the legalisation of rape, enslavement of women, and regularly promote violent misogyny, which has strong connections to the alt-right and white supremacy movements. These groups are characterised by angry rants blaming feminism and female empowerment for the decline of Western civilisation and the only way to reverse this decline is to repeal women’s suffrage.
“Several distinct cultural changes have created a situation in which many men who hate women do not have the access to women’s bodies that they would have had in an earlier era. The sexual revolution urged women to seek liberation. The self-esteem movement taught women that they were valuable beyond what convention might dictate. The rise of mainstream feminism gave women certainty and company in these convictions. And the Internet-enabled efficiency of today’s sexual marketplace allowed people to find potential sexual partners with a minimum of barriers and restraints. Most American women now grow up understanding that they can and should choose who they want to have sex with,” wrote Jia Tolentino, for the New Yorker in May 2018.
From a young age, women are conditioned to blame themselves if they are not desirable to men. On the other hand, men are also conditioned to blame women if they are not found attractive to women. As women become more educated and financially stable, they are enabled more independence and freedom in their relationships.
The formation of incel groups is a direct result of this female empowerment. According to SPLC, “The hatred these men feel stems — crucially — not from their belief that they’re entitled to sex, but from their belief that women are required to give it to them. When women don’t, incels weaponise their hate.”
On a myriad of subreddits, 4chan threads, and other chat rooms; the harassment and intimidation of women is encouraged and applauded in an attempt to “shock society out of its current coma,” according to Paul Elam, another prominent misogynist and founder of the website A Voice For Men. Elam has dubbed October “Bash a Violent Bitch Month” and regularly advocates for the violent harassment of women online, which has forced several women to flee their homes for safety reasons.
Misogyny has always existed and been normalised in the public sphere, but as digital connections and easy access to people continues to grow through social media, toxicity also has had the opportunity to spread.
The Path to Isolation: Incels & The Spiral of Silence
As stated above, the Spiral of Silence is the theory that popular opinions will prevail over less popular opinions within the public sphere, however this theory ignores the public sphere dominated online. This theory can be applied to Rodger on the individual scale, but also can be applied to the rest of group members, both in society and within the group dynamic itself.
In reference to the incel community, the Spiral of Silence is relevant to a specific limitation. Men are isolated from expressing their opinions publicly, but only until they log online. The ability to sit in anonymity, behind a screen and an username, has conducted an absence of filters and consequences. The public opinion has less significance and the user’s opinion becomes the most salient. “Some members of this group may get accustomed to isolation, and many of them may manage to support their opinions by selecting out persons and media which confirm their views” (Noelle-Neumann, 1974). Incels feel isolated by their opinions and anger, however the accessibility to diverse opinions allows them to seek affirmation in other spheres.
One user published a thread titled “This forum is literally the only place i feel at home on the Net.” The user continued, “No femoids, great mods and freedom to say what I want. I would be a lot more miserable if this place went away. Everywhere else is cucked and full of femoid influence. Even the best games are f*cking infested. I literally feel alone when I am not here.” Another thread is titled “This is place is my cope” and has a comment that says “…a community to vent, a community where you’re accepted by like-minded people…makes you/me feel LESS angry. If the shitcunts succeed and bring down every non-feminist community for men to gather, they might regret that, because the feeling of being isolated is far more damaging and radicalising…” Chatrooms and group forums have not only allowed easy access to every opinion, but have allowed these opinions to flourish.
Digital communities have created an interesting process in terms of the Spiral of Silence. “He may find himself on one of two sides. He may discover that he agrees with the prevailing (or winning) view, which boosts his self-confidence and enables him to express himself with an untroubled mind and without any danger of isolation, in conversation, by cutting those who hold different views. Or he may find that the views he holds are losing ground; the more this appears to be so, the more uncertain he will become of himself, and the less he will be inclined to express his opinion” (Noelle-Neumann, 1974). These men begin vulnerable on the “losing opinion,” most likely questioning themselves and their beliefs, however they find similar opinions online. They realise that although their opinion is considered “losing” in one sphere, that same opinion is considered the “winning opinion” in another sphere, stop questioning themselves, and redirect their anger to women. The larger the communities, the more their opinions are reinforced and emboldened.
As social media has intertwined itself into modern society, and the anonymity that follows, the perception of people withholding opinions appears to have greatly diminished. Social interaction has been divided with a significant portion reserved to online interaction, which has changed the way we communicate. Public opinion is formed through social interactions in public, but the effects of that public moving to a separate and secluded entity have led to selected “silence.” Any opinion can be voiced online and there will almost always be someone else with a similar opinion to strengthen that vitality. This destroys the idea that as an opinion becomes less popular and accepted, it will diminish. The Spiral of Silence still exists to a very basic extent, however is regularly challenged with the idea of free speech and freedom of opinion, especially in a digital world.
What is most alarming is that there are almost 40,000 members in incel forums on Reddit and 4chan, which the main goal is to empower and advocate for the “Beta Uprising.” The prevalence of these online groups has empowered men to voice their opinions publicly and even go so far as to act on these aggressions, as seen in Santa Barbara and Toronto. “Measure of the perceived likelihood of success for an issue position…measures the willingness to express an opinion” (Mutz, 1989).
However, the Spiral of Silence does not exist solely in the public sphere; there is also a significant amount of pressure to conform within online communities. Once incels discover these forums, the pressure of persuasion is reinforced by the threat of returning to isolation. More moderate members may feel the need to agree with specific opinions, in the process silencing former opinions. “Groups differ in their power to set moral standards. The social reality value of a group is weak to the extent that members belong to other groups with competing standards of value. Conversely, the social reality value of a group is strong when members are cut off from other groups. This principle is the foundation of many powerful forms of group-focused persuasion, including cult recruiting and thought reform or brainwashing” (McCauley & Moskalenko, 2008). Groups that have strong cohesion or agreement form strong relationships and can even lead to the justification or required violence of those who threaten the group. As more moderate members lose moderate opinions, the belief of discovering the ultimate truth prevails.
As the incel trend has caught media attention, several prominent newspapers, media sources, and even university professors have published articles justifying and rationalising incel anger and the idea of a sexual marketplace.
New York Times columnist, Ross Douthat, wrote an opinion piece for the New York Times in May 2018 titled “The Redistribution of Sex.” In the column, he stated: Sometimes the extremists and radicals and weirdos see the world more clearly than the respectable and moderate and sane. He also speculated that sex, much like property and money, is a resource and “…if the new order worked as its revolutionary architects intended, sex would be more justly distributed than it is today.”
Similarly, Robin Hanson, a George Mason University Economics Professor, published a post on his personal blog in April 2018 speculating to the incel discussion and “sex inequality.” In his post, Hanson precludes with this idea: If we are concerned about the just distribution of property and money, why do we assume that the desire for some sort of sexual redistribution is inherently ridiculous?
He justifies this idea with “one might plausibly argue that those with much less access to sex suffer to a similar degree as those with low income, and might similarly hope to gain from organising around this identity, to lobby for redistribution along this axis and to at least implicitly threaten violence if their demands are not met.”
The striking parallels between access to objects and access to other people’s, specifically women’s, bodies only furthers the dehumanisation and commodifying of women. He offers some policy solutions, aside from rape and slavery of women. One policy would be cash compensation to those who do not have sufficient sex, however this is arbitrary. This follows the belief that wealth will make someone more attractive, similar to Elliot Rodger’s beliefs. He also believes a cash compensation will allow people to afford sex workers or other avenues for paid sex, something incels violently reject, as they believe paying for sex when other people have it for free is humiliating. Hanson also advocates for “promoting monogamy” and “shaming promiscuity,” but only to women, which would then create a captive audience for members of the incel community. Another striking point is the complete silence on trans individuals, women who are not sexually active, or other members of communities who are less likely to have sexual partners.
The combination of growing online communities and rationalisation in prominent media sources has emboldened incels. “If he is convinced that the trend of opinion is moving his way, the risk of isolation is of little significance” (Noelle-Neumann, 1974). Harassment and crimes against women is rampant within society. In the United States, 81% of women have experienced sexual harassment or assault in their lifetime, according to a 2018 survey from Stop Street Harassment. In the U.K., two women a week are killed by their male parters, according to Refuge. Men already feel emboldened to assert their power over women in the public sphere, and further radicalisation of these groups only puts women in more danger.
The Path to Enlightenment: Incels & Third Person Effect
Similar to Rodger, the belief of enlightenment and discerning the absolute truth is pandemic in the incel community. There is a consistent reference to the “black pill.” The black pill is a direct link to the movie “The Matrix,” in which the main characters have the options between the blue pill and the red pill. The blue pill, or to blue pill, describes a person who hasn’t woken up to the fact that society discriminates against males, not females. Choosing the blue pill means remaining a part of the “sheeple” and remaining brainwashed.
The black pill, represents the belief that physical traits will always be the deciding factor to attracting females and those who lack such traits will never be considered attractive and should give up. The black pill is also the belief that men are more discriminated than women in society, and that women actually hold all of the power, specifically in choosing sexual partners. Furthermore, the black pill is a reference to specific conspiracy theories centred on the eventual rise of the New World Order, or an elite group of leaders. The black pill represents the break down of society into nihilism.
Incels have been black-pilled and believe they alone know the truth and have been liberated from societal norms. “If individuals assume that they are virtually alone in holding particular attitudes and expectations, not knowing that many others privately share them (Merton, 1968), it may be because they assume others have been brainwashed by the mass media” (Davison, 1983). The media is constantly referred to as “feminazi propaganda,” and a “propaganda machine.” This opinion of the media combined with the feeling of being liberated only reinforces the incel thought process. “People perceiving themselves as generally more knowledgable than others may reason: ‘I understand the issues and am not likely to be influenced much by things I learn from the media. But other people may not know as much as I do; they may believe whatever they read in the newspapers or see on television” (Mutz, 1989). Similar to Rodger, this belief that the media has a larger effect on everybody else could lead others to take action in an attempt to liberate the masses, as seen in some of these attacks and public stunts.
The Third Person Effect has many influences on incels communication behaviours. As their opinions become increasingly reinforced and gain strength, the digital community itself is able to flourish and establish itself securely. This community has grown so much to the point where there is a complete glossary of slang words and vocabulary, which has formed as a specific subculture, called the Manosphere Glossary. There are currently 117 established words that have become integral within mens supremacy groups. An establishment of vocabulary contributes to the phenomenon of groupthink, “in which experienced cohesion is a critical antecedent condition. That theory proposes that when group cohesion is hight—when all or most members experience attraction to the group—individuals will experience greater pressures toward unanimity and greater self-censorship, which will produce more uniform behaviour” (Janis, 1972).
The combination of Spiral of Silence and Third Person Theory succeeds in isolating and reinforcing the incel beliefs. Once inside these groups, the process to radicalisation is quick.
The Path to Radicalised Group Mentality
The Spiral of Silence forces vulnerable men into isolation, which forces them to seek out reassuring and like-minded groups. They crave a sense of belonging, however this belonging requires an exchange: members must give forth equal commitment or risk further isolation. “…there is a ‘narcissistic contract’ between the individual and the group and that this contract is crucial: the group offers a place and a role to the subject, and in exchange, he must repeat the same statements and ensure the permanence of this transmission” (Campelo, Oppetit, Neau, Cohen & Bronsard, 2018). In many cases, belonging is more important than judgement.
Groups of strangers linked together to discuss specific opinions consistently show two types of change: increased agreement about the opinion at issue and a shift in the average opinion of group members. These shifts in opinion can be attributed to two theories: the Relevant Arguments Theory and the Social Comparison Theory. According to Relevant Arguments Theory, one side of an issue is favoured more than the other side. “An individual samples from this pool in assessing his or her individual opinion, then in discussion hears new arguments from others, which, coming from the same pool, are mostly in the same direction as the individual was leaning. The result is that individuals are rationally persuaded by the imbalance of new arguments heard in discussion” (McCauley & Moskalenko, 2008).
One incel thread is titled, “This subreddit has made me hate femoids with a burning passion.” The comment reads “Before I honestly didn’t hate females and I mostly blamed myself for being pathetic. However regular doses of black pills from here I have learned of the true nature of these vile creatures and there is no turning back.” The user recognises the constant interactions with these opinions and “doses of black pills” have shifted his opinion of women.
However according to Social Comparison Theory, opinion positions have social values attached to them, echoing the Spiral of Silence. All individuals feel pressure toward the mean opinion of the group, but the pressure is not uniform. Individuals with extreme opinions feel more pressure to alteration, until they discover like-minded individuals.
Similarly, individuals with more extreme opinions garner more admiration within the group. “They are seen as more devoted to the group, more able—in sum, as better people. This extra status translates into more influence and less change during group discussion, whereas individuals less extreme than average in the group-favoured direction have less influence and change more. No one wants to be below-average in support of the group-favoured opinion, and the result is that the average opinion becomes more extreme in the group-favoured direction” (McCauley & Moskalenko, 2008). Social Comparison Theory combined with Third Person Theory reinforces group ideas while simultaneously pushing the average opinion further radical.
Radicalisation is a “process by which an individual or group adopts a violent form of action, directly linked to an extremist ideology with a social, religious, or political content that undermines the established political, social or cultural order” (McCauley & Moskalenko, 2008). There is also a general feeling of injustice or humiliation and “notions of identity and belonging, emphasising that being part of a radical group and embracing a cause gives a comforting sense of a ‘significance quest’ around a dedication that has an ‘empowerment effect’ for the radicalised individual” (Campelo et al., 2018). Radicalisation is seen as an act of recovery or identity and can strengthen or weaken depending on group mentality.
Radicalisation mechanisms are interconnected with communication behaviours, which have pervasive effects on these highly misogynistic groups. The process begins with a feeling of injustice or humiliation, usually through personal experience.
There are different mechanisms that are apparent in the path to radicalisation that prompt those to violence, studied in reference to young men joining ISIS. The first mechanism, as shown by Elliot Rodger, is “Individual Radicalisation by Personal Victimisation,” which the main motivator is personal grievance, specifically his anger directed at women. Rodger felt alone, isolated, and believed he was a victim of female cruelty. He focused on this anger and hatred until it consumed his everyday actions and eventually he attacked.
Rodger was an example of radicalisation by personal victimisation, however he has inspired others to follow his path. Rodger, and other terrorist attackers, have grown exceedingly popular within the online communities. They are regularly celebrated, called heroes, and there are discussions to follow their footsteps. These men have become martyrs within their own groups. “The root meaning of martyr is witness, and there is something particularly powerful about a form of witnessing that takes the life of the witness. A martyr is trustworthy insofar as it is difficult to see how an individual giving up life for a cause could be lying for some personal interest or advantage” (McCauley & Moskalenko, 2008). Martyrdom becomes a tool of persuasion in many radical groups as members see an individual making the ultimate sacrifice for the pursuit of truth and wellbeing of the group. “Most of the radicalised individuals had a role model, an inspirational figure in the radical group who initiated the process of radicalisation” (Campelo et al., 2018). As attacks became more pronounced, other men learned of the incel groups and felt inspired to join.
Many of the same triggers that can be connected to Rodger can also be attributed to the members in these groups, however instead of a lone wolf mentality, the group becomes radicalised within itself. Radicalisation is the process of a sharp change in beliefs, morals, behaviours, etc. that increasingly justify violence and other eradicate behaviour. “Radicalisation of many kinds may be associated with a syndrome of beliefs about the current situation and its history: We are a special or chosen group (superiority) who have been unfairly treated and betrayed (injustice), no one else cares about us or will help us (distrust), and the situation is dire—our group and our cause are in danger of extinction (vulnerability)” (McCauley & Moskalenko, 2008). These beliefs are a direct result of the Spiral of Silence and Third Person Theory, as the feeling of knowing the truth combined with withholding opinions in the public sphere further isolates and reinforces group dynamics.
Other members in the incel community have moved past this point to the next mechanism, which is “Individualised Radicalisation in Joining a Radical Group,” which gives incels what they crave most: a network of camaraderie.
A group identification forms; in that members are more likely to feel sadness and disappoint collectively with group failures, pride and empowerment with group successes, increased anger or fear at their enemies and a perception that they alone know the truth, as shown with the idea of the black pill.
As displayed in the Third Person Theory, the creation of the incel subculture and consequent establishment of a vocabulary has aided in the dehumanisation of women. “This tendency can become so extreme that the enemy is no longer seen as human. Dehumanisation is signalled by referring to target as ‘pigs,’ ‘dogs,’ or, more abstractly, ‘wheels’ in the enemy machine…The idea that the enemy shares a bad essence can make sense of the impulse to attack all of them, without regard for age, gender, or civilian status” (McCauley & Moskalenko, 2008). Rodger continually referred to women as wild animals and beasts. “I will be a god, and they will all be animals that I can slaughter. They are animals... They behave like animals, and I will slaughter them like the animals they are” (Rodger, 2014). Other incels followed his lead and began to use the same descriptive language. One user posted a thread titled “A Female Animal Held the Door for Me Today.” The post continued, “Fucking entitled virtue signalling cunt. What gives it the right to step foot on the same ground as me? What gives it the right to touch the same door handle as me?”
In these online forums, women are referred to as: body parts, gendered slurs, females, barbaric animals, dolls, objects, and most commonly, femoids. Femoid is the combination of female and humanoid, meant to describe women as not fully human and void of feelings. “The radical instigates the subject’s dehumanisation. The key process to understanding how mainly normal individuals can engage in terror activities. The radical group and ideology help to legitimise a preexisting violence in the subject” (Bazex & Benezech, 2017).
Not all men who seek out these groups believe these radical ideas; many of them are simply lonely and seeking support and validation. Therefore as groups become radical, there is a risk of becoming too radical and losing the base of support. “This type of stuff is not cool, this is why we have such a bad rep. We do not advocate for school shootings, we are just lonely,” commented one user under a post celebrating a school shooting in Santa Fe. The proceeding comments tell him to leave the group, use strong language, and succeed in forcing him into silence. This type of reaction to other opinions from group members will only aid in removing the moderate members and allow more space for the radical members to grow.
Conclusion
Understanding the process from isolation to radicalisation is important for understanding how incel, and other male supremacist, groups form both on the individual level, as seen with Elliot Rodger, and also the factors that contribute to group radicalisation. The establishment of a digital sphere has significantly altered the effects of the Spiral of Silence and Third Person Theory, as displayed through incel communities. The Silence of Spiral pushes extreme opinions into isolation, until they are linked with similar opinions. The Third Person Theory creates the facade of discovering the one truth that only furthers the radicalisation process. These points could prompt incel members to act out on these beliefs, in an attempt to liberate the masses. Violence against women is already a prevalent issue worldwide, and the growing establishment of these communities and beliefs puts women in more danger.
The decisions of men who called themselves “incel” will only continue to grow more radical and popular as a pushback against the rise of progressive and feminist values. Understanding these groups is the first step into de-escalation and hopefully, obsoleteness.
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