Incel: What does it mean? Everything you need to know about the incel scene

The incel movement is a subcultural phenomenon that originated in the US and has now spread to Germany.

Incel – what’s behind the term

The incel scene (short for “involuntary celibate”) refers to a predominantly online subculture of heterosexual men who complain about not having romantic or sexual relationships with women despite their own desires. The term was originally intended to be gender-neutral, but since the 2010s at the latest, it has developed into a specifically male-dominated online identity that is often characterized by misogyny, frustration, and social alienation.

• Incel is a self-attribution of a group of heterosexual male members who suffer from not yet having had a romantic or sexual relationship with a woman. Often, the members are still virgins.

• From a sociological perspective, the incel movement in Germany and other countries represents a subcultural trend and is primarily active in online forums.

• Behind the movement is an ideology characterized by male supremacy and dominance and, in return, a sometimes strongly pronounced misogyny (hatred of women).

• From a psychological perspective, this ideological façade often masks low self-esteem, social isolation, and inferiority complexes, which are overcompensated for by patriarchal attitudes.

• Incels feel rejected by women and often consider themselves unattractive and undesirable. Women are divided into two categories. In addition to the so-called “Stacys,” who represent a feminine ideal of beauty, there are also “Beckys,” who appear less desirable.

• Men are also divided into categories. While ‘alphas’ are at the top of the attractiveness hierarchy, ‘normies’ represent the average man. According to their own statements, ‘incels’ are at the bottom of the sexual food chain.

Although incels believe that they themselves are not attractive or masculine enough, they represent a toxic ideal of masculinity that is explicitly opposed to feminist aspirations and promotes traditional gender roles. The incel scene sees itself as a form of men’s rights movement.
• Incels often associate themselves with the so-called alt-right movement, which is a modern form of right-wing nationalism.

• In recent years, parts of the scene have become highly radicalized. On relevant forums such as 4chan, Reddit (especially before the closure of the subreddit r/incels), incels.is, or on private Discord servers, misogynistic, racist, and violence-glorifying content is increasingly being disseminated.

The incel movement: Origins and spread to Germany

The incel movement began in a support group that was founded in Canada in the late 1990s, ironically by a woman. Alana’s Involuntary Celibacy Project provided a platform for all people who felt insecure about sexual or romantic encounters.

• However, the movement quickly took on its current character and became a gathering place for misogynistic and toxic patriarchal ideas.

• However, the incel movement is not only considered critical because of its ideology. The scene is also associated with a series of violent acts, such as the 2011 rampage by Anders Breivik, in which 77 people were killed.

• The incel movement has now also established itself in Germany as an extremist fringe phenomenon. Here, too, there are many points of contact with right-wing nationalist and right-wing extremist movements.

• In addition, the masculinist ideology of the incel movement in Germany also includes racist, anti-Muslim, and anti-Semitic tendencies.

• In several Western countries, the incel ideology is now classified as a potential threat: in Canada, an incel-motivated attack was classified as a terrorist act for the first time in 2020. Since 2020, the US Department of Homeland Security has also been warning about the incel scene as a “growing domestic terrorism threat.”

• The German incel scene, for example, has also been linked to the anti-Semitic attack in Halle in 2019. The attacker, Stephan Balliet, is said to have listened to a well-known song from the incel scene during the attack.

• Two recent studies from 2025 show that incel supporters often suffer from psychological stress such as loneliness, depression, and social anxiety, and that around a quarter of them consider violence against women to be at least partially justified.

The role of social media and new platforms

Social media plays a central role in the dissemination and networking of incel ideology.

• After the closure of larger forums such as r/incels on Reddit (2017) and Incels.me (2018), the scene migrated to less regulated platforms such as incels.is, Telegram, Discord, 8kun, and Lemmy.

• Platforms such as YouTube and TikTok often recommend content that focuses on outrage, frustration, or sexism, specifically targeting young men. This allows the radicalization process to take place insidiously.

• The ideology is often conveyed in the form of memes, satirical phrases, or pseudo-humorous codes (“Clown World,” “Looksmaxxing,” “Rope Fuel”), which makes it appealing to young people and easy to underestimate.