‘Alienated young man’ with plans for ‘murderous vengeance’? Examining portrayals of misogynistic incel violence in the US news media

Since 2014, misogynistic incels have perpetrated numerous incidents of public mass violence. While much attention has been directed at understanding the motives behind the violence and the workings of the misogynistic incel community, there has been little focus on how this violence is understood in wider society. Analysing the portrayal of misogynistic incel violence in US newspapers, this study asks how this violence is made sense of within public discourse. It focuses on whether these portrayals recognise the gendered aspects of the violence and whether it necessitates political attention. Despite misogynistic incels’ explicitly gendered worldview, misogynistic motivations and the public character of the violence, this study indicates a remarkable absence of gender in the reporting of misogynistic incel violence. Instead, portrayals of misogynistic incel violence focus on the individual perpetrators and their life experiences, while the misogynistic nature of the violence, and socio-political contexts are overlooked. In turn contributing to an overall individualisation and depoliticisation of misogynistic incel violence.