Incels and gender inequality: changing tides in defining the far right

ABSTRACT Scholars have debated how to define far-right groups. Literature has suggested that far-right groups are exclusionary, nativist, xenophobic, anti-democratic and that they do not believe in equality. However, how do we define groups that have ambiguous political affiliations, such as incels, who still hold extreme exclusionary beliefs? We analyze 9062 comments on the Incels.is forum during a three-month period in 2019. We found that incels challenge what it means to be far right in three main ways. First, unlike other far-right groups, incels determine group boundaries based on the gender, sexual identities, and experiences of potential members. Second, incels are racially and nationally diverse, not concentrating efforts in one country, and third, incels do not propose violence on politicians or a political party, but instead propose violence against women and members of the public (“normies”) that support feminism. We argue that because of these differences, gender inequality informs incels’ exclusionary practices, instead of the nationalism and xenophobia which other far-right groups tend to emphasize. We propose taking adherence to traditional values and misogyny seriously as an aspect the far right and support calls to broaden far-right definitional frameworks.