When resonance falters: the incel phenomenon and the erosion of mutual recognition among youth

This article examines the incel (involuntary celibate) phenomenon among young heterosexual men through sociologist Hartmut Rosa’s theory of resonance and psychoanalyst Jessica Benjamin’s theory of mutual recognition. Situating the phenomenon within late-modern conditions of acceleration, meritocracy, and intensified performance demands, the article argues that it should not be understood as a subcultural anomaly but as symptomatic of a broader relational and cultural crisis, reflecting a deficit of resonance and mutual recognition. It further conceptualises this through gendered forms of subject formation. The analysis shows how loneliness and perceived marginalisation intersect with misogynistic fantasies of dominance and control. These dynamics highlight the ethical stakes of the phenomenon, in which misogyny in incel discourses may function both as a defence against vulnerability and as an expression of deeper ideological instabilities within contemporary neoliberal logic. The article concludes that societal and educational practices are needed to foster ethical responsiveness and mutual recognition.