we need to talk about incel-related mogai terms. specifically, we need to talk about the fact that i and others i've talked to within the mogai community feel that it is wildly inappropriate to try to reclaim the word "incel" and coin related mogai terms. at best, it's erasing the violently misogynistic history (not origin!) of the term and its community.
the involuntary celibacy community came about in the late 90s, when a woman named alana created a website called "Alana's Involuntary Celibacy Project." the website was for people of all genders to talk about their struggles with finding relationships, and included discussions of how gender, sexuality, mental illness, and other forms of marginalization influenced this.
starting in the 2000s, there was a split in the incel community. some of the incel community, like the users of the forum IncelSupport, maintained alana's original vision, welcoming people of all genders and banning misogynistic posts. other incel spaces, like the message board love-shy, the r/incels subreddit, and the /r9k/ 4chan board quickly became misogynistic.
my first introduction to the concept of incels, and the thing that brought them into the mainstream public awareness, was the 2014 isla vista killings. elliot rodger killed 6 people and injured 14 others, and shared a 141-page manifesto that described women as a "plague" and expressed a desire to keep women in concentration camps. he and his manifesto were praised by online incel communities.
i understand that the ideas expressed by elliot rodger and the community that supports/supported him were never what the word "incel" was supposed to mean. after the isla vista killings, alana, who coined the term "incel," has herself abandoned it. BBC quoted her as saying: "... I was upset that the term had changed meanings and I couldn't control it anymore, but that was just my ego. So I've let go and I've moved on. I think it's more important to take action."
i understand the value of a word to express the original concept and ideals that alana of alana's involuntary celibacy project aimed to center. i do not think that "incel" needs to be the word used for that, nor do i think it should be used to refer to an aesthetic, fictional archetype, etc. i certainly don't think that incel-related terms are appropriate in the mogai community, which is supposed to be inclusive of and welcoming to all genders.
i know that people coining incel-related terms are not intending their terms to be related to mass murder or the concept of putting women in concentration camps, but i am begging you to understand that, for me and other women who are old enough to remember the 2014 isla vista killings happening, that IS what the word "incel" evokes.
the mogai community is focused on coining new words for existing experiences. there has to be something else we can come up with that doesn't evoke a feeling of fear and danger for me and other women and girls.
BBC article about the origin of the word "incel" and the incel community, with quotes from alana of alana's involuntary celibacy project (source of the quote from alana used in this post)
vox article detailing the history of incel spaces across different websites
BBC article with information about incel community reactions to elliot rodgers
tagging: (no pressure to reblog, i know this is a heavy post) @brainkeeper-service, @mantra-repeated, @womogai, @radiomogai
