As the term ‘incel,’ referring to someone who is involuntarily celibate, grew increasingly prevalent in the last decade, online incel communities have represented a dangerous trend for Canada and other western countries. The term has since grown more broadly to describe the angry young men and boys feeding into anti-feminist online discourse, marked by sexual entitlement and misogyny. Incel rhetoric and influence is increasingly manifesting itself in gender-based crime and male-violence, exhibiting the worrying progression from online hate communities to physical harm.

The rise in anti-women hate promoted by incel rhetoric has grown immensely popular among young men and boys who have experienced romantic rejection. While these radically exclusionary opinions used to be relegated to fringe social media forums, the last several years have seen an uptick in hate speech across broader platforms. Following 2015’s surge in far-right populist politics, which sought to target and blame certain groups for society’s problems, the Canadian government reported a 600 percent increase in online hate speech within one year.

Social media has become a hotbed for alt-right youth commiseration against women, offering a space to express their frustrations, and culminating in escalating misogynistic thoughts being exchanged and accepted. This new age of normalized online hate has galvanized incel communities, spurring their unprecedented growth and influence, which has continued to indoctrinate today’s youth.

A surge in ‘male influencers,’ who espouse anti-feminist ideological content to boys, has played a pivotal role in convincing young men that society has robbed them of what they deserve. Notable male influencers, such as Andrew Tate, who post social media content targeting young men and boys, call for violence against women. Tate, though criminally charged with rape and human trafficking, became a role model for many young boys in the incel community for his rhetoric surrounding men’s entitlement to dominance. Framing the key to romantic success around exploiting a so-called biological subservience in women, Tate employs strong misogynistic rhetoric in his content. His content offers boys a version of reality where their romantic failures are a product of modern feminism, and if they want to find success, they need to combat that feminism and the equality it affords women. Impressionable boys have taken these messages as empowerment to harass and assert their dominance over women, posing a detrimental challenge to young men’s development. Within classrooms, these students actively parrot male supremacy sentiments, devaluing peers as well as teachers, and posing a significant safety risk in the process.

As these young men and boys build communities that encourage one another to take their anger out on the objects of their frustration, women, a notable trend toward violent, so-called ‘retribution’ against women represents a frightening shift from mere online vitriol. Online echo-chambers, where hateful anti-feminist beliefs are confirmed and validated by members, help transform these harmful thoughts into dangerous actions. Internalizing the idea that men are entitled to take what they want from women, who are to blame for men’s struggles, opens a floodgate of actionable extremist thought. When met with the positive sounding board of online incel communities, this targeted rhetoric continues to build until its outlet becomes physical force. 

Canada’s cyber-hate problems inevitably bleed into violence. Hate crimes motivated by sex and gender have jumped by more than 700% in Canada from 2015 to 2022. Studies into incel criminal tendencies found that their commitment to anti-feminist ideology justified violence in their eyes, allowing their perceived victimhood to manifest itself in the dehumanization and demonization of the targets of that injustice, women. This shifted perception makes it easier for perpetrators to escalate to violence, as it becomes morally permissible, and even necessary for them. With the aim of seizing back control after its perceived loss, these young men pursue radical extremes with the backing of their online networks. This extremist progression is readily evidenced by the 2018 Toronto van attack, perpetrated by a self-proclaimed incel, which targeted women and ultimately killed 10 individuals. Since then, the RCMP has reported a proliferation of this kind of extremist risk, where young boys pose serious threats of incel-motivated harm, stemming from radical social media engagement and inspiration from past attackers.

While incels have traditionally been considered ‘lone wolves’ exercising isolated acts of aggression, their virtual web of encouraging co-conspirators acts as a mechanism of community incitement. Though their struggles refer to loneliness and rejection as primary motivators, the move from sentiment to violent action is ultimately aided by their hateful communities.

Online hate is too frequently dismissed as insulated venting, removed from reality, but the trends developing in Canada and globally show that these online interactions are stepping-stones to real-world violence against women and girls. As social media enables the growth and entrenchment of gendered hatred, young boys will be indoctrinated by violence and grow into perpetrators, while young girls might not get the chance to grow up at all. In looking for ways to address rising male-violence, one need not look further than the online-communities that fuel it.

Boys need strong male role models and communities that encourage their confidence, but not to the detriment of women and girls. As boys search for men to look up to, men need to model healthy emotional outlets, open communication, and respect for women. Online hate communities are preying on vulnerable young men and boys, a trend that can only be halted by a shift away from incel-culture within these communities. For this cycle of violence to slow, men must join the fight and speak out against its driving forces, forging a new path forward beyond vitriolic hate, and toward gender equality.

Finesse Lunsky is a University of Ottawa (Canada) undergraduate specializing in Political Science and Conflict Studies, with academic distinction and varied governmental and non-profit political advocacy experience. She is particularly passionate about law, political polarization, and gender dynamics within conflict settings. Her expertise lies in transitional justice and intersectional applications of political thought. Finesse is a Senior Editor for Politika, the University of Ottawa’s bilingual academic publication covering various political research topics and opinions. As a committed gender equality advocate, she also volunteers as a teacher for Afghan students who are barred from school under the current regime. Her volunteer work fuels and strengthens her academic dedication to the field.

References

*Chan, E. (2022). Technology-Facilitated Gender-Based Violence, Hate Speech, and Terrorism: A Risk Assessment on the Rise of the Incel Rebellion in Canada. Violence Against Women, 29(9), 1687-1718. (Original work published 2023)

*RCMP. (2023). Hate crimes and incidents in Canada: Facts trends and information for frontline police officers. Royal Canadian Mounted Police. https://rcmp.ca/en/corporate-information/publications-and-manuals/hate-crimes-and-incidents-canada#s12

*Sandau, E. L., & Cousineau, L. S. (2025). “Trying to talk white male teenagers off the alt-right ledge” and other impacts of masculinist influencers on teachers. Gender and Education, 37(5), 595–610.

*Sisemore, V. (2020). Incel Rhetoric: Origins of Digital Misogyny. Murray State University. Honors College Theses. see digitalcommons.murraystate.edu/ honorstheses/63.

*Smith, C. R., Brammer, S. E., Cloudy, J., Essary, C., & Perez, C. (2025). “RIP TOP G:” Rhetoric, Responses, and Realities Surrounding the Social Media Ban of Andrew Tate. Violence against Women, 10778012251319308.

*Sparks, B., Zidenberg, A. M., & Olver, M. E. (2024). One is the loneliest number: Involuntary celibacy (incel), mental health, and loneliness. Current Psychology (New Brunswick, N.J.), 43(1), 392–406.

The views expressed by the authors do not necessarily reflect the opinion of Magcondo.