“You girls have never been attracted to me, I don’t know why you girls aren’t attracted to me. But I will punish you all for it.
“It’s an injustice, a crime, because I don’t know what you don’t see in me. I’m the perfect guy and yet you throw yourselves at all of these obnoxious men.”
These are the words of Elliot Rodger, a man who killed six people in California in 2014, before turning the gun on himself.
It was revenge, he said, for being sexually and socially rejected by women.
The 22-year-old also wrote a 140 page manifesto explaining how much he despised women.
His words, his actions, and his manifesto were condemned by most, but heralded by a small online subculture called ‘Incels’.
Listen to The Quicky’s deep dive into the world of incels. Post continues after podcast.
Incels (or involuntary celibates) define themselves as unable to find a romantic or sexual partner despite desiring someone.
They describe their state as ‘inceldom’.
If you delve into an incel forum online (which have delightful names like ‘Sluthate’), you’ll find resentment, misanthropy, self-loathing, misogyny, racism and a sense of entitlement to sex.
Dr Emma Jane from the University of NSW, who has been studying the subculture puts it more bluntly:
“It’s basically dudes that can’t get laid,” she told the The Quicky.
"Many many people in the (incel) world have complaints about the fact that they don't feel stereotypically good looking, or that they struggle to form meaningful relationships, or struggle to get a date.
"But the thing that separates incels is this sense of entitlement. They aren't just things they wish for or hope for, they are entitled to them."
When these men are denied what they think they are 'entitled' to, it's not disappointment that follows - it's blinding white rage.
At least four mass murders have been tied back to this community, resulting in a combined 45 deaths.
Just last year, Alex Minassian drove a rented van deliberately into pedestrians in New York City, killing 10 and injuring 16.
"He really worshipped Elliot Rogers as many incels do," Dr Jane explained.
Another figure worshipped by the group is Milo Yiannopolous, a British political commentator and author known for his misogynistic, racist, fascist, and homophobic comments.
"The normalisation of misogynist hate speech that is being celebrated and lauded in figures like Milo is a real concern," Dr Jane told The Quicky.
The interesting thing to note about incels is that they appear to contradict themselves - they desperately want women - and yet simultaneously despise them.
"What a toxic combination," said Dr Jane. "How ironic that none of them seem to realise this hatred and loathing might be one of the reasons we might not want to be with them? It's bizarre."
Many incels are going under the knife to change their appearance to give themselves a better chance at a date.
When they use plastic surgery to improve their appearance they become what they term "Chads" i.e. men who sleep with lots of women.
They'll undergo facial reconstruction, jaw augmentation, hair transplants and shoulder-widening - all to become more desirable to the opposite sex.
Dr Barry Eppley is a surgeon worshiped by the community for transforming incels into 'Chads,' which is something he didn't even realise was happening.
"All of this is a revelation to me," he told Quicky host Claire Murphy.
"This isn't something I knew existed, and quite frankly I didn't know something like this could exist," he insisted.
Dr Eppley says most people who come to him want the same thing - to feel better about themselves.
He admits he doesn't ask about their motivation. "It doesn't help me," he said.
The men who come to see Dr Eppley are largely young, and want procedures to make them look more masculine.
"A male has three distinct bone features, that are traditionally stronger or more developed than females which include the brow bone, the cheeks, and the jawline."
Sometimes Dr Eppley does all three procedures in one go, completely transforming a man into a new version of himself.
But it's their attitudes towards women - not their looks - that make these men undesirable to women, and a new jawline isn't going to change that.
To give you an example of some of their hatred, some incels have a particular distaste towards women with babies.
“Every time I pass by a pram, it fills me with disgust to know that she has ruined her body and chose to reproduce with another guy,” wrote Truth4lie on one of these forums.
“Seeing women taking care of their sons is the only situation in which I don’t hate them,” wrote another.
"It's being inflated that it's [their looks] that is the only thing stopping these guys forming connections with women.
"It's actually their attitudes that are far more problematic," said Dr Jane.
Top Comments
"Many ... are going under the knife ... to give themselves a better chance
[...]
They'll undergo facial reconstruction, jaw augmentation, hair transplants and shoulder-widening"
Are you saying there is surgery to widen the shoulders?
Yeah, that line caught my attention too. I would assume that it's putting implants into the area where the deltoid sits.
I hadn't thought of implants. (I know musclemen, in addition to steroids, have substances they inject directly into the muscle that makes it expand. I think the side deltoid is a common area for this.)
Imagine if these guys spent as much time on developing hobbies and interests and working on becoming interesting people as the do bitching about women who won’t date them. Agree with Chris, they have absolutely no insight at all.