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'''Involuntary celibacy''' or '''involuntary sexual abstinence'''<ref name="Spooner1916">{{cite book|author=Henry G. Spooner|title=The American Journal of Urology and Sexology|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=gjxYAAAAMAAJ&pg=PA249|year=1916|publisher=Grafton Press|pages=249–}}</ref><ref name="Meadows1973">{{cite book|author=Denis L Meadows|title=The dynamics of growth in a finite world: A technical report on the global simulation model World 3|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=twwcAQAAMAAJ|year=1973|publisher=Thayer School of Engineering, Darmouth College}}</ref><ref name="Meerloo1946">{{cite book|author=Joost Abraham Maurits Meerloo|title=Aftermath of Peace: Psychological Essays|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=tTUNAAAAIAAJ|year=1946|publisher=International Universities Press|isbn=9780598365347 }}</ref> (also known as '''incel''' and sometimes referred to as '''love shyness''' or being '''love shy'''<ref>{{cite journal|last=Gilmartin|first=Brian G.|title=Some Family Antecedents of Severe Shyness|journal=Family Relations|year=1985|volume=34|issue=3|pages=429–438|doi=10.2307/583584 |jstor=583584 |url=http://www.jstor.org/stable/583584|accessdate=19 May 2014}}</ref>) is ] by people who are routinely celibate for involuntary reasons as opposed to doing so voluntarily.<ref name="elizabeth">{{cite book|last1=Abbott|first1=Elizabeth|title=A History of Celibacy|date=2001|publisher=]|isbn=9780306810411|pages=20, 294, 303, 309-312|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=D1_SNxYovocC&q=involuntary+celibacy|accessdate=4 December 2014}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|title=SEX AND SOCIETY (Abstinence- Gender Identity, Volume 1)|date=2010|publisher=Marshall Cavendish|isbn=9780761479062|page=309|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=aVDZchwkIMEC&dq=%22+involuntary+celibacy%22&pg=PA113}}</ref> The term has gained popularity in recent years.
{{Multiple issues|refimprove=April 2011|original research=October 2011|cleanup = April 2010}}


==Definition==
'''Involuntary celibacy''' (colloquially '''incel''') is ] near-total or total absence in ] of ]s or ] that is occurring for reasons other than voluntary ], ], ], or ]. It is the psycho-social opposite of having a ]. Incel people, despite being open to sexual intimacy and potential ] with another person and also making active, repeated efforts towards such an end, cannot cause any such end(s) to occur with any significant degree of regularity—or even at all.
The common definition of involuntary celibacy is routinely used to describe instances where someone has not engaged in ] with anyone for a certain amount of time, despite the individual desiring sexual activity with other people.<ref name="dd journal" /> Reasons for involuntary celibacy can differ from person to person or community to community. Involuntary celibacy can occur within marriages and has been frequently under-reported due to stigmas attached to ].<ref name=JH />


There is no set length for when someone considers themselves to be involuntarily celibate, and the time period without sexual activity can average anywhere from a few months to several years or the individual's entire lifespan up to that point in time.<ref name="dd journal" /> Involuntarily celibacy is traditionally seen as separate from ], ], or any voluntary state of celibacy or abstinence,{{citation needed|date=August 2015}} and some individuals who self-identify as being partially or fully involuntarily celibate have stated that they believe that it should be treated as a separate psychosocial issue.{{Citation needed|date=August 2015}} Characteristics of involuntary celibacy differ but typically share two common claimed characteristics: the individual has gone without sexual intercourse for a long period of time, despite attempts to attract a sexual partner, and that the individual has limited or no access to partners or opportunities to find a partner.{{Citation needed|date=August 2015}}
Involuntary celibacy is distinct from other forms of ] in two major ways: First, it explicitly does not depend on choices of the celibate, and remains stable even if the person succeeds in improving his or her ] and ] to try to attract ]s. Second, involuntarily celibate individuals lack intimate physical connection for very long spans of time—years or even decades at a time—while also lacking ''opportunities'' for sexual advancement in the first place, thereby making betterment of their own sexuality through accumulation of "sexual experience" impossible.<ref name=Donnelly> D. Donnelly, E. Burgess, S. Anderson, R. Curry, J. Dillard, ''Journal of Sex Research'' 38(2), S. 159–169. (2001) (accessed December 14, 2006){{Dead link|gate=August 2012|date=August 2012}}</ref>


Occasionally a distinction is drawn between men actively attempting to engage with women, but are constantly rejected, and "love shyness", men too shy to engage.<ref>{{cite AV media | people=Gardephe, Sara (Director) | year=2011 | title=Shy Boys:IRL | medium=Documentary | location=Brooklyn, New York| publisher=Gardephe, Sara|url=http://vimeo.com/28466163}}</ref>
Involuntary celibacy cannot generally be explained through external personal factors—most incels, based on inquests by researchers into the population, are not physically unattractive, and most resemble in an interpersonal sense their peers who are sexually active.<ref name= Donnelly/> Although a few of the involuntarily celibate population may have discernible ] that preclude current and future sexual opportunities, the small amount of research done on this subject indicates that the incel population are on the whole socially normal, otherwise healthy individuals whose frustration is merely a product of their lack of sex, and not vice versa.<ref name=Donnelly/>


==Characteristics==
==Definition and psychological consequences==
The ] notes that celibate men are more likely to be conceived later in their parents life than the general population and are more likely to be lower class and unemployed. The involuntarily celibate men they studied tended to work in sex-segrated jobs, had more education than involuntarily celibate women, and followed particularly masculine life trajectories to a degree that it hindered their ability to meet women. Involuntarily celibate women were also found to follow life trajectories particularly close to feminine gender roles.<ref>{{Cite journal|last1=Donnelly|first1=Denise|last2=Burgess|first2=Elisabeth|last3=Anderson|first3=Sally|last4=Davis|first4=Regina|last5=Dillard|first5=Joy|date=2001|title=Involuntary Celibacy: A life course analysis|url=http://cda.morris.umn.edu/~meeklesr/celibacy.html|journal=The Journal of Sex Research|volume=38|issue=2 |pages=159–169|doi=10.1080/00224490109552083 |s2cid=143447476 |via=}}</ref> At the end of the study contained in the ] and the Sexuality and Society Reader, the researchers concluded there was not enough scientific research done on involuntary celibacy, writing, "Until the phenomena of involuntary celibacy has been fully investigated, and the results disseminated, it will remain a taboo topic, cloaked in mystery and ignorance, and an untold number of persons will continue to suffer in silence and isolation".<ref>{{Cite book|last1=Donnelly|first1=Denise|last2=Burgess|first2=Elisabeth|last3=Anderson|first3=Sally|last4=Davis|first4=Regina|last5=Dillard|first5=Joy|date=2001|title=The Sexuality and Society Reader|page=270}}</ref> Involuntary celibates have also been characterized as lonely and vulnerable.<ref name="Dewey2015"/>
Incel experience differs from more typically inconsistent intimacy opportunities in that chances for sexual activity other than masturbation—], cuddling, kissing, and romantic connection—are perpetually rare or nonexistent. The situation is one where partnered sexual activity almost never happens "naturally", i.e. as a result of any ] process or ] situation. Involuntarily celibate people may suffer from unusually intense ], ], and ]. In most ], ] societies, there is the additional social pressure for people in 20s or 30s age ranges to have experienced sexual interaction in some form. If the person neither has nor gains any such experience while all of his or her peers do, serious psychological consequences can result.<ref name=Donnelly/> The question of an involuntarily celibate person turning to ]s or to become the client of a ] as a means of 'breaking' the incel pattern has not been addressed by any recorded inquest in to the phenomenon, most likely due to the extreme unlikelihood of any researcher being sexologically able to discern who among such clients would otherwise be incel, and who would not.


==Causes==
While it may at first appear that incel is a purely individual and personal issue, there are those who point out that it does have effects on a given society at-large and constitutes a ] issue for a ] and is also a ] concern.<ref>Flocker, Michael. 2004. ''The Hedonism Handbook: Mastering the Lost Art of Leisure and Pleasure''. DeCapo Press. Cambridge, MA. (p. 129)</ref><ref>Seabury David. 1964. ''The Art of Selfishness''. Julian Messner, Inc. New York. (p.191)</ref> In the well-known case of ] ]'s ] on ], Chubbuck's involuntary celibacy is considered to be the driving force behind both her depression and suicide.<ref>{{cite web|last=D'arby |first=Travis |url=http://open.salon.com/blog/travis_darby/2009/05/05/involuntary_celibacy_adult_virginity_the_silent_killers |title=Is Abstinence More Dangerous Than Sex? |publisher=open.salon.com |date=|accessdate=2012-08-14}}</ref><ref>, '']'', August 22, 1974</ref> Incels who do not consider suicide may instead ] or turn to ]s (especially ]), whether as a substitute for sexual relations, or to anesthetize themselves sexually.<ref>Siegel, Ronald K. 2005. ''Intoxication: The Universal Drive for Mind-Altering Substances''. One Park Press. Rochester, VT. (313 pages)</ref><ref>Seabury, David. 1964. ''The Art of Selfishness''. Julian Messner, Inc. New York. (pp. 180–183)</ref><ref>{{cite web| url=http://www.heretical.com/toa/toa-s14d.html |title=Basic Sex Differences 4: Sex Substitutes |publisher=herertical.com |date= |accessdate 2012-o8-14}}</ref><ref>Wilson, Robert A. 1975. ''Sex & Drugs''. Playboy Press. Chicago. (pp. 190–212)</ref> Finally, while ] diminishes the risk of contracting ]s (STD) it may necessitate relinquishment of potential health benefits of sex.<ref>{{cite web|last=Doheny |first=Kathleen |url=http://www.webmd.com/sex-relationships/features/10-surprising-health-benefits-of-sex |title=10 Surprising Health Benefits of Sex |publisher=Webmd.com |accessdate 2012-08-14}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.newsweek.com/id/74575 |title=Six Reasons to Have Sex Every Week |publisher=Thedailybeast.com |date= 2007-12-09 |accessdate=2012-08-14}}</ref> Somewhat relatedly, in any culture lacking liberal attitudes towards sexual expression and fulfillment, usually based upon ] principles (for example strict ] societies, ], ] and others), the effects of "enforced" lack of sex can have even worse general societal consequences. Numerous studies have indicated that excessive repression of the sexual instinct tends to increase the overall level of aggression, meaning when applied to whole populations, forbidding non-marital sex while also not being married and not having access to sexual contact in other forms may lead to higher rates of ] and ].<ref>{{cite web|last=Prescott |first=James W.|url=http://www.violence.de/prescott/bulletin/article.html |title=Body Pleasure and the Origins of Violence |publisher=Violence.de |date= |accessdate=2012-08-14}}</ref> There may also be a link between sexual repression and aggression and low-level anger at and rudeness to others, though this might be linked to underlying issues in individual cases such as ].


===Personality consequences===
Limitations and disappointment, the indefinite postponement of sexual and romantic gratification, delay even of dating (much less marriage), and in particular the total lack of sexual experiences at key transition points during adolescence and young adulthood (things like one's ], ], ], and one's ]), which are all the types of lacks that seem to be the psychological cornerstones of the involuntarily celibate condition, are often ennobled on ], in ], and in related ]; for example, a sympathetic view of an incel male was made clear in '']''.<ref>{{cite web|last=Siegel |first=Lee |url=http://www.thenation.com/article/moviegoer |title=The Moviegoer |publisher=Thenation.com |date=2005-01-27 |accessdate=2012-08-14}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/HollywoodDateless |title=Hollywood Dateless |publisher=Tvtropes.org |date= |accessdate=2012-08-14}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=
http://www.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/SexAsRite-of-Passage |title=Sex As Rite of Passage |publisher=Tvtropes.org |date= |accessdate=2012-08-14}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/MomentKiller |title=Moment Killer |publisher=Tvtropes.org |date= |accessdate=2012-08-14}}</ref><ref>{{cite web| url=http://www.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/AttractivenessIsolation |title=Attractiveness Isolation |publisher=Tvtropes.org| date= |accessdate=2012-08-14}}</ref>


Reasons for involuntary celibacy can often overlap with reasons for traditional celibacy, which can sometimes make it difficult to discern between voluntary or involuntary celibacy, as some feel pressured to state that the celibacy is voluntary out of fear of severe social repercussions or violence.<ref>{{cite book|last=O'Brien (editor)|first=Jodi|title=Encyclopedia of Gender and Society, Volume 1|date=2008|publisher=SAGE|isbn=978-1412909167|page=120|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=_nyHS4WyUKEC&dq=%22Involuntary+celibacy%22&pg=PT152}}</ref> In a 2001 study of 82 individuals (60 men and 22 women) who self-identified as being involuntarily celibate, sociologist ] commented that she believed that "the relationship between these barriers and involuntary celibacy is reciprocal, rather than unidirectional" and that while the contributing factors could impact the individuals' sex lives, they could in some instances be a result of being celibate.<ref name="dd journal">{{cite journal|last=Donnelly|first=Denise|coauthors=Burgess, Elisabeth ; Anderson, Sally ; Davis, Regina ; Dillard, Joy|title=Involuntary Celibacy: A Life Course Analysis|journal=The Journal of Sex Research|date=2001|volume=38|issue=2|pages=159–169|doi=10.1080/00224490109552083 |s2cid=143447476 |url=https://dx.doi.org/10.1080/00224490109552083|accessdate=19 May 2014}}</ref><ref name=nyu>{{cite book|last=Laura M. Carpenter|first=John D. DeLamater|title=Sex for Life: From Virginity to Viagra, How Sexuality Changes Throughout Our Lives|date=2012|publisher=NYU Press|isbn=9780814723821|pages=13, 16|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=RpayAv0FGSIC&dq=%22Involuntary+celibacy%22&pg=PA13}}</ref> She also noted that these traits were not necessarily the norm and that an incel could have be seen as otherwise normal by social standards.<ref name="dd journal" /> A further study conducted by Donnelly and associates between June 1999 to June 2000 of 192 individuals showed that many of the self-identifying involuntarily celibate were living in the United States, were under the age of 34, and had either attended or completed their college education.<ref>{{cite journal|last=Burgess|first=Elizabeth|coauthors=Donnelly, Denise ; Dillard, Joy ; Davis, Regina|title=SURFING FOR SEX: STUDYING INVOLUNTARY CELIBACY USING THE INTERNET.|journal=Sexuality and Culture|date=2001|volume=5|issue=3|pages=5–30|doi=10.1007/s12119-001-1028-x |s2cid=96438371 |url=https://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s12119-001-1028-x|accessdate=19 May 2014}}</ref>
But this does not tell the complete story of involuntary celibacy, which in everyday life can in fact be actively destructive to a person's emotional and interpersonal well-being, rather than just a periodic nuisance or inconvenience, as is usually the case with relatively short-term "dry spells." Behaviors associated with involuntary celibacy can include self-absorption and an unhealthy preoccupation with ], which is a backlog of ] that can have an adverse effect on ]s.<ref>Russell, Bertrand. 1970. ''Of Marriage & Morals''. Liverlight Publishing Corporation. New York. pp. 286–291</ref> Meanwhile, internal consequences that can have external manifestatrs in an incel person tend to follow the standard ] pattern of being tense, ], belligerent and to have ]; ]; perpetual agitation; ]; and ].


===Psychological factors===
==Depth and prevalence==
Involuntary celibacy has been attributed to psychological factors, such as social awkwardness, a lack of social skills,<ref name="ellereeve"/> lack of confidence or flirting skills, trust issues, addiction,<ref name="scienceincel"/> shyness,<ref name="georgia">{{cite news|url=http://www2.gsu.edu/~wwwexa/news/archive/2001/01_0724-invcelrel.htm|title=For many, sexless lifestyle is not a choice|last=|first=|date=July 24, 2001|work=|accessdate=June 8, 2018|publisher=]|format=|authorlink=}}</ref> recreational sex invoking feelings of guilt, fears of unreciprocation of romantic overtures or apathy<ref name="Yvonne">http://www.foxnews.com/story/2009/06/15/foxsexpert-5-ways-to-fix-sexless-marriage.html</ref> or an inability to decipher social cues.<ref name="psychologytodaysam"/> It has also been suggested that people who live involuntarily celibte lives may have psychological disorders such as ], ], and ].<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.newstatesman.com/2018/05/we-must-try-understand-how-unwanted-virginity-leads-self-hating-incels-murder|title=We must try to understand how unwanted virginity leads self-hating incels to murder|last=Tait|first=Amelia|date=May 8, 2018|website=]|language=en|archive-url=|archive-date=|access-date=May 28, 2018}}</ref> It has also been suggested that there is a correlation between involuntary celibacy and other psychological issues such as ], ], and ], extreme introversion or general mental ailments.<ref name="Dewey2015">{{Cite news|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/the-intersect/wp/2015/10/07/incels-4chan-and-the-beta-uprising-making-sense-of-one-of-the-internets-most-reviled-subcultures/|title=Incels, 4chan and the Beta Uprising: making sense of one of the Internet's most-reviled subcultures|last=Dewey|first=Caitlin|date=October 7, 2015|newspaper=]|access-date=April 25, 2018|language=en-US|issn=0190-8286}}</ref>
There is some controversy, both academic and amongst involuntary celibates themselves, concerning the duration of the celibacy needed to qualify for the label of involuntary celibacy. Someone who is "single" and without sex for several relatively short stretches at a time is usually not looked upon as being involuntarily celibate. Researchers Donnelly and Burgess (see below) used a floor figure of six months of involuntary celibacy in their study design, but others apply the term only to those who have never been involved in a sexual and/or romantic relationship even once, while other opinions extend the definition to include those who get sexual opportunities extremely rarely (such as once or twice within a five-year block, or once or twice within a decade).


===Societal factors===
There is very little ] study regarding involuntary celibacy. Prior to a self-directed study on modern involuntary celibacy initiated in 1998 by researchers from ], there were quite literally zero publicly-searchable research-based sources on the phenomenon. Even the 1998 study was only started once a member of an online discussion group for involuntary celibates inquired about current research on the subject.<ref>, Georgia State University News Release, July 24, 2001 (accessed December 14, 2006)</ref> The study, ''Involuntary celibacy: A life course analysis'',<ref name=Donnelly/> was published in 2001 in the '']'', produced by the ]. A news article reporting on the study indicated that involuntary celibacy can lead to anger and depression.<ref> American Association of Single People, November 12, 2001 (accessed December 14, 2006)</ref> ''Involuntary celibacy: A life course analysis'' has also been included in an anthology of scholarly literature.<ref> AbeBooks.com, (accessed December 14, 2006){{Dead link|date=August 2010}}</ref>
Others attribute it to societal factors such as financial constraints<ref name="elizabeth"/>, a sex-segregated environment, responsibilities such as raising children, teenage inexperience and datelessness,<ref name="georgia"/> family demands, a busy career or being preoccupied with one's education.<ref>http://www.foxnews.com/story/2009/06/15/foxsexpert-5-ways-to-fix-sexless-marriage.html</ref> Reasons for involuntary celibacy can often include reasons such as the individual's limited access to sexual partners, or because of institutional restrictions in the instance of people in restrictive ] or ]s.<ref>{{cite book|last=Lehmiller|first=Justin J.|title=The Psychology of Human Sexuality|date=2014|publisher=Wiley-Blackwell|isbn=978-1118351215|page=232|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=YS1IAgAAQBAJ&dq=%22involuntary+celibacy%22&pg=PA232}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|last=Dirk van Zyl Smit|first=Sonja Snacken|title=Principles of European Prison Law and Policy: Penology and Human Rights|date=2009|publisher=Oxford University Press|isbn=9780191018824|page=xliii|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=NW9CAgAAQBAJ&dq=%22Involuntary+celibacy%22&pg=PR43}}</ref><ref name="dcp abbott">{{cite book|last=Abbott|first=Elizabeth|title=A History of Celibacy|date=2001|publisher=Da Capo Press|isbn=0306810417|pages=303–304|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=D1_SNxYovocC&dq=%22+involuntary+celibacy%22&pg=PA303}}</ref> Other reasons for involuntary celibacy can include societal pressure, as in the case of strict cultural ]s or moral standards that the individual feels pressured to follow, as in the case of some religious factions that mandate that homosexuals should remain celibate as opposed to engaging in sexual activity with other homosexuals.<ref name="dcp abbott"/><ref name="dcp abbott">{{cite book|last=Abbott|first=Elizabeth|title=A History of Celibacy|date=2001|publisher=Da Capo Press|isbn=0306810417|pages=303–304|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=D1_SNxYovocC&dq=%22+involuntary+celibacy%22&pg=PA303}}</ref><ref name=JH>{{cite book|last=Hawes|first=Joseph M.|title=The Family in America: An Encyclopedia, Volume 2|date=2002|publisher=ABC-CLIO|isbn=9781576072325|pages=131–132|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=z55xx8_P08UC&dq=%22+involuntary+celibacy%22&pg=PA132}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|last=Vines|first=Matthew|title=God and the Gay Christian|date=2014|publisher=Convergent Books|isbn=9781601425171|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=bTS0AAAAQBAJ&dq=%22Involuntary+celibacy%22&pg=PT24}}</ref> Factors believed to contribute to involuntary celibacy are elements such as an unviable living arrangement, occupations that are segregated by sex,<ref>{{cite web|last=Bouchez|first=Colette|title=Sexless in The City|url=http://www.webmd.com/men/features/sexless-in-the-city|publisher=Web MD|accessdate=19 May 2014}}</ref><ref name="dd journal" /> or having abnormally lengthy working hours.<ref name="Dewey2015"/>


Other social factors include a reluctance by younger siblings in Asia to increase social pressure on their older siblings by getting married before them in societies where pre-marital sex is taboo.<ref name="elizabeth"/> During the Great Depression, involuntary celibacy has been attributed to unemployment or underemployment, which resulted in a postponement of marriages. It has also been attributed to those who lack access to birth control since historically, such people often attempted to ward off unwanted pregnancies by avoiding sex or marriage.<ref name="elizabeth"/> Others attribute it to a ultra-conservative religious upbringing that resulted in inhibitions around sex and relationships.<ref name="Dewey2015"/> The term "involuntary celibate" has also been used in regard to female widows in some subsets of Hinduism wherein it is taboo for them to remarry.<ref name="elizabeth"/>
Very little research has been published on involuntary celibacy, and few statistics are available, although it is finding its way onto university syllabi.<ref> syllabus for San Francisco State University, Fall 2004 (accessed December 14, 2006)</ref><ref> Syllabus for Washington State University, Summer Quarter, 2006 (accessed December 14, 2006)</ref> There has not been a more widespread study undertaken by ] or other sexuality scientists that could give rise to ]. Most of what is published scientifically and academically on the subject of celibacy focuses on voluntary and medical celibacy. Given this shortfall, incel does not appear to be taken seriously by scientific and academic communities.


Among heterosexuals, involuntary celibacy is sometimes blamed on an imbalance in the sex ratio, with both India and China having a surplus of males,<ref>http://thefederalist.com/2018/05/04/incel-movement-isnt-really-demanding-right-sex/</ref>, which has been the case with China since the start of its one-child policy.<ref name="elizabeth"/> Historically, involuntary celibacy has also been attributed to anti-miscegenation laws, as was the case with South Africa during the apartheid era, wherein interracial couples were sometimes confined to seperate districts, or otherwise were deterred from meeting through travel permit or work permit laws.<ref name="elizabeth"/> Massive amounts of deaths among males during wars has been said to increase to the prevalence of involntary celibacy for women due to a dearth in the number of males within a specific generation.<ref name="elizabeth"/>
The single chapter devoted to involuntary celibacy in historian Elizabeth Abbott's book ''The History of Celibacy'' bears little similarity to current use of the term. The examples cited include <ref>{{Cite book |author=Elizabeth Abbot |title=A History of Celibacy |publisher=Da Capo Press |location=New York |year=2001 |chapter=Coerced Celibacy: Involuntary Celibacy |pages=303–337 |isbn=0-306-81041-7}}</ref> those living amidst skewed sex ratios caused by the death of many men in a war or ] (the latter is particularly severe in ] and ]<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.gendercide.org/case_infanticide.html |title=Case Study: Female Infanticide |publisher=Gendercidewatch.org |date= |accessdate=2012-08-14}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|last=Tripp |first|Stephanie |url= http://www.elahemassumi.com/femaletext1.html |title= Professor Studies Effects of Female Infanticide |publisher=Elahemassumi.com |date= |accessdate=2012-08-14}}</ref>); ]s; those without access to the money needed to deal with a child; those denied the right to marry by social norms like ] or younger sisters in societies that call for the oldest to be married first; women whose families lack money for the ] required by their society; people who would lose their jobs if they were known to be sexually active like ]s and journeymen in certain trades in ], or certain Western domestic servant or educator positions prior to the previous centuries; and, also, men ]d against their will.
)8


==Possible contributing factors== ===Physical factors===
Involuntary celibacy has also been attributed to factors relating to physicality, such as having a ], a physical illness<ref name="Dewey2015"/>, being ],<ref name="ellereeve">https://news.vice.com/en_us/article/7xqw3g/this-is-what-the-life-of-an-incel-looks-like</ref> some physiological problem, a discrepancy in ], a lack of sexual prowess<ref name="Yvonne"/> a negative body image,<ref name="georgia"/> an inadequate physical appearance<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.theweek.co.uk/93167/what-is-the-incel-movement|title=What is the Incel Movement?|last=|first=|date=April 25, 2018|work=]|accessdate=June 9, 2018}}</ref> bad genes<ref name="scienceincel"/> or ]<ref>https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/self-hating-incel-men-are-the-new-jihadis-5rz37h9s9</ref>. The term "involuntary celibate" has also been applied to those who lack access to birth control and subsequent fears of unwanted pregnancies, and men who were castrated against their will.<ref name="elizabeth"/>
Despite there being many theoretically plausible sources of involuntary celibacy, none can be demonstrably proven across any given sample of involuntary celibates, especially given the fact that many if not all of these possible reasons are controversial among vocal involuntary celibate themselves (see below).


Involuntary celibates sometimes describe discrimination or rejection on the basis of their physical appearance as lookism. Examples of perceived physical flaws vary widely and include small wrists, a small penis, large nostrils<ref>https://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/entry/incels-looksmaxing-obsession_us_5b50e56ee4b0de86f48b0a4f</ref> a small neck,<ref name="ellereeve"/> baldness and being short.<ref name="scienceincel">https://www.newshub.co.nz/home/lifestyle/2018/08/the-science-of-incels-all-the-reasons-why-some-men-can-t-find-a-partner.html</ref> The bone structure is a major theme of discussion on incel forums, with inconspicuous jaw lines or chins or the presence of an ] viewed as unfavorable. "Bonesmashing" (using blunt trauma) or "mewing" (using tongue pressure on the ]) are attempts at altering this bone structure.<ref name="allieconti"/><ref name="cauterucci">{{cite news |last1=Cauterucci |first1=Christina |title=Incel Memes Aren't a Joke |url=https://slate.com/human-interest/2018/07/incel-memes-like-millimeters-of-bone-and-virgin-vs-chad-mask-a-dangerous-and-toxic-culture.html |accessdate=19 July 2018 |work=]}}</ref> Others attribute it to ], with some claiming that those of a minority ethnic group face rejection in the dating world,<ref name="psychologytodaysam">https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/minority-report/201706/involuntary-celibacy</ref> and that having a dark skin color is a disadvantage.<ref>https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/cant-get-a-date-these-indians-think-its-their-race-women-hate/articleshow/64479774.cms</ref>
* Lack of suitable social circumstances conducive to sex
* ]es and/or negative ]s such as ] or ]
* Self-sabotaging ] patterns
* ] issues affecting one's feeling of 'normal' entitlement
* ] such as ], which are associated with impairment of social skills
* Psychological ] such as ], ], ] or ]
* The ], ] and ] may shrink the pool of suitable, sexually available partners; some victims may become sexually unavailable due to the ] inflicted on them.
* Living in ] and ] areas with constrained sexual, romantic, and marriage patterns
* ], a phenomenon in which men with low socio-economic positions have limited sexual opportunities<ref></ref>
* Heterosexual men who disqualify appealing women as "relationship material" based on the ] that beautiful women are less likely to be faithful as ]s or ], or to become good mothers, and would be the most likely to seek ].<ref>Etcoff Nancy. 1996. ''Survival of the Prettiest: The Science of Beauty''. Anchor Books. New York. (p. 88)</ref><ref>{{cite web|last=Dobson |first=James |url=http://www.uexpress.com/focusonthefamily/index.html?uc_full_date=20010729 |title=It's Not Always Smooth Sailing For The Physically Attractive |publisher=Uexperss.com |date=2001-07-29 |access date=2010-08-14}}</ref> A man may not even pursue an exceptionally beautiful woman to begin with due to insecurity, his fear of rejection, and an assumption that she is already in a ], long-term relationship.<ref>{{cite web|last=Smith |first=Curt |url=http://www.askmen.com/dating/curtsmith/57_dating_advice.html |title=Are You Afraid Of Beautiful Women? |publisher=Askmen.com |date= |accessdate=2012-08-14}}</ref> When such patterns become fixed and perpetual in a person's consciousness, involuntary celibacy is the usual result.<ref>{{cite web|Roberts |first=Ann |url=http://dating.lovetoknow.com/Why_Do_Men_Prefer_Less_Attractive_Women |title=Why Do Men Prefer Less Attractive Women? |publisher=Dating.lovetoknow.com |date= |accessdate=2012-08-14}}</ref>
* Very attractive men and women who may not even be noticed and be ignored completely by members of the opposite sex who are in monogamous relationships. A ] study concludes that an unconscious attentional bias serves to help men and women remain faithful to their spouses and significant others.<ref>{{cite web |last=Hall |first=Louise |url=http://www.smh.com.au/national/unfaithful-no-thanks-not-looking-20090210-83io.html |title=Unfaithful? No thanks, not looking |publisher=Smh.com.au |date=2009-02-11 |accessdate=2012-08-14}}</ref>


==History==
==Commentators' perspectives==
Historical examples of involuntary celibacy can be seen in ] during the ]. Men with a low social and economic status that could not afford to marry or keep a spouse could claim that they were celibate voluntarily despite the choice of celibacy being involuntary.<ref name=hinsch>{{cite book|last=Hinsch|first=Bret|title=Masculinities in Chinese History|date=2013|publisher=Rowman & Littlefield|isbn=978-1442222335|page=126|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=NZ-aAAAAQBAJ&dq=%22Involuntary+celibacy%22&pg=PA126}}</ref> As celibacy was held as an ideal during this time, the men could use their state to gain a certain level of respectability that their low status would not ordinarily give them.<ref name=hinsch />


The term ''involuntary celibacy'' itself has been used in reference to ], ], and ],<ref>{{cite book|last=Kahan|first=Benjamin|title=Celibacies: American Modernism and Sexual Life|date=2013|publisher=Duke University Press Books|isbn=9780822355687|page=34|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=fwfMAgAAQBAJ&dq=%22Involuntary+celibacy%22&pg=PA34}}</ref> as some groups believed that the chastity required of the Catholic nuns and priests was involuntary (due to the religious restrictions) and that societal upheavals would enable the men and women to seek their own freedoms via marriage and child rearing.<ref>{{cite book|last=Ozment|first=Steven|title=When Fathers Ruled: Family Life in Reformation Europe|date=1983|publisher=Harvard University Press|isbn=0674951204|page=49|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=MYJu5BZ2TocC&dq=%22Involuntary+celibacy%22&pg=PA49}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|last=Blum|first=Carol|title=Strength in Numbers: Population, Reproduction, and Power in Eighteenth-Century France|date=2002|publisher=JHU Press|isbn=9780801868108|page=157|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=TgkaWS7yDl8C&dq=%22Involuntary+celibacy%22&pg=PA157}}</ref> The term ''involuntary celibate has also been applied to some types of apprentices, day laborers or certain domestic servants in medieval Europe who in some instances risked losing their jobs if their sexually active became known.<ref name="elizabeth"/>
Some critics such as ] and psychologist Gary R. Brooks believe that the sexual revolution has socially conditioned men into believing that they need both the approval from and companionship of beautiful women for ].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://pureintimacy.org/piArticles/A000000551.cfm |title=Subtle Dangers of Pornography |publisher=National Coalition for the Protection of Children and Families |date= |accessdate=2012-08-14}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|last=Makow |first=Henry |url=http://www.henrymakow.com/pathetic_male_appeal_for_love.html |title=A Male's Pathetic Appeal for Love |publisher=Henrymakow.com |date=2010-01-17 |accessdate=2012-08-14}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|last=Brooks |first=Gary R. |url=http://pastordavidrn.homestead.com/files/centerfold.pdf |title=The Centerfold Syndrome |publisher=pastordavidrn.homestead.com |date= |accessdate=2013-08-14}}</ref> Meanwhile, some ] such as Dr. ] claim that ] has increased internal anxiety amongst both sexes and has made men and women feel generic and possibly worthless, leading them to become ]s and inevitably incel.<ref>{{cite web|last=Reisman |first=Judith |url=http://www.wnd.com/news/article.asp?ARTICLE_ID=16066 |title=Sex revolution triggers national impotence |publisher=Wnd.com |date=1999-02-12 |accessdate=2012-08-14}}</ref>


=="Incel" coinage==
What tends to be overlooked in these types of commentaries is that some of the most ] men and women are, inexplicably, also among the involuntarily celibate, which makes it unlikely that pressuring women to date and/or marry less desirable men or vice versa through a sense of "duty" or obligation, as was the case before the sexual revolution, would actually in itself put a stop to the incel phenomenon, whether for men in particular or either gender generally.<ref>{{cite web|last=Walsh |first=Susan |url=http://www.hookingupsmart.com/2009-09-11/do-pretty-girls-have-it-harder |title=Do Pretty Girls Have It Harder? |publisher=Hookingupsmart.com |date=2009-09-11 |accessdate=2012-08-14}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|last=Walia |first=Nona |url=http://articles.timesofindia.indiatimes.com/2009-11-15/man-women/28059470_1-brainy-men-beautiful-women-date-glenn |title=Women Prefer Nerds |publisher=Thetimesofindia.indiatimes.com |date=2009-11-15 |accessdate=2012-08-14}}</ref>
In modern times, the term ''incel'' was coined as an abbrevation. The condition of ''involuntary celibacy'' (or ''incel'') must be clearly distinguished from ''incels'', an internet subculture associated mostly with ] men blaming women, society, and ]<ref name="tele_Men'">{{Cite web| title = Men's rights activists have missed the point of feminism entirely| author = Lowry, Andrew| work = Telegraph.co.uk| date = 31 January 2015| accessdate = 2015-06-03| url = http://www.telegraph.co.uk/men/thinking-man/11377660/Mens-rights-activists-have-missed-the-point-of-feminism-entirely.html}}</ref> for their inability to have sex with women.


'']'' defines ''incel'' as a ] noun, meaning someone who lives involuntarily celibate.<ref name="dale">{{cite news|url=http://www.vandale.nl/wvdd-incel|title=#WVDD: incel|author1=den Boon|first=Ton|date=May 2, 2018|work=]|accessdate=June 8, 2018|language=Dutch}}</ref> In a study of an incel online-forum, a 2001 paper in '']'' defined the term ''involuntary celibate'' as someone who wishes to have sex, but has not been able to find a willing partner in the past six months. Noting the choice of six months is arbitrary, the researchers concluded, "for this project, the important thing is whether or not the person defines themselves as an involuntary celibate." <ref name="burgess">{{Cite journal|last1=Donnelly|first1=Denise|last2=Burgess|first2=Elisabeth|last3=Anderson|first3=Sally|last4=Davis|first4=Regina|last5=Dillard|first5=Joy|date=2001|title=Involuntary Celibacy: A life course analysis|url=http://cda.morris.umn.edu/~meeklesr/celibacy.html|journal=The Journal of Sex Research|volume=38|issue=2|pages=159–169|doi=10.1080/00224490109552083|s2cid=143447476 |via=}}</ref> The term is primarily used on websites such as ] (specifically its /r9k/ subforum), ]'s ], and LoveShy.com.<ref name="dewey2" /><ref name="cheadle" /><ref name="mcguire" /><ref name="salon" /> These online communities of incels have been called "one of the Internet’s most-reviled subcultures" by the ''Washington Post,''<ref name="dewey1" /> and ] writer Tracy Clark-Flory has criticized the concept of incel as being predicated on "the shared belief being that men are entitled to govern women’s bodies."<ref name="salon"/> Writing in ''Newsweek,'' Barbara Herman has described incels as men who "resent women for being too picky to sleep with them,"<ref name=Newsweek/> while Rebecca Cohen has described those who identify as incel as men who feel that women "owe" them sex.<ref name=Cohen/>
In the February 16, 2012 edition of the ''Avenue'' section of ''The Independent Florida Alligator'', writer Ryan Galloway, who is not involuntarily celibate but whose direction in life points towards similar ends, titles his piece "The 25-year-old Virgin Speaks Out about Sex and Love", arguing that the accumulation of sexual experience — and the obtaining of ] in particular — is "not a big deal". Galloway criticizes what he sees as the over-sexualization of present-day human history, "as fiery and hot as it is," and asks: "Who said I have to experiment in order to figure out how to do things? I found some STD stats that would suggest that I don't." Given that involuntarily celibate individuals by definition are compelled by circumstance, rather than choice, towards the state of not having a ], Galloway's proclamations may be viewed psychoanalytically as exhibiting some or another form of ], but may be significant nevertheless.<ref>{{cite web|last=Galloway |first=Ryan |url=http://www.alligator.org/the_avenue/sex/article_e73d47a2-585b-11e1-99f2-001871e3ce6c.html |title=The 25 - year old Virgin Speaks out About Sex and Love |publisher=alligator.org |date=2012-02-16 |accessdate=2012-08-14}}</ref>


Online communities of "incels" have been implicated in incidents of ] by male individuals, including the ] and the ].<ref name="dewey1" /><ref name="dewey2" /> Some self-identified incels use the term ''] uprising'' to refer to a hypothetical future revolution in which incels take revenge on both women and non-incel men.<ref name="dewey1" /><ref name="wash_Insi">{{Cite news| title = Inside the 'manosphere' that inspired Santa Barbara shooter Elliot Rodger| author = Caitlin Dewey| newspaper = Washington Post| date = 2014-05-27| accessdate = 2014-12-12| url = http://www.washingtonpost.com/news/the-intersect/wp/2014/05/27/inside-the-manosphere-that-inspired-santa-barbara-shooter-elliot-rodger/}}</ref><ref name="vice_Elli">{{Cite web| title = Elliot Rodger's Online Life Provides a Glimpse at a Hateful Group of "Anti-Pick-up Artists"| author = Patrick McGuire| work = Vice| date = 2014-05-27| accessdate = 2014-12-12| url = http://www.vice.com/en_uk/read/elliot-rodgers-online-life-provides-a-glimpse-at-a-hateful-group-of-pick-up-artists}}</ref><ref name="busi_Onli">{{Cite web| title = Online Forum For Sexually Frustrated Men Reacts To News That Mass Shooter May Be One Of Their Own| author = Gell, Aaron| publisher = Business Insider| date = 24 May 2014| accessdate = 2014-12-12| url = http://www.businessinsider.com/ucsb-shooting-forum-associated-with-elliot-rodger-reacts-2014-5}}</ref><ref name="salo_Insi">{{Cite web| title = Inside the terrifying, twisted online world of involuntary celibates| author = Tracy Clark-Flory| work = Salon| date = 2014-05-28| accessdate = 2014-12-12|url=http://www.salon.com/2014/05/27/inside_the_terrifying_twisted_online_world_of_involuntary_celibates/}}</ref>
==See also==
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==References== ==References==
{{reflist|2|refs=
{{Reflist|30em}}
<ref name="dewey1">{{cite news| last=Dewey | first=Caitlin | authorlink= | url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/the-intersect/wp/2015/10/07/incels-4chan-and-the-beta-uprising-making-sense-of-one-of-the-internets-most-reviled-subcultures/ | title= Incels, 4chan and the Beta Uprising: making sense of one of the Internet's most-reviled subcultures | newspaper=] | format=Newspaper article | date=October 7, 2015 |accessdate= 2015-10-08 }}</ref>
<ref name="dewey2">{{cite news| last=Dewey | first=Caitlin | authorlink= | url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/the-intersect/wp/2014/05/27/inside-the-manosphere-that-inspired-santa-barbara-shooter-elliot-rodger/ | title= Inside the 'manosphere' that inspired Santa Barbara shooter Elliot Rodger | newspaper=] | format=Newspaper article | date=May 27, 2014 |accessdate= 2015-10-08 }}</ref>
<ref name="cheadle">{{cite news| last=Cheadle | first=Harry | authorlink= | url=http://www.vice.com/en_uk/read/elliot-rodger-and-the-toxic-weight-of-virginity | title= Elliot Rodger and the Toxic Weight of Virginity | publisher=] | format=Internet magazine article | date=May 30, 2014 |accessdate= 2015-10-08 }}</ref>
<ref name=Cohen>http://www.motherjones.com/politics/2015/01/manosphere-mens-rights-movement-terms</ref>
<ref name="mcguire">{{cite news| last=McGuire | first=Patrick | authorlink= | url=http://www.vice.com/en_uk/read/elliot-rodgers-online-life-provides-a-glimpse-at-a-hateful-group-of-pick-up-artists | title= Elliot Rodger's Online Life Provides a Glimpse at a Hateful Group of "Anti-Pick-up Artists" | publisher=] | format=Internet magazine article | date=May 27, 2014 |accessdate= 2015-10-08 }}</ref>
<ref name=Newsweek>Herman, B. (2014, Aug 22). Catfight at the anti-feminist corral: Felines join the anti-feminist debate. ''Newsweek.''</ref>
<ref name="salon">{{cite news| last=Clark-Flory | first=Tracy | authorlink= | url=http://www.salon.com/2014/05/27/inside_the_terrifying_twisted_online_world_of_involuntary_celibates/ | title=Inside the terrifying, twisted online world of involuntary celibates | work=] | format=Internet magazine article | date=May 28, 2014 |accessdate= 2015-10-08 }}</ref>
}}


==External links== ==External links==
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* Devoted to promoting awareness of involuntary celibacy


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Latest revision as of 00:43, 10 June 2022

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Involuntary celibacy or involuntary sexual abstinence (also known as incel and sometimes referred to as love shyness or being love shy) is sexual abstinence by people who are routinely celibate for involuntary reasons as opposed to doing so voluntarily. The term has gained popularity in recent years.

Definition

The common definition of involuntary celibacy is routinely used to describe instances where someone has not engaged in sexual activity with anyone for a certain amount of time, despite the individual desiring sexual activity with other people. Reasons for involuntary celibacy can differ from person to person or community to community. Involuntary celibacy can occur within marriages and has been frequently under-reported due to stigmas attached to sexually inactive marriages.

There is no set length for when someone considers themselves to be involuntarily celibate, and the time period without sexual activity can average anywhere from a few months to several years or the individual's entire lifespan up to that point in time. Involuntarily celibacy is traditionally seen as separate from asexuality, antisexualism, or any voluntary state of celibacy or abstinence, and some individuals who self-identify as being partially or fully involuntarily celibate have stated that they believe that it should be treated as a separate psychosocial issue. Characteristics of involuntary celibacy differ but typically share two common claimed characteristics: the individual has gone without sexual intercourse for a long period of time, despite attempts to attract a sexual partner, and that the individual has limited or no access to partners or opportunities to find a partner.

Occasionally a distinction is drawn between men actively attempting to engage with women, but are constantly rejected, and "love shyness", men too shy to engage.

Characteristics

The The Journal of Sex Research notes that celibate men are more likely to be conceived later in their parents life than the general population and are more likely to be lower class and unemployed. The involuntarily celibate men they studied tended to work in sex-segrated jobs, had more education than involuntarily celibate women, and followed particularly masculine life trajectories to a degree that it hindered their ability to meet women. Involuntarily celibate women were also found to follow life trajectories particularly close to feminine gender roles. At the end of the study contained in the Journal of Sexology and the Sexuality and Society Reader, the researchers concluded there was not enough scientific research done on involuntary celibacy, writing, "Until the phenomena of involuntary celibacy has been fully investigated, and the results disseminated, it will remain a taboo topic, cloaked in mystery and ignorance, and an untold number of persons will continue to suffer in silence and isolation". Involuntary celibates have also been characterized as lonely and vulnerable.

Causes

Reasons for involuntary celibacy can often overlap with reasons for traditional celibacy, which can sometimes make it difficult to discern between voluntary or involuntary celibacy, as some feel pressured to state that the celibacy is voluntary out of fear of severe social repercussions or violence. In a 2001 study of 82 individuals (60 men and 22 women) who self-identified as being involuntarily celibate, sociologist Denise Donnelly commented that she believed that "the relationship between these barriers and involuntary celibacy is reciprocal, rather than unidirectional" and that while the contributing factors could impact the individuals' sex lives, they could in some instances be a result of being celibate. She also noted that these traits were not necessarily the norm and that an incel could have be seen as otherwise normal by social standards. A further study conducted by Donnelly and associates between June 1999 to June 2000 of 192 individuals showed that many of the self-identifying involuntarily celibate were living in the United States, were under the age of 34, and had either attended or completed their college education.

Psychological factors

Involuntary celibacy has been attributed to psychological factors, such as social awkwardness, a lack of social skills, lack of confidence or flirting skills, trust issues, addiction, shyness, recreational sex invoking feelings of guilt, fears of unreciprocation of romantic overtures or apathy or an inability to decipher social cues. It has also been suggested that people who live involuntarily celibte lives may have psychological disorders such as depression, Asperger syndrome, and body dysmorphic disorder. It has also been suggested that there is a correlation between involuntary celibacy and other psychological issues such as neuroticism, anxiety, and autism, extreme introversion or general mental ailments.

Societal factors

Others attribute it to societal factors such as financial constraints, a sex-segregated environment, responsibilities such as raising children, teenage inexperience and datelessness, family demands, a busy career or being preoccupied with one's education. Reasons for involuntary celibacy can often include reasons such as the individual's limited access to sexual partners, or because of institutional restrictions in the instance of people in restrictive nursing homes or prisons. Other reasons for involuntary celibacy can include societal pressure, as in the case of strict cultural taboos or moral standards that the individual feels pressured to follow, as in the case of some religious factions that mandate that homosexuals should remain celibate as opposed to engaging in sexual activity with other homosexuals. Factors believed to contribute to involuntary celibacy are elements such as an unviable living arrangement, occupations that are segregated by sex, or having abnormally lengthy working hours.

Other social factors include a reluctance by younger siblings in Asia to increase social pressure on their older siblings by getting married before them in societies where pre-marital sex is taboo. During the Great Depression, involuntary celibacy has been attributed to unemployment or underemployment, which resulted in a postponement of marriages. It has also been attributed to those who lack access to birth control since historically, such people often attempted to ward off unwanted pregnancies by avoiding sex or marriage. Others attribute it to a ultra-conservative religious upbringing that resulted in inhibitions around sex and relationships. The term "involuntary celibate" has also been used in regard to female widows in some subsets of Hinduism wherein it is taboo for them to remarry.

Among heterosexuals, involuntary celibacy is sometimes blamed on an imbalance in the sex ratio, with both India and China having a surplus of males,, which has been the case with China since the start of its one-child policy. Historically, involuntary celibacy has also been attributed to anti-miscegenation laws, as was the case with South Africa during the apartheid era, wherein interracial couples were sometimes confined to seperate districts, or otherwise were deterred from meeting through travel permit or work permit laws. Massive amounts of deaths among males during wars has been said to increase to the prevalence of involntary celibacy for women due to a dearth in the number of males within a specific generation.

Physical factors

Involuntary celibacy has also been attributed to factors relating to physicality, such as having a physical disability, a physical illness, being unattractive, some physiological problem, a discrepancy in libido, a lack of sexual prowess a negative body image, an inadequate physical appearance bad genes or lookism. The term "involuntary celibate" has also been applied to those who lack access to birth control and subsequent fears of unwanted pregnancies, and men who were castrated against their will.

Involuntary celibates sometimes describe discrimination or rejection on the basis of their physical appearance as lookism. Examples of perceived physical flaws vary widely and include small wrists, a small penis, large nostrils a small neck, baldness and being short. The bone structure is a major theme of discussion on incel forums, with inconspicuous jaw lines or chins or the presence of an overbite viewed as unfavorable. "Bonesmashing" (using blunt trauma) or "mewing" (using tongue pressure on the palate) are attempts at altering this bone structure. Others attribute it to sexual racism, with some claiming that those of a minority ethnic group face rejection in the dating world, and that having a dark skin color is a disadvantage.

History

Historical examples of involuntary celibacy can be seen in China during the Ming Dynasty. Men with a low social and economic status that could not afford to marry or keep a spouse could claim that they were celibate voluntarily despite the choice of celibacy being involuntary. As celibacy was held as an ideal during this time, the men could use their state to gain a certain level of respectability that their low status would not ordinarily give them.

The term involuntary celibacy itself has been used in reference to eunuchs, Catholic nuns, and priests, as some groups believed that the chastity required of the Catholic nuns and priests was involuntary (due to the religious restrictions) and that societal upheavals would enable the men and women to seek their own freedoms via marriage and child rearing. The term involuntary celibate has also been applied to some types of apprentices, day laborers or certain domestic servants in medieval Europe who in some instances risked losing their jobs if their sexually active became known.

"Incel" coinage

In modern times, the term incel was coined as an abbrevation. The condition of involuntary celibacy (or incel) must be clearly distinguished from incels, an internet subculture associated mostly with misogynic men blaming women, society, and feminism for their inability to have sex with women.

Van Dale's Great Dictionary of the Dutch Language defines incel as a gender-neutral noun, meaning someone who lives involuntarily celibate. In a study of an incel online-forum, a 2001 paper in The Journal of Sex Research defined the term involuntary celibate as someone who wishes to have sex, but has not been able to find a willing partner in the past six months. Noting the choice of six months is arbitrary, the researchers concluded, "for this project, the important thing is whether or not the person defines themselves as an involuntary celibate." The term is primarily used on websites such as 4chan (specifically its /r9k/ subforum), Reddit's /r/ForeverAlone, and LoveShy.com. These online communities of incels have been called "one of the Internet’s most-reviled subcultures" by the Washington Post, and Salon.com writer Tracy Clark-Flory has criticized the concept of incel as being predicated on "the shared belief being that men are entitled to govern women’s bodies." Writing in Newsweek, Barbara Herman has described incels as men who "resent women for being too picky to sleep with them," while Rebecca Cohen has described those who identify as incel as men who feel that women "owe" them sex.

Online communities of "incels" have been implicated in incidents of spree killings by male individuals, including the 2014 Isla Vista killings and the Umpqua shooting. Some self-identified incels use the term Beta uprising to refer to a hypothetical future revolution in which incels take revenge on both women and non-incel men.

References

  1. Henry G. Spooner (1916). The American Journal of Urology and Sexology. Grafton Press. pp. 249–.
  2. Denis L Meadows (1973). The dynamics of growth in a finite world: A technical report on the global simulation model World 3. Thayer School of Engineering, Darmouth College.
  3. Joost Abraham Maurits Meerloo (1946). Aftermath of Peace: Psychological Essays. International Universities Press. ISBN 9780598365347.
  4. Gilmartin, Brian G. (1985). "Some Family Antecedents of Severe Shyness". Family Relations. 34 (3): 429–438. doi:10.2307/583584. JSTOR 583584. Retrieved 19 May 2014.
  5. ^ Abbott, Elizabeth (2001). A History of Celibacy. Da Capo Press. pp. 20, 294, 303, 309–312. ISBN 9780306810411. Retrieved 4 December 2014.
  6. SEX AND SOCIETY (Abstinence- Gender Identity, Volume 1). Marshall Cavendish. 2010. p. 309. ISBN 9780761479062.
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External links

{{Human sexuality}} {{DEFAULTSORT:Involuntary celibacy}} ] ] ] ] ]