• Awoo [she/her]@hexbear.net
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    3 months ago

    I don’t get why incels exist tbh when you can go into literally any kink community right now and find 5 people that want to sub for practically anyone in like 10 minutes.

    It really strikes me as being at least partially self inflicted, like the sex is just supposed to happen with nothing else involved? It strikes me that there’s some sort of knowledge or effort barrier that they refuse to cross or that they don’t understand or mistake the correct steps involved in getting from A to B.

    • GarbageShoot [he/him]@hexbear.net
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      3 months ago

      They could also spend a modest sum and get off that way. There are at least two major things that I think you’re missing:

      A lot of them want a partner who they can be emotionally intimate with, not just someone to fuck. A simple proof that doesn’t involve us both needing to look at their forums is that they have a popular acronym “KHHV,” or “kissless, hand-holdless virgin” which I think is used partly to emphasize their literal distance from women, but also to communicate closeness they are lacking besides the sex. If all I want is to fuck people, what do I give a shit about holding someone’s hand? This is also part of why trad shit so easily gained traction there, because it was basically viewed (falsely) as a guarantee to have a partner that you could emotionally invest in and they wouldn’t leave you (there are many ways this is wrong, of course)*

      The second thing, as I mention in my dumb rant in this thread, is that incel communities are highly predatory cults. They prey on the mentally ill, racial minorities (particularly Asians), and literal children. They take your trauma** and convince you that it’s just what the world is for someone like you. It’s not about whether you can objectively access sex (again, escorts exist), it’s about hating yourself and, through that, hating everyone outside of your new group of “allies”.

      Also, like, nothing against kink, but a fair number of people – especially the sexually inexperienced – are really not into basically any of it. Also I think the huge number of subs is more a gay community thing (I’ve been told there’s a top shortage), but I wouldn’t know since I’m one of those vanilla hets.

      *While I believe these pieces of evidence do point to my conclusion, I recognize they are unconvincing. The real reason I believe it is because I spent some time on incel boards (I was never an incel) and the level of sentimentality about relationships, about being told “I love you” and so on was off the charts.

      **in the former two cases. With the kids, it’s just straightforward ideological grooming

      • Awoo [she/her]@hexbear.net
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        3 months ago

        A lot of them want a partner who they can be emotionally intimate with, not just someone to fuck. A simple proof that doesn’t involve us both needing to look at their forums is that they have a popular acronym “KHHV,” or “kissless, hand-holdless virgin” which I think is used partly to emphasize their literal distance from women, but also to communicate closeness they are lacking besides the sex.

        The level of intimacy they yearn for is created over months, the sex is usually much earlier. So perhaps part of the problem is that they mentally have the cart before the horse, the order of things that are supposed to happen is incorrect in their heads and therefore they fail the whole dating thing because it doesn’t match with the material reality and issues occur interacting with others over this.

        The second thing, as I mention in my dumb rant in this thread, is that incel communities are highly predatory cults. They prey on the mentally ill, racial minorities (particularly Asians), and literal children. They take your trauma** and convince you that it’s just what the world is for someone like you. It’s not about whether you can objectively access sex (again, escorts exist), it’s about hating yourself and, through that, hating everyone outside of your new group of “allies”.

        Yes I agree with the cult aspect.

        Also, like, nothing against kink, but a fair number of people – especially the sexually inexperienced – are really not into basically any of it. Also I think the huge number of subs is more a gay community thing (I’ve been told there’s a top shortage), but I wouldn’t know since I’m one of those vanilla hets.

        Yeah so they yearn for a specific kind of traditionally romantic relationship, probably learned from patriarchal television, movies and dramas, which doesn’t actually spontaneously exist in the real modern world anymore outside of teenagers or rare random occurrences of two people with chemistry hitting it off. And even then the two people with chemistry get down to fucking before they get down to any kind of deeply involved romantic intimacy after months of building emotional bonds and closeness.

        The other side of this is that they’re so misogynistic how the fuck do they expect to get that romantically close to someone before they realise how awful they are?

        • blame [they/them]@hexbear.net
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          3 months ago

          The other side of this is that they’re so misogynistic how the fuck do they expect to get that romantically close to someone before they realise how awful they are?

          they’re stuck in a doom loop of terrible self esteem and self fulfilling prophecy. Anyone from the outside looking in can look at the situation and say “Why don’t you just?” but they’re trainwrecks, they probably need therapy to escape it. Well that probably works for like pre-2010 normal teenager who is scared of girls and can’t get laid type of situation, now we have the fent of inceldom thanks to 4chan or whatever started it. Probably need some sort of detox from the internet plus therapy.

        • GarbageShoot [he/him]@hexbear.net
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          3 months ago

          I wouldn’t really know since I’ve only ever had “traditional” relationships, but I’m pretty sure they still exist. Most of the people I know (which is now mid twenties at the youngest up to near 40) are in romantic relationships or want to be, it’s not just hook-ups out there. Like, don’t get me wrong, thinking about how to find a way to get into a romantic relationship again makes me want to CW, but that’s partly because it was already really difficult for someone like me and it’s getting more difficult as I get older . . . Anyway, of all the things we can blame them for, I think not wanting to fuck men and now wanting to, idk, whip and step on people? is really it. Incidentally, one of the veins of discourse in the incel community is basically doing conversion therapy to become gay because they believe that it’s way easier on average for a dude to get laid if he’s gay. I’ve never seen someone report that the converted themselves, though.

          The other side of this is that they’re so misogynistic how the fuck do they expect to get that romantically close to someone before they realise how awful they are?

          Well, they didn’t become such sickos until after they already had their negative experiences, at which point they’ve usually given up and made sexual frustration their religion. There’s no contradiction in this specific point, even if there’s a lot of short-sightedness, dehumanization, reaction, etc.

          Edit:

          The level of intimacy they yearn for is created over months, the sex is usually much earlier. So perhaps part of the problem is that they mentally have the cart before the horse, the order of things that are supposed to happen is incorrect in their heads and therefore they fail the whole dating thing because it doesn’t match with the material reality and issues occur interacting with others over this.

          Not to keep playing reverse “Spot the Contradiction,” but you need to remember that these are people who generally have never had a girlfriend. Period. They might get a first date or two and then get ghosted. In the context of a first date, do you think that for a het woman, a man more interested in emotionality than sex is somehow a red flag? Like yeah, if he’s trauma dumping to you while you’re at the diner and you don’t even really know him, that’s probably not gonna fly, but if anything I would think emotionality that is somewhat in check and deprioritizing sex would be considered substantial positives for these guys as candidates. Unfortunately for them, most of them never even got that far and the other ones found some other way (probably prioritizing sex in many cases) to fuck it up.

          • Awoo [she/her]@hexbear.net
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            3 months ago

            I wouldn’t really know since I’ve only ever had “traditional” relationships, but I’m pretty sure they still exist. Most of the people I know (which is now mid twenties at the youngest up to near 40) are in romantic relationships or want to be, it’s not just hook-ups out there. Like, don’t get me wrong, thinking about how to find a way to get into a romantic relationship again makes me want to CW, but that’s partly because it was already really difficult for someone like me and it’s getting more difficult as I get older . . .

            I think you’ve misunderstood me. When I say “traditional” I mean like, this fairytail of many weeks/months of dating before sexy time. It just isn’t how it actually works in the real world anymore. People are making out and rubbing bits together within the first few days/week or they’re moving on.

            The intimacy and romance is built alongside the physicality. If it exists.

            There’s an unwritten rule about not being too clingy during that time, and if the two people fall for each other then they do, but also you have to not be too clingy too quickly or else it becomes massively unattractive. This is a major hurdle for incels because of course they’re massively insecure and that same insecurity causes them to massively overthink everything and become far too emotionally attached too quickly to the point that it makes the other person uncomfortable how they’re being.

            Incidentally, one of the veins of discourse in the incel community is basically doing conversion therapy to become gay because they believe that it’s way easier on average for a dude to get laid if he’s gay. I’ve never seen someone report that the converted themselves, though.

            I don’t think it’s easier to get laid if you’re gay. I think it’s easier to get laid if you’re into kink and that community happens to almost entirely crossover with kink due to comfort with exploration.

            Not to keep playing reverse “Spot the Contradiction,” but you need to remember that these are people who generally have never had a girlfriend. Period. They might get a first date or two and then get ghosted. In the context of a first date, do you think that for a het woman, a man more interested in emotionality than sex is somehow a red flag?

            No.

            Like yeah, if he’s trauma dumping to you while you’re at the diner and you don’t even really know him, that’s probably not gonna fly

            This is practically all of them. They will all tell you just how much life has it out for them with practically no prompting, and it’s deeply offputting to most people.

            but if anything I would think emotionality that is somewhat in check and deprioritizing sex would be considered substantial positives for these guys as candidates

            It would be, if they could get their incredible insecurity in check or at least successfully hide it for long enough for someone to see the real person they are.

            However, one of the problems with insecurity is that it controls you in a way that causes you to act differently. It holds you back, it makes you not say things, or say things you shouldn’t, it causes acting out, etc etc. If you can remove insecurity from the situation you end up with a completely different person, one that is attractive assuming they don’t say some women-hating bullshit.

            • Ildsaye [they/them]@hexbear.net
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              3 months ago

              this fairytail of many weeks/months of dating before sexy time. It just isn’t how it actually works in the real world anymore. People are making out and rubbing bits together within the first few days/week or they’re moving on.

              News to demis. Just because our fairy nature gives us powers of invisibility we don’t entirely control, doesn’t mean we don’t have a presence in your real world!

            • GarbageShoot [he/him]@hexbear.net
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              3 months ago

              Yeah, it’s easy in high school and even easier as an undergrad, but there’s a precipitous drop immediately after that, at least for me (though I have to imagine it applies to many other people).

        • fire86743@lemmygrad.ml
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          3 months ago

          The level of intimacy they yearn for is created over months, the sex is usually much earlier. So perhaps part of the problem is that they mentally have the cart before the horse, the order of things that are supposed to happen is incorrect in their heads and therefore they fail the whole dating thing because it doesn’t match with the material reality and issues occur interacting with others over this.

          How? Why is this the case? I’ve thought for such a long time that people in general would prefer to wait for emotional intimacy before engaging in sex for a long-term relationship. When did it become like this?

          • Awoo [she/her]@hexbear.net
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            3 months ago

            I think in the past various religious values used to impress a certain amount of prudishness and resistance to sexual relations such that romantic feelings would develop before physicality. Whereas these days those values and the “save yourself for the one you love” attitude fell by the wayside as a result of secularism.

            Add on top of that the fact that everyone is horny af and that’s mostly normalised as fine and ok and well there you have it. People get physical fairly quickly, within the first 1-14 days, whereas love takes months to develop or people put up barriers to actively avoid developing those romantic feelings after previous negative experiences (self preservation after how much it hurt).

            I’m speaking strictly of the west here of course, I don’t have enough experience outside of it to say how different things might be elsewhere. I would expect things trend in the same direction outside of the religiously-led countries though.

            • Maeve@lemmygrad.ml
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              3 months ago

              Biology happens, and I’d still tell people, after significant experience with that: spend the time getting to know someone before sexing them. That hormone rush wears off after about three months, and it’s not great to find out you really don’t actually like a person you’re already sleeping with.

              • Awoo [she/her]@hexbear.net
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                3 months ago

                Most people really aren’t willing to wait that long before engaging in anything physical. I suspect that people probably suffer a sort of relationship fomo in that they’re worried someone else will snag them if they don’t start.

                • Maeve@lemmygrad.ml
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                  3 months ago

                  Yes. After significant experience with that, I would say that’s the difference between desperation and confidence.

                  To illustrate, desperation = pick me, confidence = I’m enough.

    • bigboopballs [he/him]@hexbear.net
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      3 months ago

      I don’t get why incels exist tbh when you can go into literally any kink community right now and find 5 people that want to sub for practically anyone in like 10 minutes.

      I don’t know of any local kink community I can just walk into. Especially as a single man, lol

      • Awoo [she/her]@hexbear.net
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        3 months ago

        Over reacting. There is no possible way to solve a problem without talking about what the causes of it are.

        I also don’t agree with you generalising incels as simply all being neurodiverse people, they’re not, some might be but the majority? I don’t think so. It also means any criticism of incels is ableism and frankly I entirely disagree.

          • frauddogg [null/void, undecided]@hexbear.net
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            3 months ago

            You are advocating for accepting, no, Demanding that those of us who’ve already been denigrated by these males make space for harmful, non-receptive threats in our circles. Shockingly he/him moment for a them honestly; get the fuck out of my inbox

            Like you just skipped right past that “somebody who’s gone out of their way to either rebuff or outright denigrate my viewpoints” bit. Wanna debate pervert me all motherfuckin night with lines you could’ve just skimmed to find something to copy and paste but you didn’t read shit I had to say. Motherfucker you are not welcome to get buck with me.

              • frauddogg [null/void, undecided]@hexbear.net
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                3 months ago

                They went right past what I said, I’m not showing their rote recitation any consideration. This isn’t negotiable or debatable, I’m not about allowing hateful, already-proven-harmful toxic-ass dudes in my circles or orbits. Since you and ol’ person wants to debate pervert me so hard about it, y’all can do that work, burn y’all hands, and gargle that poison.

                I’m past it.

    • Carcharodonna [she/her]@hexbear.net
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      3 months ago

      The question that bothers me much more than why they can’t get sex is WHY incels base their happiness and worth almost entirely on sex and dating in the first place. That seems very problematic to me and getting closer to the core of the issue.

      • Awoo [she/her]@hexbear.net
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        3 months ago

        In capitalism you either have sex/dating or wealth that are pushed as the great things that make you “successful”. I would probably look at their backgrounds and how they were raised to determine why sex/dating ended up ahead of wealth for them.

        I think the cases where people don’t fall into either of those two usually happen because our parents were a counterbalance against the hegemony telling us that those aren’t important during the very important development years.

      • Awoo [she/her]@hexbear.net
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        3 months ago

        I would argue it’s not the sex that is specifically the problem, sex is clumsy for everyone in first experiences. For the incels it’s the part before the sex they are erring on. We don’t have socialisation classes on what typically occurs before the sex, we only have movies for that and the movies are not actually a reflection of our current reality. They get taught the wrong thing, fail, build up insecurity about it, fail even harder, and then resent society for it. This resentment at society for this makes them uniquely susceptible to the deep hate that the community has now become a hotbed for, including the mass killings carried out by some of them.

        If I wanted to turn this around I think my starting point would be movies. Specifically movies focused on inceldom and reforming from it but also followed by a change in the way movies currently teach people these relations in an out of date way that simply isn’t reflecting current society.