Madrid/In recent times, we have observed a remarkable increase in interest towards the money that the miniseries Adolescence (Netflix) He has renewed. The Plan (English Handsphere) It is the set of digital subcultures that share a misogynist vision of the world and a negative perspective towards feminism.
Numerous investigations have addressed lately The various outscape subculturesincluding men’s rights activists, men who follow their own path, seduction gurus and other content creators such as YouTube, Twitch and Tiktok.
But not only have digital subcultures be attacked, but also their connection with other social movements that share an antifminist agenda against the advances of women’s rights and gender equality.
The poor study has been fundamental to understand how digital subcultures contribute to misinformation and polarization. Because the light has a high capacity to change and adapt that allows it to expand its postulates to many places of the digital ecosystem.
The poor study has been fundamental to understanding how digital subcultures contribute to misinformation and polarization
It has also been analyzed how these communities offer their members a sense of belonging that allows them to fill socio -affective gaps, by congregating men who feel alone, injured and misunderstood by society, channeling their frustration towards women and feminism. It is essential to remember that these equal relations have also been decisive for Organize violent and collective digital attacks against women.
Especially interesting is research on Toxic technoculturesas a researcher at the American University Adrienne Massanari to violent digital cultures provided and propagated through social networks and video games on-line.
This means that, despite the fact that violence has a deep cultural root, we must understand that design, algorithmic mediation and platform policies are implicitly supporting the existence of violent subcultures.
But in addition to drawing the attention of intellectuals around the world, the popular interest in the light in general and the phenomenon has also increased INCEL (Acronym for English expression Involuntary Celibate‘involuntary celibate’) in particular. The different acts of acts of violence linked to subculture INCEL They have been very notorious and have had a Great media impact.
Additionally, works such as Fluid mechanics (2022), by the Spanish director Gala Hernández, or the captivating Netflix series Adolescence They have led to the general public wondering what the and who are the INCELS.
The INCELS have been subject to wide study, particularly in the Anglo -Saxon context And, to a lesser extent, In Spain. The origin of the term dates back to 1997, when a Canadian student created a website to document their difficulties in finding a partner called Alana´s Involuntary Celibacy Project. Quickly, this website became a digital space for people with similar experiences.
Incel subculture is composed of people, mostly men, who feel that, despite desire, they cannot establish romantic and sexual relationships
The subculture INCEL It is composed of people, mostly men, who feel that, despite desire, they cannot establish romantic and sexual relationships due to external factors, such as their physical appearance or their social situation.
Many times caricatured, this subculture is difficult to understand in all its complexity, since it has Your own crypt – Specific cryptic language– and a philosophy that needs its own encyclopedia – the INCEL WIKI– To be explained.
The recent social interest in INCELS It shows a reaction to contemporary problems that affect both gender and mental health relations and digital democracy. It is explained for several reasons.
On the one hand, they have increased media coverage and cultural products on this subculture and its Linking with violent incidents. In parallel, the general interest in Internet phenomena and digital culture has increased, as a consequence of confusion and curiosity that arouse between generations that feel increasingly far from new social trends.
On the other hand, there has been an awareness of the cultural, social and political impact of digital subcultures and influence on minors and young people such as YouTube or Tiktok.
Especially relevant at the social level is the debate on the early use of mobile devices and exposure to humiliating and dehumanizing content
Especially relevant at the social level is the debate on the early use of mobile devices and Exposure to humiliating and dehumanizing content. In that line, we have seen how interest in the relationship between algorithms and radicalization was shot; that is, by the role of digital platforms in the spread of hate as a result of an algorithmic mediation that tends to amplify hate speeches and connect users with radicalized communities.
In addition, attention has been drawn to the socio -affective needs of men in a world where traditional gender roles are in constant transformation and the effects of isolation are documented, the unwanted loneliness and other challenges for the mental health of youth.
Finally, it should be stressed how much has dismayed the normalization of misogynistic attitudes and the emergence of banalizer speeches of gender violence among men from generation Z In a country, Spain, where it has been fought so much and has been achieved by gender equality. This may not talk so much in the series Adolescencebut many academics have been stealing for years.
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Drafting Note: This article was published originally in The conversation and reproduces with Creative Commons license. Its author is a professor of Sociology, Complutense University of Madrid.
