RACIALISED MASCULINITY IN THE INCELOSPHERE: A NETNOGRAPHIC STUDY OF THE INCEL TALK X COMMUNITY (FORMERLY TWITTER)

Abstract

This research explores how racialised masculinity is communicated within the Incel Talk community on X (formerly Twitter). Using the netnographic method, the study analyses 143 race-related posts uploaded by Incel Talk community members to uncover how incels of different racial backgrounds use speech codes to express their shared beliefs, hierarchies, and group criticisms. The findings reveal that whiteness is positioned as the hegemonic masculine position, with codes such as JBW and Racepill reflecting the cultural hegemony of white men and the subordination and marginalisation of non-white men as having biologically determined inceldom. Codes of hierarchy are used by incels in discussing racialised hierarchies of masculinities, such as the ‘Ethnic Tax’ to rank each ethnicity or race within the incel hierarchy. Other speech codes explain the hierarchical standing of specific racialised men, most notably the use of ‘Currycel/Jeet’ to reference South Asian men and ‘Tyrone/Thugmax’ to reference Black men, both as marginalised masculinities. Racialised incels employ compensatory strategies, such as ‘whitemaxxing’, ‘thugmaxxing’ and ‘looksmaxxing’, to alleviate their standing in the hierarchy. Speech codes of belongingness are used to criticise and reinforce dominant rules and premises, such as the rule of White incels as ‘fakecels’ or ‘volcels’.