“Just Be White (JBW)”: Incels, Race and the Violence of Whiteness

Abstract

Largely operating online, incels are predominantly male individuals who are frustrated by their involuntary celibacy—their inability to get a romantic or sexual partner. Their worldview is grounded in hostile sexism largely directed at women and shared contempt for mainstream dating standards and feminism. Some incels posit that they can undertake specific racially-defined actions (i.e., skin bleaching, lying about one's ethnicity, cosmetic surgery) to increase their access to women by appearing more white and, hence, more desirable. By thematically analyzing 10 online incel forums on the topic of race, this research identifies the role of race as a sustaining facilitator of networked misogyny and white supremacy. Despite these racialized efforts to appear more white, many incels conclude that these efforts to change themselves are largely ineffective in increasing their access to women. Seeing as over half of incels seek counseling and social work services, this research puts forth several implications for social workers supporting incel clients and highlights the importance of understanding the role that race plays in incel clients’ rhetoric—not only in reproducing racism, but also in provoking violence-sustaining affects (e.g., anger, disappointment, resentment) that generate a shared sense of betrayal and reinforce gender-based violence.