INCEL was originally a useful term for a very specific online community.
It was supposed to describe socially disenfranchised men (and some women) who struggle to find a sexual partner, to build a career, to make friends and become financially independent.
Some of these people resort to misogyny, and in extreme cases, violence – and these people and the culture around them need be discussed, understood and helped.
But now the term ‘INCEL’ has been hijacked by bloggers, pundits, feminists and social justice warriors, intended to degrade and humiliate, slung at any number of perfectly decent and reasonable men, and consequently the meaning is lost.
So tell me, isn’t it ironic how the very people who point the finger at those who ‘slut shame’ women, are now doing the opposite to men?
Isn’t it odd how tying a woman’s worth to her sexual activity is unacceptable, yet doing this to men seems to be okay?
And is incentivising a man to value himself based on his ability to have sex, kinda irresponsible?
Are we even capable of having difficult discussions without it becoming yet another opportunity to sling mud at men?
What do you think?
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Photo by rhett-noonan from Unsplash