PSYCHOLOGICAL RESEARCH AND THEORETICAL APPROACHES TO THE INCEL PHENOMENON

Abstract

Violence and discrimination against women constitute an important social problem all over the world. In recent years, self-identified incels (self-identified involuntary celibate men) have gained public visibility both in Türkiye and globally due to their misogynistic discourse circulated online as well as their involvement in extremist and terror-related acts. Incels are a part of the so-called manosphere, a group organized through various internet forums, characterized by an anti-women ideology. This article provides an overview of the existing psychological literature on incels. Some of the studies on incels have focused on the demographic characteristics and ideology of the group, while others have examined on the psychological well-being of incels, group dynamics and identity construction processes. While incels include members from different races and political views, they generally have misogynistic attitudes. At the same time, psychological problems such as depression, anxiety, and suicidal tendencies are quite high in the group. In the literature, there are three types of approaches that aim to explain the phenomenon of incel: evolutionary psychological, social psychological and psychopathological. The findings and theoretical approaches in the existing literature are discussed, and several recommendations are proposed for future research and interventions.

Keywords

• incel
• psychology
• violence against women

İNCEL OLGUSUNA DAİR PSİKOLOJİK ARAŞTIRMA VE YAKLAŞIMLAR

Abstract

Kadınlara yönelik şiddet ve ayrımcılık dünyanın her yerinde önemli bir toplumsal sorundur. Inceller olarak adlandırılan gönülsüz bekar erkekler, son yıllarda internette yayınladıkları kadın karşıtı söylem ve faili oldukları terör olaylarıyla hem Türkiye’de hem dünyada gündeme gelmiştir. İnceller, manosphere olarak adlandırılan ve çeşitli internet forumları üzerinden organize olan, genellikle kadın karşıtı ideolojiye sahip olan gruplardan biridir. Bu yazıda incellere dair mevcut psikoloji literatürü özetlenmiştir. İncellere dair çalışmaların bir kısmı grubun demografik özelliklerine ve ideolojisine odaklanırken, kimileri incellerin psikolojik sağlığına, bir kısmı da incellerin grup yapısına ve kimlikle kurdukları bağa odaklanmışlardır. İnceller farklı ırk ve siyasi görüşlerden üyeler barındırmakla birlikte, genelde kadın düşmanı tutumlara sahiplerdir. Aynı zamanda grupta depresyon, kaygı, intihar eğilimi gibi psikolojik sorunlar oldukça yüksektir. Literatürde incel olgusunu açıklamayı hedefleyen evrimsel psikolojik, sosyal psikolojik ve psikopatolojik olmak üzere üç çeşit yaklaşım mevcuttur. Mevcut literatürün sunduğu bulgu ve kuramsal yaklaşımlar tartışılarak kimi önerilerde bulunulmuştur.

Keywords

• incel
• psikoloji
• kadına yönelik şiddet

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