Incel Epistemology: On Marginality, Experience and Legitimization of Knowledge

This article contributes to the growing corpus of knowledge concerning the incel movement by scrutinizing how claims of marginalization are mobilized in online incel communities to present incels as privileged subjects of knowledge. The study elucidates how incel marginalization is wielded as a legi...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Young (Stockholm, Sweden) Vol. 33; no. 5; pp. 459 - 475
Main Author: Johansson, Wilén Evelina
Format: Journal Article
Language:English
Published: New Delhi, India SAGE Publications 01.11.2025
Sage Publications Ltd
Subjects:
Affinity
Consciousness-raising
Epistemology
Experience
Feminism
feminist standpoint theory
Feminist theory
Gender Studies
Genusvetenskap
Hegemony
incels
Knowledge
Legitimacy
Marginality
Mobilization
movements and counter-movements
privileged knowledge
Social exclusion
Social movement theory
Social movements
Social privilege
Tactics
vulnerability
movements and counter-movements
Consciousness-raising
feminist standpoint theory
marginality
incels
feminism
privileged knowledge
vulnerability
experience
ISSN:1103-3088, 1741-3222, 1741-3222
Online Access:Get full text
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Summary:This article contributes to the growing corpus of knowledge concerning the incel movement by scrutinizing how claims of marginalization are mobilized in online incel communities to present incels as privileged subjects of knowledge. The study elucidates how incel marginalization is wielded as a legitimizing experience, conferring epistemic privilege upon self-identifying incels by distinguishing between an ‘us’ of marginalized and enlightened incels, and a ‘them’ consisting of duped and privileged ‘others’. It also examines the role of partaking in incel discussions and incel ideology to achieve an incel standpoint, where lived experience is transformed into counter-hegemonic knowledge. Inspired by social movement theory, the article points to similarities between the incel movement’s political mobilization of marginalized experience and feminist standpoint theory and feminist practices in consciousness-raising groups. It argues that this affinity can be understood from the perspective of the dynamic between movements and counter-movements and their tendency to mimic and copy each other’s tactics.
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ISSN:1103-3088
1741-3222
1741-3222
DOI:10.1177/11033088241295873