Safeguarding
Incels and the 'manosphere' safeguarding CPD
In September 2021, we ran a live Q&A for safeguarding leads to find out what we need to know about the extremist misogynistic group called Incels.
What is it all about, why are they a danger to others and to themselves and how can we proactively identify concerns?
Find this page again at inceltraining.lgfl.net
Webinar Recording
Many thanks to our experts Professor Veronika Koller and Dr Mark McGlashan who studied this area as part of the MANTRaP project.
Below you can either watch an edited version of the entire session, listen to individual questions as audio files or find the links mentioned to further reading, research and key takeaway messages.
Questions and Answers
Incels and the 'manosphere' - what are they? Are they new?
Are they new? What has changed recently?
Why do we particularly need to worry about this area? What is the red/blue pill? What do they believe about women?
Why are Incels dangerous to themselves and at risk of suicide / the black pill?
Are some Incels dangerous and others not?
Is there a typical profile for what an incel is?
What are the links to race, racism and the far right? What's a 'chad'?
Language - what words should we look out for / understand?
Language - what else do we need to watch out for in the way people speak and behave?
Social media and websites - what platforms should we watch out for? Are they in the mainstream?
Parents - what messages can we send home to help families?
Primary schools - why and how is this area relevant for younger children too?
SEND - are those with ASD more at risk from the Incel scene?
Girls - can girls ever be incels?
Further info, links, research and takeaway messages
Take-away messages from the session
Incels are part of a large, sprawling and ever-changing network: the manosphere.
Incels post a risk to themselves, to women and girls, and to gender relations.
Certain words and phrases are typical of manopshere, including incel, language: femoid/foid, roastie, hit the wall, looksmaxx, cuck, simp, AWALT, LDAR…
Apart from words, members of the manosphere:
- compare men against women in absolute and emphasised ways
- often draw on genetics and evolutionary psychology to do so
- believe that society has been hijacked by feminists and is biased against men
- see women as duplicitous and having the power to hurt men, but also as sexual objects
Please note that showing an active interest in the world of incels/the manosphere is a Prevent issue. Follow normal CP and Prevent referral procedures for your school and area for matters relating to incels
Prevent support can be found at
https://counterextremism.lgfl.net for a resource on dealing with this in school
http://safetraining.lgfl.net for a prevent course
https://prevent.lgfl.net for further resources
For more on MASH referrals, why not check out https://meetthemash.lgfl.net
Articles to find out more
https://crestresearch.ac.uk/resources/a-short-introduction-to-the-involuntary-celibate-sub-culture/
https://www.icct.nl/index.php/publication/why-terrorism-studies-miss-mark-when-it-comes-incels
Podcast
https://www.theguardian.com/news/audio/2021/aug/19/plymouth-attack-misogynist-incel-culture-podcast
Academic papers including by our guests
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1pBn-F-RczvpOsaP-KOYJ0FmL5iqj08JX/view
