A Pack of Lone Wolves: Understanding the Link Between Incel Culture and Mass Violence Events

• In Event: Media and Mobilization to Extreme Violence

Abstract

Mass shootings have become a staple of American culture. What was once a horrific anomaly has become a distressing regularity. By their very nature mass shootings disrupt the lives and communities of victims, and the response by both law enforcement and legislators has been muted at best. Prevention efforts have often stalled due to lack of empirical knowledge around the factors that can predict mass violence events. This research examines the cultural pipeline that leads to individual behaviors. By examining the language of Incel culture (a virtual community that promotes hegemonic masculinity and advocates violence against women, people of color, and governmental bodies), its prescriptive values, and the narratives of mass violence manifestos, this research will uncover a social process that starts with enculturation and ends with individual acts of mass violence.

Authors

• Kurt Fowler, Penn State Abington

• Robert Green, Rutgers University

• Allan Palmobi, Rutgers University