Earlier this year, a chilling Facebook post by the suspect in the Toronto van attack linked him to so-called ‘incel’ groups – but could there be a new group of angry online celibates?

So-called ‘femcels’ are women who claim to be angry that they can’t find a long-term relationship (a mirror image of ‘incels’, men who’re incredibly angry they can’t find sex).

What’s less certain is how widespread ‘Femcels’ really are – or whether Reddit groups such as R/Femcels and R/Trufemcels are populated by men pretending to be women.

Confused yet?


In one post, a self-styled ‘Femcel’ says, ‘a femcel is a woman who can’t get married because nobody wants to marry her (even though she can have sex). Also doesn’t mean virgin, kissless, dateless femcel doesn’t exist, because they certainly do.’



The ‘Femcel’ communities have definitely attracted a lot of (angry) attention from Incels – who claim, in turn, that a woman can’t be involuntarily celibate, because things are so much easier for women.

Losing my absolute fucking mind over "femcel" memes pic.twitter.com/MmrkmRsfK0 — linda's in custody (@batterwxtch) June 6, 2018

Omg. Their woman counterparts are literally just like them…. I didn't think femcels were a real thing…

Just… Just femcel things?#justincelthings #incels #incelrebellion pic.twitter.com/Y74t1KMc2i — Just Incel Things (@Justincelthings) June 8, 2018

Like incels, ‘Femcels’ have their own ideology, with terms such as ‘mascoids’ for men, and a lot of detailed theories about men ignoring women because of their looks.

‘Incels’ describe sexually active women as ‘Stacys’ who have sex with brainless ‘Chads’ – many blame feminism for their predicament.

Femcels also rail at supposed ‘Stacy’ types.

Why were incels in the news this year?

Alek Minassian

in the Toronto van attack, Alek Minassian posted a cryptic Facebook message saying, The Incel Rebellion has already begun! We will overthrow all the Chads and Stacys!’ just before the attack.

It also saluted Elliot Rodger as the ‘Supreme Gentleman’.

‘Incel’ is short for ‘involuntary celibate’ – ie people (usually men) who can’t find sex.

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People who identify as incels gripe about their inability to find sexual relationships with women – and often blame feminism for their predicament.

After the Toronto attack, some ‘incel’ groups welcomed the murders, with one post saying, ‘now all of you are backing down saying killing normies is bad stop being fucking pussys this is when we attack I predict at least 10 more incels will go normie hunting by the end of this year.’

Rodger was a community college student who killed six people and wounded 13 in shooting and stabbing attacks near the University of California, Santa Barbara, in 2014.

After the attack, a tract written by Rodger, ‘My Twisted World: The Story of Elliot Rodger’ leaked online – filled with hatred of women and talking about his inability to find a girlfriend?

What do incels actually believe?

Incels blame feminists for having destroyed the chances of ‘ordinary’ men.

The Reddit Incel group R/Incels was banned after becoming a haven for misogynist content.

Articles posted to the subreddit included , ‘All women are sluts’, ‘reasons why women are the embodiment of evil’ and ‘proof that girls are nothing but trash that use men.’

Where did the term come from?

The term ‘incel’ was coined in a psychology paper in 2001, but it became a rallying cry for angry men online over the past decade.

‘Incel’ groups have been linked to ‘male supremacist’ ideology and spree killings, including the attack committed by Elliot Rodger in 2014 and the 2015 Oregon killings by Chris Harper-Mercer.