The Creeping Infiltration of Incel Slang into Everyday Language
A decade ago, dropping phrases from the incel community into a casual conversation would have been met with bewildered stares and awkward silence. This was largely by design. The hyper-specific, often bizarre language of the involuntarily celibate community served as a gatekeeping mechanism, distinguishing “truecels” from “normies” through an “if you know, you know” lexicon.
Fast forward to today, and joking about being “walkpilled” online might earn you a laugh. In schools, being a “sigma” can even boost your popularity. For women, “looksmaxxing” promises a path to enhanced beauty. However, these terms originate from a deeply problematic ideology: the belief that men are entitled to sexual attention from women and that women are inherently inferior. This same ideology has fueled horrific acts of violence, perpetrated by mass murderers such as Elliot Rodger, Jake Davison, and Alek Minassian.
The origins are not exactly a secret. While incels were once confined to the darker corners of the internet, figures like Andrew Tate have brought their ideas into the mainstream. A popular series further popularised these concepts, introducing the wider public to terms like “blackpilled” (complete acceptance of incel ideology) and “the 80/20 rule” (the belief that 80% of women are attracted to the top 20% of men).
Despite its origins, incel terminology is now commonplace, appearing on social media feeds, in playgrounds, and even in the speech of women – the very group it was designed to denigrate.
The Schoolyard Spread
“You hear a lot of ‘sigma’ and ‘Chad’,” reports Jack, a secondary school teacher in east London who has observed the use of incel-adjacent phrases in schools for several years. Within the manosphere, a “sigma” represents a lone wolf, while a “Chad” embodies peak masculinity. Incels often believe these two types of men are the most attractive to “Stacys” (a derogatory term for women), leaving them behind.
According to Jack, the terms are used primarily by boys, but also by some girls. “It’s just part of their joke vocabulary, where the actual meaning is lost, or at least that’s what I hope,” he explains. “When I first started teaching, older students used it more genuinely, placing greater emphasis on those words, especially when Andrew Tate was more prominent. Now, younger students use it as silly language. Over time, more people are saying it, but it’s lost its potency.”
Why the Uptake?
So, why has incel slang become so readily adopted? One reason is its inherent addictiveness. Language within the incel community functions similarly to language in a cult, creating an “us versus them” mentality. This language has significantly contributed to the development of modern slang.
Another factor is the uniquely negative tone of incel-speak. The rise of “doomslang,” where serious phrases like “I want to kill myself” and “I’m dissociating” have become commonplace, also plays a role. The phrase “It’s so over,” a popular expression, originated in incel forums. As global outlooks darken, incel-speak seamlessly integrates into our vocabulary.
Dilution or Dissemination?
The crucial question is: is this harmful? As teacher Jack suggests, the widespread use of incel terminology might dilute its power. If incel-speak becomes meaningless through mockery, is that a positive outcome?
However, experts warn that it might not be so simple. Longtime incels use terms like “Newgen” and “Tiktokcel” to describe newcomers who joined their forums from short-form video platforms. The trend of “looksmaxxing” on TikTok has driven a recent influx of new members, suggesting that the meme pipeline is effectively making the blackpill more accessible. In other words, the mainstreaming of incel terminology exposes it to a new audience, some of whom become curious and delve deeper.
The Female Gaze and Lookism
This reach extends beyond men. On TikTok, the incel concept of “lookism” has infiltrated female beauty standards. Lookism is the incel belief that “people associate aesthetic appearance with all sorts of positive qualities” and that “brutal lookism” prevents incels from finding partners. This often leads to “looksmaxxing,” where individuals attempt to maximize their physical attractiveness according to traditional standards.
Classic incel lookism concepts include pseudoscientific measurements like “interocular distance,” “canthal tilt,” and “hunter eyes.” These concepts have gone viral on TikTok, with women using filters to evaluate themselves against these standards. One user posted, “I’m 14 and have a negative canthal tilt, is this normal? Can I fix it?”
The Dangers of Mainstreaming
Furthermore, the common use of incel-ese can make it harder to track. Classifying incel language is crucial for “tracking the frequency of this type of language over time for specific users.” This can help identify individuals at higher risk of carrying out misogynistic violent extremist attacks. However, if everyone uses incel terminology, it becomes difficult to differentiate between genuine threats and harmless jest.
While the infiltration of incel terminology into mainstream language might seem innocuous, it has opened the door for incel ideology to slip in unnoticed. We might mock terms like “sleepmaxxing” and “sigma” in public, but if we’re privately measuring our interocular distance, then something has clearly taken hold. And once such ideas take root, they’re incredibly difficult to dislodge.