Show Article with tag "internet culture"

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 […]

Ten years ago, using language from the incel community in regular conversation would land you with a couple of weird looks and an awkward silence. And for good reason: the hyper-online, seemingly nonsensical phrases of the involuntarily celibate community were specifically constructed for gatekeeping. An “if you know, you know” lexicon meant to distinguish the […]