The UK is still coming to terms with the unbearably tragic events of 12 August, when police were called to a mass shooting in the Keyham area of Plymouth. The 22-year-old perpetrator shot and killed five people, including his mother and a three-year-old girl, before shooting and killing himself.
Alongside this devastating, senseless loss of life, the incident has (thanks to the attacker’s online footprint) focused attention on misogyny and, in particular, inceldom. This is a predominantly male online subculture that promotes victimhood narratives resulting from the inability to find a sexual partner – incel is short for ‘involuntary celibate’.
Some have advocated that these fixations should be recognised as extreme ideologies in their own right that can accelerate the radicalisation of young men. At time of writing, Counter Terrorism Policing is not treating the murders as a terrorist incident, and debate about whether they meet the UK definition of terrorism continues on social media.
