Confronting Incel: exploring possible policy responses to misogynistic violent extremism

ABSTRACT

Sexually and socially frustrated ‘Incels’ have committed acts of violent extremism in North America and pose increasing threat to Australia and other industrialised settings. We consider policy responses to a form of misogynist violence that targets men and women indiscriminately. Provocatively, we advocate securitising Incel. We consider how securitisation need not only emerge from supportive framings in the media and public discourse, but can also be an active agent in creating them. We then engage with the appropriate responses. Reviewing the likely successful policy responses indicates the problematic nature of previous securitisation efforts. We argue that the best response is to try to understand and engage the antagonised other prior to radicalisation, and that this can be successfully enacted through ‘routine’ rather than ‘exceptional’ types of governance. However, securitisation remains a necessary first step in unlocking the resources and political will for tackling the threat that Incel poses.

在两性关系和社会关系上受挫的“被逼单"在北美发动了暴力极端行动，对澳大利亚以及其他工业化社会构成越来越大的威胁。本文思考了面对恨女党不问青红皂白的暴力行径，政策上应采取哪些对策。我们主张为“被逼单”提供保障，这可能引起争议。保障不但需要来自媒体和舆论的支持框架，它本身也可以造就这样的框架。笔者还讨论了一些适当的对策。在分析了那些可能凑效的对策之后，指出以往保障的努力有怎样的问题。最好的对策是在极端化发生之前去努力理解对手。这种理解应该属于常规而非例外的治理。不过，为解决被逼单问题而寻找资源、树立政治意志，保障还仅仅是第一步。

KEYWORDS:

• Misogyny
• Incel
• extremism
• securitisation
• manosphere

Acknowledgement

The authors thank Alan Bloomfield, Mel Johnston and Will Clapton for their comments on earlier drafts of this manuscript. All authors contributed equally to the paper.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Notes on contributors

Sian Tomkinson completed her PhD in gender and media at the University of Western Australia. Her research focuses on how digital communities develop toxic characteristics.

Tauel Harper is lecturer in Media and Communication at the University of Western Australia. His research focuses on issues of public communication and technology.

Katie Attwell is Senior Lecturer in Politics and International Relations at the University of Western Australia. She is a scholar of public policy, focusing on problem framing and the generation of political action. She developed the ideas in this paper as a provocation to teach second-year students of gender politics.

Correction Statement

This article has been republished with minor changes. These changes do not impact the academic content of the article.

Notes

1 In fact Bolt came to argue that increasing gender equality may actually contribute to violence against women, effectively suggesting that women may be bringing this on themselves by expecting equal rights and freedoms, a position echoed by Fraser Anning a year later when he suggested the mass killing in Christchurch was attributable to New Zealand’s relaxed immigration policies.