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“With clarity and compassion, this eloquently written and rigorously researched investigation cuts through the static to offer a rare, deeply nuanced understanding of incels—transforming a labyrinthine subject into an essential exploration of gender, identity, and belonging in one of the most complex subcultures of our age."
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Nick Adams, School of Health, Robert Gordon University, UK
The Incel Mindset: Entering and Exiting Inceldom delivers the first comprehensive, qualitative analysis of incel communities, addressing a fast-evolving and under-researched area at the intersection of gender, technology, and radicalisation. Drawing on extensive interviews with former incels and systematic analysis of online forums, David S. Smith examines how structural inequalities, hegemonic masculinity, and digital cultures shape men’s experiences of romantic exclusion.
The book situates inceldom within the broader manosphere, interrogating the appeal of red and black pill ideologies, the role of dating apps and algorithmic cultures, and the psychosocial dynamics that sustain these communities. Through detailed case studies and theoretical synthesis, Smith explores how incel spaces provide belonging while reinforcing fatalistic worldviews—and, in some cases, pathways to violence. Crucially, the book identifies mechanisms of disengagement and identity reconstruction, offering insights for prevention and intervention.
Combining conceptual depth with empirical richness, The Incel Mindset is essential for scholars and advanced students in gender studies, psychology, sociology, criminology, and digital culture, as well as practitioners addressing online extremism and male mental health.
David S. Smith
is Lecturer in Psychology at Robert Gordon University, UK. His research focuses on digital identity, online subcultures, and the intersections of gender, technology, and mental health. He has published widely in peer-reviewed journals, contributed to edited collections, and presented internationally. Beyond academia, he has written for popular media and performed a sold-out spoken word show at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival based on his research.
List of contents
Chapter 1. Alphas, Betas and Chads: The ABCs of inceldom.- Chapter 2. Methodological considerations.- Chapter 3. ‘It’s over if you are a virgin past 25’: Virginity and developmental masculinity.- Chapter 4. ‘I was looking for a place to vent and despair’: Becoming men in the digital age.- Chapter 5. ‘They didn’t think I could be that person online – but I was’: The men who become incels.- Chapter 6. Glad to be unhappy: Entering incel communities.- Chapter 7. Jagged little pill: Pathways to violence.- Chapter 8. ‘If I want to see thirty, I have to leave’: Exiting inceldom.
About the author
David S. Smith is Lecturer in Psychology at Robert Gordon University, UK. His research focuses on digital identity, online subcultures, and the intersections of gender, technology, and mental health. He has published widely in peer-reviewed journals, contributed to edited collections, and presented internationally. Beyond academia, he has written for popular media and performed a sold-out spoken word show at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival based on his research.
Summary
The Incel Mindset: Entering and Exiting Inceldom
delivers the first comprehensive, qualitative analysis of incel communities, addressing a fast-evolving and under-researched area at the intersection of gender, technology, and radicalisation. Drawing on extensive interviews with former incels and systematic analysis of online forums, David S. Smith examines how structural inequalities, hegemonic masculinity, and digital cultures shape men’s experiences of romantic exclusion.
The book situates inceldom within the broader manosphere, interrogating the appeal of red and black pill ideologies, the role of dating apps and algorithmic cultures, and the psychosocial dynamics that sustain these communities. Through detailed case studies and theoretical synthesis, Smith explores how incel spaces provide belonging while reinforcing fatalistic worldviews—and, in some cases, pathways to violence. Crucially, the book identifies mechanisms of disengagement and identity reconstruction, offering insights for prevention and intervention.
Combining conceptual depth with empirical richness, The Incel Mindset is essential for scholars and advanced students in gender studies, psychology, sociology, criminology, and digital culture, as well as practitioners addressing online extremism and male mental health.
