Unwanted celibacy is associated with misogynistic attitudes even after controlling for personality

Abstract

In recent years, involuntary celibates who identify as “Incels” have received considerable public attention because of their misogynistic online discourse and their tie to a string of violent acts motivated by hatred of women. Yet, surprisingly no prior quantitative research has examined whether unwanted celibacy – a subjective psychological experience characteristic of, but not exclusive, to Incels – is associated with misogynistic attitudes among men. The current study (N = 349 men) collected self-report data from a convenience sample of Incel and non-Incel men to investigate whether the degree of unwanted celibacy is associated with misogynistic attitudes. Unwanted celibacy was positively associated with hostile attitudes towards women, sexual objectification and rape myths, even after controlling for personality traits such as agreeableness. These novel quantitative results indicate that unwanted celibacy is an important psychological risk factor for misogynistic attitudes.