Interacting with online deviant subcultures: Gendered experiences of interviewing incels

This chapter reflects on the experiences of two researchers (a man and a woman) who have conducted direct online interviews with members of the incel (involuntary celibate) subculture. The researchers utilize a self-reflexive lens, demonstrating that gender significantly influenced the content and direction of interviews regarding anonymity, communication, trust, suspicion, investigation, identity formation, ideological commitment, and data analysis. There were, however, also commonalities. Interviewees attempted to change the researchers’ (perceived) perspectives and shared reasons for wanting to challenge common misconceptions of incels. Both researchers also recognized the importance of their safety and well-being in studying fringe online groups. This chapter contributes novel insights into incels, as most studies in the field involve secondary analysis of forums. The researchers’ interactions with incels caused tensions in their understanding of the incel community as their research challenged the media portrayals of incels as monolithic and inherently dangerous. For some interviewees, the primary concern was not hating women or feminism but their own grievances and experiences of loneliness, poverty, family issues, childhood trauma, and mental illness. Nevertheless, the researchers exercised caution in taking incel stories at face value to avoid normalizing and validating the rhetoric of victimhood and misogyny present throughout incel communities.