IMPOLITENESS IN INCEL FORUMS

Abstract

The present thesis analyses incel discourse through the application of impoliteness theory. The study is based on a sample of discussions from the largest open incel forum that is active at the present time, a forum under the domain incels.co (currently under the domain incels.is). Over one thousand impolite cases were coded in the material selected, and a lexical study was carried out on the basis of a word frequency analysis, in which the vocabulary of this incel forum was described and related to the overall development of incel communication and ideologies. Finally, one particular discussion was selected for a case analysis, where the various impoliteness strategies used by incel members were related to the overall context of the discussion. The discussions through this thesis address issues such as: to what extent do the impoliteness strategies generate different effects and meanings to members and non-members, how do these effects and meanings relate to the identity formation and practices of group belonging, how these effects may relate to the paradoxal arguments that form the incel ideology and how the participation network (more precisely readership assumption) may affect the communication. The pragmatic analysis shows that through impolite discourse the major effects that emerge in incel communication are in-group bonding, identity formation, and strict dissociation from non-members, especially women. These effects are performed by constant pointed criticisms towards non-members combined with derogatory terms (name-calling) and fabricated depictions of women’s behaviour through implicated impolite beliefs.