Women Go Undercover In Incel Forums And It’s Way Worse Than Anyone Can Imagine

The word incel is short for “involuntary celibate.” It’s most often used to describe men who say they want a romantic or sexual relationship but feel unable to find one. In many cases, that frustration gets aimed at women and girls through blame, objectification, and outright insults.

Online, incels gather in communities to swap stories and reinforce each other’s worldview. And while platforms like Reddit have banned some incel groups over violent content, there are still dedicated forums on the internet where they can post freely.

That’s what TikToker Kylie Brewer set out to show. In a video, she shared what it’s like inside one of these forums, and what she found was exactly as ugly as you’d expect—packed with misogyny, discrimination, and racism. She called the content “disgusting” and argued that websites like this should be banned.

Read more below, but be warned: some of the content may be upsetting.

On social media, many incel groups have been banned over violent content

Young woman speaking on camera in a casual setting discussing experiences inside popular incel forums undercover.

Image credits: kylie.brewer

But there are still online forums where they can speak freely, and one woman took a look inside to show what it’s really like

Young woman speaking with a content warning about extreme misogyny and slurs, related to incel forums undercover exploration.

Image credits: kylie.brewer

Text describing the harsh realities uncovered in incel forums revealing extreme dehumanizing and white supremacist content.

Screenshot of Incels.is involuntary celibate forum homepage where women go undercover in incel forums.

Image credits: kylie.brewer

Screenshot showing a summary of a large online incel forum with 35,000 members and over 20 million posts.

Screenshot of incel forums showing member stats and navigation, highlighting women going undercover in incel forums research.

Image credits: kylie.brewer

Screenshot highlighting dehumanizing language and slurs commonly found in incel forums according to women undercover investigations.

Screenshot of an incel forum thread with posts discussing gaming and personal struggles on incel forums platform.

Image credits: kylie.brewer

Text about hateful and dehumanizing language in incel forums linked to violence against women and minorities.

Screenshot of an incel forum post revealing hateful language and toxic views encountered by women going undercover.

Image credits: kylie.brewer

Text slide describing targeted attacks on women, stalkers, and hate crimes motivated by racism in incel forums.

Text slide showing a study dataset title on online radicalization through incel forum archives by Jennifer Golbeck.

Image credits: kylie.brewer

Screenshot of Southern Poverty Law Center article about the growing threat of male supremacism and incel violence.

Image credits: kylie.brewer

Quote on a white background about dangerous incel forums where members push each other into violent acts.

Screenshot of online incel forum conversation showing hostile language and disturbing content from incel forums.

Image credits: kylie.brewer

Text on a white background stating a horrifying reaction to the rage fueled in incel forums where women go undercover.

Image credits: kylie.brewer

Watch the full video below

@kylie.brewer Online hate turns into REAL-WORLD v!olence. These forums are so dangerous and need to be banned. 😭 #humanrights#leftist#education#intersectionalfeminism#antiracism♬ original sound – Kylie Brewer💝

Instead of saying “women,” incels often use the term “foid,” a dehumanizing label that implies they don’t see women as people

Screenshot of an online incel forum conversation discussing the derogatory term used for women in hostile online communities.

Seeing language like that, many viewers were disgusted by what they saw on the forum

Commenter Samurai Pizza Cat, a woman, replies firmly in online incel forum discussing mistakes, reflecting harsh forum culture.

Screenshot of an online comment highlighting gender statistics from a user in incel forums, reflecting toxic discussions.

Screenshot of an online comment in an incel forum discussing men as victims, highlighting toxic forum culture.

Comment from Luke expressing disgust about hate speech in incel forums, questioning how such forums are allowed to exist.

However, some men jumped in to defend it in the comments

Comment from AUGIS_v2 stating men are getting robbed of their personal space, with a sad emoji and 615 likes shown.

Screenshot of incel forum comments discussing account restrictions in a hidden online incel community.

Screenshot of an online discussion highlighting hate speech in incel forums debated as free speech.

Screenshot of online comments discussing incel forums, highlighting harsh and disturbing viewpoints expressed there.

Screenshot of an online conversation showing comments reflecting the toxic nature of incel forums.

Screenshot of a social media comment thread discussing posts from incel forums with users reacting humorously.

Comment on social media from user mob reacting with disbelief, related to women going undercover in incel forums.

Comment discussing incel forums' social media bans and women's ability to speak freely on Twitter and Reddit.

Screenshot of a social media comment discussing the difficulty of banning websites, related to incel forums.

Comments from an online incel forum discussing violence and perspectives within the incel community and society.

In another video, a woman shared that researchers monitored an incel forum for 18 months

Woman discussing findings from undercover research in incel forums exposing harsh realities online.

Image credits: feministforeveryone

They found troubling signs of rising violence as well

Women go undercover in incel forums revealing disturbing content and toxic online communities uncovered over 18 months.

Graph showing a 59% rise in code words linked to mass violence in incel forums over the past 18 months.

Study reveals incel forums with 17,000 members show 90% support for violence against women over 18 months.

Screenshot of text discussing widespread acceptance of p********a and changes in incel forum rules in 2022 about minors.

Text excerpt from a study on incel forums with a quote from CCDH CEO Imran Ahmed about dangerous men.

Text excerpt about malignant social dynamics in incel forums, highlighting worsening extremist attitudes among members.

Text describing incel forum power users driving most content and promoting hatred and extremism to young boys.

Text slide with information about CCDH studies on misogyny and a suggestion to google CCDH for more details.

Image credits: feministforeveryone

Watch the full video below

@feministforeveryone Researchers watched an incel forum for 18 months and here is what they found. #feminist#feminism#feministtiktok#metoo#sexism#equality#womenempowerment#womenempoweringwomen#ccdh♬ original sound – Feminism4Everyone

Commenters were shaken and upset by it, but glad it’s being studied instead of ignored

Comment from user Jesse expressing difficulty with research about incel forums and hope for fair compensation for undercover work.

Comment from user Sidney about teachers witnessing teen boys involved in incel forums, describing it as terrifying.

Screenshot of an online comment expressing fear and confusion in an incel forum during undercover investigation by women.

Comment from user RosesAndLavender on incel forum, expressing anger about strong Tate fan presence, highlighting incel forum culture.

Screenshot of online comment saying I want to know the code words in a discussion on incel forums.

Screenshot of a social media comment discussing US homeland security report on domestic security risks related to incel forums.

Screenshot of a comment saying the outcome will be terrifying in a discussion about women undercover in incel forums.

Screenshot of a woman's comment in an incel forum asking why members can't be put on a watchlist, highlighting undercover exposure.

Screenshot of a social media comment by a woman sharing her experience undercover in incel forums.

Comment from user Liz Lemon expressing sympathy on a social media post about incel forums' harsh reality.

Screenshot of a comment warning that some power users in incel forums may be propagandists from totalitarian regimes.

Comment expressing gratitude for extensive research and the need for more proof to be taken seriously on an incel forum.

More digging into incel forums shows a common complaint: they claim “average women” get far more attention than “average men”

Woman wearing pink cardigan and striped shirt, looking serious in an office setting related to undercover incel forums research.

Image credits: NBC

But the “average” women they describe are closer to movie stars

Alt text: Insight into incel forum discussions revealing twisted views on women and their dating challenges.

Image credits: Professional_Suit270

Young woman with red hair in a yellow dress, representing women going undercover in incel forums for investigation.

Image credits: Lionsgate

Commenters, once again, pointed out just how out of touch incels seem

Reddit post showing intense incel forum discussion with women challenging aggressive language and attitudes online.

Screenshot of a female user undercover in online incel forums, revealing disturbing and harsh conversations.

Screenshot of a Reddit comment describing how incels live in a detached, destructive online world far from reality.

Screenshot of an online comment discussing women under 35, highlighting harsh views found in incel forums.

Screenshot of an anonymous forum post discussing the unnoticed existence of many women in incel forums.

Screenshot of a forum post discussing women’s experiences and challenges in incel forums and online dating.

Screenshot of an incel forum post revealing misogynistic views shared by users targeting women online.

Screenshot of an online forum post discussing perspectives found in incel forums where women go undercover.

Screenshot of an online comment discussing average men and women in the context of incel forum discussions.

Comment from an anonymous user discussing research on incel forums about gender messaging dynamics and physical attractiveness.

Screenshot of a comment from an online incel forum discussing desensitization to adult content among users.

Comment from incel forum user expressing harsh views on social Darwinism and loneliness in incel communities.

Screenshot of a harsh comment in an incel forum revealing negative attitudes toward women undercover.

Comment from an incel forum discussing harsh views on women’s appearance and social value in incel communities.

Screenshot of a user comment discussing challenges in dating and insights from women reading incel forums.

Screenshot of an online post discussing appearance effort in incel forums, highlighting harsh community views on women.

Screenshot of an anonymous forum post revealing incel community attitudes, highlighting the dark reality of incel forums.

Screenshot of a Reddit comment discussing public opinions, related to women going undercover in incel forums.

Screenshot of a Reddit comment humorously comparing incels and Excel, highlighting incel forum culture and language.

Screenshot of an online forum discussion showing users debating average appearance in conversations related to incel forums.

Reddit comment discussing distorted self-views and gender dynamics in incel forums from an undercover perspective.

Incel forums discussion showing distorted views on women and reality, highlighting incel community's mindset and behavior.

Screenshot of a forum post questioning if members are aware they are incels or refer to themselves as nice guys in incel forums.

Comment from incel forum discussing dangers women face with unwanted attention and red flags from incels online.

Screenshot of an online forum post discussing attention dynamics, related to women undercover in incel forums research.

Screenshot of an anonymous comment in an incel forum discussing hygiene and behavior of men.

Screenshot of a user comment in an incel forum discussing perceptions of average men and their desirability.

Screenshot of an online forum post discussing logic and reason in incel communities, highlighting toxic forum culture.

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