Involuntary celibates or voluntary terrorists? The media coverage of misogynistic incel mass violence in the United States, Canada, and the United Kingdom (2014-2021). A critical discourse analysis

Abstract

The misogynistic-extremist involuntary celibate (incel) movement – as well as the threat it poses to both national security and to the lives of (primarily) women – is growing and globalising. Since 2014 approximately fifty people have lost their lives to misogynistic mass violence. Still, adequate responses to the problem are missing on both policy and societal levels. Since the media not only represents our reality but also creates this very reality itself, changing the framing journalists employ in their reporting of misogynistic mass violence carried out by (mostly white) male perpetrators can have a positive effect on both our societal perception of and our governmental and policy responses to the incel issue and in general to the way we approach violence against women. The purpose of this study, therefore, is to examine the general patterns emerging from how mainstream media reports on male supremacist mass violence in order to urge change.