reading resp #2
The specific patterns or trends that the author notes about the members of incel or “involuntary celibacy” are the reasons for joining the group, how the members share an age range, and the language in their ‘culture’. The group turned into an online community because its members had the same trend in facing rejection in their lives from women. Incel pertains to millennial males that range from the ages of 16-30. The article explains the pattern of difficulties with communicating to the opposite sex, and a member’s fear of rejection. In the group, they vent about their battles with bullying and low self-esteem. These introverted and awkward men found comfort in this support group with people facing the same isolation and loneliness. These patterns inform the insider experience of this community by exposing the language and pathos that the members use. Abe, for example, calls women “emotional tampons” to express his frustration from being dumped. They also have a pattern of acting unfriendly and defensive towards outsiders: “1,267 Braincels users found that about 90 percent of forum participants were under the age of 30. The users are almost all men — women are banned on sight.” A member named Miguel “was drawn to the community because he felt they were the only people who understood his experience,” this shows that despite being a virtual medium, the member’s mutual loneliness and misery indeed craves some type of validation from another member. Overall, the author analyzes how the community began as an innocent way for men to vent about their misfortune in love into an absolute misogynist and hateful group.
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