The Sense in Senseless Violence: Male Reproductive Strategy and the Modern Sexual Marketplace as Contributors to Violent Extremism
- July 2023
- Adaptive Human Behavior and Physiology 9(3):1-35
Authors:
Miriam Lindner
Abstract and Figures
Objectives Mass shooters, violent extremists, and terrorists, who are overwhelmingly male, exhibit misogynistic attitudes and a history of violence against women. Over the past few years, incels (“involuntary celibates”) have gathered in online communities to discuss their frustration with sexual/romantic rejection, espouse male supremacist attitudes, and justify violence against women and men who are more popular with women. Despite the link between misogyny and mass violence, and the recent emergence of online misogynistic extremism, theories and empirical research on misogynistic extremism remain scarce. This article fills this gap. Methods An integration of literatures pertaining to the basics of sexual selection, evolved male psychology, and aggression suggests there are three major areas that should be considered imperative in understanding the emergence of misogynistic extremism. Results Individual factors (e.g., low status) and social forces, such as a high degree of status inequality, female empowerment, and the ease of coordination through social media, give rise to misogynistic extremism. Conclusions The unique interaction between evolved male psychology, the dynamics of the sexual marketplace, and modern technologies can create an ecology in which incel beliefs can thrive and make violence attractive.
Misogynistic extremism stems from a unique interaction between evolved male psychology, the dynamics of the sexual marketplace, and modern technologies
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Some women will choose to remain unpartnered and some women will choose to partner with only the most desirable, high-status men. This leaves in the population am excess pool of low flow-status (blue dotted box) men with a shared grievance (i.e., inability to gain sexual access). Facilitated by modern technologies, these men can rally around this shared grievance and coalesce into a broader movement
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Ideological extremity in the incel community, which increases as incels move towards the Black Pill. Black crosses denote incompatibility with other ideological tenets. Bluepilled individuals fall outside the incel spectrum (Anti-Defamation League, 2019). The purple pill designates a mix between the more extreme Blue and Red pills, sometimes understood to be a non-ideological middle ground. Incels who swallow the Purple pill will often acknowledge their grievances in the modern sexual marketplace while maintaining a more empathetic and nuanced understanding of relationships and gender dynamics
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Figures - available from: Adaptive Human Behavior and Physiology
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