Femcel Discussions of Sex, Frustration, Power, and Revenge

Although male incels have received a great deal of scholarly attention in recent years, there has been almost no research on femcels (involuntarily celibate women). After collecting data from more than 24,000 femcel posts, we drew from a recently developed sexual frustration theory and conducted qualitative analyses of approximately 1200. Overall, our findings suggest that (1) femcels struggled with multiple types of sexual frustration; (2) they frequently discussed the gender dynamics of both sex and power; (3) they were more interested in their own frustrations than men's frustrations; and (4) despite some notable exceptions, they exhibited less support for aggression, violence, and crime than what has been reported about male incels. Although some femcels referenced their anger, hatred, or desires for revenge, this antipathy may have been rooted in their concerns about how to find a suitable intimate partner while avoiding the threat women often face from violent men. Despite this challenge, most femcels who wanted to enhance their situation or increase their power sought to do so through legal means (e.g., self-improvement, group mobilization, or challenging the patriarchy) and did not express violent intent. Further research on femcels, and the evidence-based strategies that could help them, would be a significant contribution to society.