Banner Image: Stephen Graham as Eddie Miller and Owen Cooper as Jamie Miller, in Adolescence. Courtesy of Netflix © 2024
Netflix’s gripping new series Adolescence has reignited public interest in incel culture – a troubling online subculture of men who blame women for their lack of romantic or sexual success. In his breakout role, Owen Cooper shocked 24 million viewers with the show’s chilling depiction of 13-year-old Jamie, who’s accused of murdering his female classmate.
Stephen Graham, co-creator, co-writer, and lead actor – delivering a standout performance as Jamie’s father, Eddie – revealed that the UK’s rising knife crime epidemic inspired the four-part series.
“There was an incident where a young boy [allegedly] stabbed a girl,” Graham told Netflix’s Tudum. “It shocked me. I was thinking, ‘What’s going on? What’s happening in society where a boy stabs a girl to death? What’s the inciting incident here?’ And then it happened again, and it happened again, and it happened again. I really just wanted to shine a light on it, and ask, ‘Why is this happening today? What’s going on? How have we come to this?’”
During their research for the show, Graham and co-creator and writer Jack Thorne came across the ‘manosphere’: a network of websites and forums (particularly Reddit) that promote toxic masculinity and spread misogyny. Incels, short for ‘involuntarily celibate’, are a key faction in this online space. These men, typically heterosexual, believe they’re destined for loneliness due to being unattractive to women.
Though Adolescence only touches on incel culture briefly, Thorne told The Independent, “[Teenage boys are] watching a lot more dangerous stuff than Andrew Tate…We were trying to present a portrait of complexity of this kid that had been made by all sorts of different influences and the thing about incel culture is there’s a logic to it.”
“I knew almost immediately that if I was an isolated kid, I would find answers as to why I felt a bit lost,” Thorne elaborated to The Guardian. “One of the central ideas – that 80 percent of women are attracted to 20 percent of men—would have made adolescent me sit up and, frankly, nod. The path then becomes: What do you do to upset that equation? How do you manipulate and harm in order to reset a female-dominated world that works against you?”
While incel culture may have started as a group of people seeking support from others who were also unlucky in love – today, it’s often rooted in toxic masculinity and blames women and attractive men for a man’s lack of romantic success. In extreme cases, these attitudes have led to tragic acts of murder and violence.
So, what transforms some lonely men into radicalised killers? And what are the warning signs?
From community to cult ideology
Incel culture began in 1997 with Alana, a young woman who launched the “Involuntary Celibacy Project” to support lonely individuals struggling with dating. Speaking to the BBC, she described it as “a friendly place,” far from today’s hostile rhetoric.
She said, “It definitely wasn’t a bunch of guys blaming women for their problems. That’s a pretty sad version of this phenomenon that’s happening today. Things have changed in the last 20 years.”
“The word [incel] used to mean anybody of any gender who was lonely, had never had sex or who hadn’t had a relationship in a long time. But we can’t call it that anymore.”
Alana said she felt “sad” and “angry” to see incel-related murders in the news. “I’ve asked myself, ‘Should I feel guilty?’ Friends have reassured me that no, I did my best back in 1997 to create a healthy and positive movement.”
What is an incel?
Owen Cooper as Jamie Miller in Adolescence. Courtesy of Netflix © 2024
Incels are men who define themselves by their inability to find romantic or sexual partners, often blaming their appearance and society’s beauty standards.
While some are simply lonely, others harbour deep resentment, blaming women and socially successful men – “Chads” – for their situation. Attractive women are labelled “Stacys,” seen as desirable but unattainable, while “Beckys” refer to average-looking, feminist women, viewed as entitled to male attention.
Incel culture exists mostly online with community members connecting via websites, social media profiles, and online forums.
Understanding incel ‘pill’ ideology
Amari Jayden Bacchus as Adam Bascombe and Ashley Walters as Detective Inspector Bascome, in Adolescence. Courtesy of Ben Blackall/Netflix © 2024
In Adolescence, student Adam (Amari Bacchus) tells his police officer father (Ashley Walters) that the 
emoji represents the incel 80/20 rule. Essentially, 80% of women are competing for the top 20% of men, leaving the rest with little hope.
This ideology turns personal rejection into a perceived social injustice, with men feeling their lack of romantic success is a consequence of a mathematical problem rigged against them.
This mindset is often described using the metaphor of the “blue pill,” “red pill,” and “black pill”.
- Blue-pilled incels are involuntarily celibate but don’t blame women or society – instead, they might focus on improving themselves or still believe in finding love in conventional ways. They’re usually looked down upon in darker parts of the manosphere.
- Red-pilled incels believe they’ve awakened to a harsh reality: women control romantic dynamics and prefer dominant, attractive men. They may try to “ascend” by improving their looks but it’s often paired with resentment towards women and society.
- Black-pilled incels are more extreme – they see no hope for change and may resort to anger, violence, or revenge.
Faces of the incel movement
Sadly, several violent incidents linked to incel ideology have made headlines worldwide in recent years, bringing increased awareness to the movement.
For example, in May 2014, Elliot Rodger murdered six people in a stabbing and shooting spree in Isla Vista, California, before taking his own life. The 22-year-old posted a video to YouTube before his death, where he complained about being a virgin and never having kissed a girl. He called the mass killings a “Day of Retribution” and talked about getting “his revenge against humanity”.
Rodger also emailed a lengthy autobiographical document to almost two dozen people he knew. Here, he detailed his plans to target the Alpha Phi sorority, describing its members as the “hottest” at his college, “the kind of girls I’ve always desired but was never able to have.” Terrifyingly, Rodger ended his manifesto by declaring: “I am the true victim in all of this. I am the good guy”.
Plymouth gunman Jake Davison also shot and killed five people in August 2021, including his mother and a three-year-old girl, before turning the pump-action shotgun on himself. He was said to be fascinated by guns, mass shootings, serial killers, and well-known faces of incel.
More recently, 34-year-old mum Amie Grey was stabbed by 24-year-old Nasen Saadi after he spent months researching how to get away with murder. According to news reports, Saadi stabbed Amie and her friend Leanne Miles as they sat beside a fire on a Bournemouth beach in May 2024.
In a Sky News report, Judge, Mrs Justice Cutts, was noted as saying, “I am satisfied that you chose Amie Gray and Leanne Miles because you have a grievance against society as a whole and women in particular.”
She added: “It seems you have felt humiliated and rejected for any advances you have made towards girls, which has led over time to a deeply suppressed rage towards society and women in particular.”
A growing threat
Owen Cooper as Jamie Miller in Adolescence, Courtesy of Netflix © 2024
While cases of extreme violence related to incel culture remain rare, counter-terrorism officials are increasingly alert to this growing threat. Between April 2023 and March 2024, 54 incel-related cases were referred to the UK’s Prevent program, with a high rate (64%) being escalated for further intervention. This suggests that incel ideology, while not widespread, is considered a serious threat when it does surface.
With online platforms making it easier than ever for incels to find each other – and for influencers like Andrew Tate to broadcast misogynistic views – police have raised serious concerns that young men and boys are increasingly at risk of radicalisation, in much the same way terrorist groups recruit followers.
This growing fear comes at a time when violence against women and girls in the UK has been declared “a national emergency.” According to the 2024 National Policing Statement for Violence Against Women and Girls, at least one in every 12 women is expected to be a victim each year, though the real number is likely even higher.
Speaking to the BBC, Deputy Chief Constable Maggie Blyth confirmed that authorities are seeing troubling links between online radicalisation and misogynistic content targeting young people.
She said, “We know that some of this is also linked to radicalisation of young people online, we know the influencers, Andrew Tate, the element of influencing of particularly boys, is quite terrifying and that’s something that both the leads for counterterrorism in the country and ourselves from a VAWG [violence against women and girls] perspective are discussing.”
Andrew Tate rose to prominence in 2016 following a controversial appearance on Big Brother, from which he was removed after footage surfaced appearing to show him assaulting a woman with a belt. The British-American internet personality openly describes himself as a “misogynist” and is currently facing multiple criminal and civil charges in the UK, US, and Romania – including allegations of rape, assault, human trafficking, and organised crime.
Disturbingly, educators and parents have reported that boys as young as 11 are “idolising” Tate. In one Edinburgh school, several teachers noted that male students were using images of Tate as wallpapers on school-issued iPads – raising red flags about his reach and influence on impressionable minds.
Recognising the warning signs
As shown through Jamie’s character in Adolescence, recognising when someone is on the path to radicalisation isn’t always straightforward – particularly when harmful ideologies like incel culture thrive online and out of view.
However, the government-backed website, Education Against Hate, has published signs for parents and teachers to look out for, including…
- Social withdrawal
- Argumentative behaviour
- Justifying violence and becoming abusive towards individuals who are different
- Embracing conspiracy theories
- Feeling persecuted
- Changes in appearance and friends
- Producing or sharing terrorist material offline or online
- Being secretive and reluctant to discuss their whereabouts
- Expressive sympathy for extremist ideologies
- Drawing and graffitiing extremist symbols and imagery
Alongside warning signs, you’ll find information about what to do if you think a child or young person in your care is being influenced by extremist views – including how to start a conversation with them and which authorities to contact for support should you need to.
The Counter Terrorism Policing website – Action Counters Terrorism (ACT) – also has plenty of advice. If you’re worried about someone, you can call their ACT Early Support Line confidentially on 0800 011 3764 to share your concerns with specially trained officers.
Final thoughts…
What began as a supportive community for the romantically unsuccessful has evolved into an ideology that blames and sometimes harms women. Adolescence shines a critical light on this transformation, revealing how online spaces can manipulate vulnerable young minds seeking belonging and answers.
While extreme incel-related incidents remain rare, the rising number of referrals and the high rate of official action show the urgency of addressing these ideologies early. Parents, educators, and communities should stay alert to warning signs – and, most importantly, offer healthy alternatives and support systems to young men navigating loneliness, rejection, or insecurity.
Were you aware of incel culture? Have you learnt anything from this article that you didn’t know? We’d be interested to hear from you in the comments below.