Plan International UK — What are incels?

What the study found

Plan International UK traces the first use of the term "involuntary celibate" to 1993, when a Canadian woman named Alana shared it on her personal website, "Alana's Involuntary Celibacy Project." The organisation describes that project as a supportive space rather than the communities the label is now associated with. It records that by the 2000s the discussion had migrated to platforms such as Reddit and 4chan and had become increasingly misogynistic, and that Reddit banned the r/incels subreddit in 2017 for violent content. ^[1]

intended as a welcoming online space for anyone facing challenges in romantic or sexual relationships

^[1]

Why it matters here

This account sets out the origin of the incel label, showing that it began as an inclusive, gender-neutral support project before the term was taken up by the communities the site examines. That shift from a welcoming forum toward increasingly misogynistic online spaces is the backdrop for questions about whether incels are a terror threat and whether most red pill followers are dangerous. It also situates the culture in which framings like the 80/20 rule of dating circulate, helping distinguish the term's original meaning from its later use.