Redpilled and Righteous: Transvaluation, Violence, and Masculinity in Italian Incel Telegram Channels

This study investigates how Italian incel communities reframe their social and sexual marginalisation into markers of righteousness, through a process of transvaluation. Drawing on qualitative discourse analysis of 1,390 Telegram messages and 6 interviews with self-identified incels, the research examines how Incels reframe their frustration, powerlessness, and marginalisation about women and sexually successful men to construct a self-image grounded in victimhood, authenticity, and deeper truth. The analysis reveals that Incels frequently romanticise exclusion, construct binary moral hierarchies, and express disdain toward women and other men. While Telegram discourse often frames violence through fantasies of retribution and dehumanisation, interviews show a more ambivalent stance, with participants downplaying violent intent. The study contributes to scholarship on digital misogyny, affective politics, and masculinities by highlighting how transvaluation operates as a discursive and affective strategy in online incel communities.