Digital Misogyny and the Italian Incel Movement: Analyzing Toxic Discourses in the Wake of a National Tragedy

The issues of misogyny and toxic masculinity have gained significant prominence in Italy in recent years, largely driven by alarming trends such as feminicide, which have shed light on deep-rooted societal and cultural problems. These phenomena have not only drawn national attention but have also been scrutinized at the European level, where Italy stands out as a concerning example of pervasive misogyny in a continental context. Within this fraught environment, gender politics have become a focal point of intense ideological clashes, sparking widespread public debates and fueling the rise of various movements, many of which thrive in the digital realm. Among these movements, the “Incel Movement” has emerged as a particularly concerning phenomenon. The term "incel," short for "involuntary celibate," refers to an online subculture primarily consisting of men who express frustration and resentment over their inability to establish romantic or sexual relationships. This resentment often manifests in misogynistic rhetoric, a sense of entitlement to women's bodies, and, in some extreme cases, the glorification of violence against women. Characterized by its presence on social media and online platforms, the incel movement leverages the anonymity of the internet and the production of 'codified' content, such as memes, to disseminate its ideology. This makes it challenging to systematically trace, analyze, and understand the movement’s structure and its discursive strategies. In the Italian context, this phenomenon is uniquely represented by a dedicated forum, referred to as 'The Incel Forum,' which not only hosts discussions but also features a manifesto and political program, underscoring its organized nature. This article attempts to shed light on the Italian iteration of the incel movement by analysing its discourses in relation to a critical moment of national relevance. In particular, it focuses on the two weeks preceding and the two following the feminicide of Giulia Cecchettin, which occurred on 11 November 2023, a tragic crime that became symbolic and highly thematic from a media point of view, and which had a profound impact on Italian society. This event is treated as a ‘dislocative moment’, a critical juncture that reconfigures social narratives and highlights the interaction between violent misogyny and cultural discourses. Through textual scraping and content analysis of discussions within the incel forum during this period, this study aims to uncover the themes, imaginaries, narratives, rhetorical devices, as well as fallacies that sustain and perpetuate machismo, misogyny and extremist ideologies within the movement. By examining how discourses are constructed and used to shape social realities within the incel mindset, this research contributes to a deeper understanding of how such movements sustain and reinforce their toxic ideologies in contemporary Italy.