Should (blackpill) incel communities be considered cults?
I have seen different opinions on that.
According to https://www.masterclass.com/articles/what-is-a-cult there are four characteristics shared commonly among cults: Authoritarian control, Extremist beliefs, Isolation from society and Veneration* of a single individual.
For authoritarian control, the biggest argument against it being a cult is that the members don't even know each other and thus have no way to enforce how to live the life outside the cult.
For extremist beliefs, blackpill incel communities obviously share a core set of beliefs, which are the beliefs of the blackpill community. Alternative views, such as redpill or bluepill views are not accepted and suppressed by group members. However, should their beliefs count as extremist?
For isolation from society, it seems to be a mixed bag. On the one hand, a core belief of the blackpill is to stop trying, which might make people more likely to stay in the group, on the other hand, the anonymous nature again completely prevents any actually enforced separation from family and friends.
For veneration of a single individual, this seems to be completely missing. The closest thing to being worshipped is the dead Elliot Rodger, but his ideology is completely ignored, his is just praised for his actions.
In total, I think it cannot be a cult because the members don't have any bonds to enforce any behaviour, but what do you think? Do you have other lists of requirements for cults which make incel communities more/less likely to be cults?
* As an ESL I had to look it up. It basically means worship.
Posted Jan 7, 2024, 7:58 PM UTC