The tragedy that hit Toronto Monday afternoon has rendered worldwide shock and despair—with one name at the root of it all: Alek Minassian.
After his arrest by a courageous Toronto police officer, a Facebook post under Minassian’s name quickly emerged, signalling at a resurfacing motive that once made headlines in 2014.
“Private (Recruit) Minassian Infantry 00010, wishing to speak to Sgt 4chan please,” it reads. “C23249161. The Incel Rebellion has already begun! We will overthrow all the Chads and Stacys! All hail the Supreme Gentleman Elliot Rodger”.
Elliot Rodger. The American mass murderer responsible for the murder of six— all because he was a 22-year-old virgin who loathed being turned down by women.
Even more disturbing, Minassian’s post references a dark, misogynist movement of men who believe they are entitled to sex and entitled to a relationship, but blame women for denying them these things because of their physical appearance. ‘Incel’ stands for “Involuntary Celibate” and is comprised of angry men who blame women for their lack of sexual intimacy and romantic relationships.
While the legitimacy of Minassian’s alleged Facebook post has raised doubts in the media, it was confirmed on Tuesday, April 24 by the Toronto police that the Facebook post in question did indeed appear on his page. Whether the Facebook post was actually posted by him is yet to be confirmed.
Despite Minassian, there is something spine tingling bubbling behind the scenes which his attack has undoubtedly shed light on.
Women are still not safe. Women are still not equal. And it is questionable if we ever will be.
With a little bit of research, I came across a website that made my heart tremble with both disbelief and anger. The website is called Incel.me, and it’s a site where self-proclaimed Incels gather to spew hate on women and confess their loneliness, which they insist is a by-product of rejection by women.
Here are a few examples of the things written by Incels on the website:
The consequences for just being a woman seem to grow every single day. Whether it be inequality, reproductive rights, the pay gap or being victims of sexual violence (to name a few), we already have a day’s work cut out for us.
In its own category, women already have a massive fear of rejecting men. At bars we give fake names and numbers, or pretend to have a significant other just to protect ourselves. Breaking up with a man is terrifying as is because he could get physical.
Now, not only do women have to fear just rejecting men, but also fear that their rejection is the root cause of mass loneliness and that even not paying attention to every anti-social man we cross paths with might result in a terrorist attack on the innocent.
Women are the problem here because we owe men sex and companionship—and we haven’t paid up.
Do I hear the distant sound of someone shouting there is no need for feminism today? That equality does exist for women in 2018? That couldn’t be farther from the truth.
While this has been a common theme for centuries—men believing that women only exist to fulfil their desires— it baffles me that still, in 2018, here we are standing over bodies of innocent women and men because we have the freedom to choose who to love and who to share our bodies with.
Because we choose not to force ourselves into sexual or romantic relationships.
Because we choose to do who and what makes us happy.
And to be brutally honest—we’re tired of it.
Women are tired of being blamed for a man’s shortcomings and fragile masculinity. We’re tired of being blamed for their unhappiness or lack of self-love.
Women are tired of owing just for existing.
Let me clarify—I don’t think anyone should be denied the joys of companionship and the perks that come along with it. I sympathise with those who feel like they are not good enough or worthy of love, and I am here to tell you that you are. I’m sorry for every human who has bullied your confidence or self-worth down to the point where you believe there is something wrong with you. Every single person deserves someone who truly loves them as they are and wants to share the beauty of life with them. We all want to love and be loved. However, it is important to understand that this isn’t an entitlement—it’s earned. You earn love, sex, relationships and companionships by being a decent, kind and loving human being, and maybe with a little sprinkle of luck from Mother Nature, that you cross paths with the right person. You have to be deserving to truly earn someone’s love, and wishing women dead because you feel entitled isn’t how you earn it. We don’t feel sorry for your sense of entitlement.
You. Are. Not. Entitled. To. Sex. From. A. Woman.
And you never will be. You will never be entitled to anything from us, not then and not now.
From the headlines and the every day struggles, to the innocent deaths and the countless cries for help— these are all reasons why we need feminism today. Feminism needs to be stronger than ever to withstand this rain of terror on our freedom and our bodies.
We have only just begun.
*In Alek Minassian’s alleged Facebook Post, he refers to Stacy’s and Chad’s. Chad’s stands for sexually attractive men that women typically go for. Stacy’s are women who reject Incels