Incel is a term closely associated with an online subculture of people who define themselves as unable to get a romantic or sexual partner despite desiring one. Originally coined as "invcel" around 1997 by a queer Canadian female student known as Alana, the spelling had shifted to "incel" by 1999, and the term later rose to prominence in the 2010s, following the influence of Elliot Rodger and Alek Minassian.
2014 memorial service at Harder Stadium for the victims of the 2014 Isla Vista killings by self-identified incel Elliot Rodger
The 2014 Isla Vista killings were two misogynistic terror attacks in Isla Vista, California. On the evening of Friday, May 23, 22-year-old Elliot Rodger killed six people and injured fourteen others by gunshot, stabbing and vehicle ramming near the campus of the University of California, Santa Barbara (UCSB), before fatally shooting himself.
Driver's license photo of Rodger
Memorial wall honoring the first three victims killed in the 2014 Isla Vista killings. From left to right: George Chen, Weihan "David" Wang, and Cheng Yuan "James" Hong.
Rodger made a hand drawing of a person getting stabbed.
Memorial service at Harder Stadium, May 27