Ruby Green

Thesis: Mapping Misogyny: A Diachronic Corpus-Based Analysis of Incel Lexicon and Radicalisation Pathways

Incels (involuntary celibates) are typically heterosexual, cisgender men who mobilise around their inability to secure sexual or romantic relationships. They form an online community within the wider manosphere – a network of interconnected anti-feminist pro-misogyny groups. My project will identify different types of user radicalisation pathways in an online incel forum (incel.is) through digital ethnography and corpus-based analysis of vocabulary usage over time. I will also build an updated incel glossary and explore how the identified trajectories of incel language adoption can be applied to combating online radicalisation. The assumption underlying this study is that adoption of distinctive incel vocabulary provides a way to track the radicalisation pathway of an individual in this community. My research will build on previous work by studying the adoption of the unique incel lexicon over time and mapping individual radicalisation pathways. This will support work in the identification of radicalisation in these online incel communities, as well as contributing to the understanding of pathways and patterns in misogynistic extremism online.

Biography:

I am on the ESRC MGS 1+3.5 pathway in Applied Linguistics at the University of Birmingham, currently in my Master's year studying MA Social Research. I previously studied English Language and Linguistics at UoB for my undergraduate degree.

Department of Linguistics and Communication

University of Birmingham

2026 Cohort

Supervisors:

Professor Jack Grieve

Professor Matteo Fuoli