Recent research published in Journal of Sex and Couple Therapy Our findings suggest that men who identify as involuntarily celibate consume more pornography and experience more body dissatisfaction than other men. This study provides evidence that frequent use of adult media, combined with the belief that women expect men to look like porn actors, tends to worsen men’s views of their bodies.
Involuntary celibates, commonly known as incels, are men who deeply desire a romantic or sexual relationship but find it simply impossible to achieve it. This group tends to form a specific online identity centered around rigid and fatalistic beliefs. They generally believe that society is organized in a rigid hierarchy based entirely on appearance.
From their perspective, incels are trapped at the bottom of this social hierarchy due to permanent and unalterable physical defects. Because of these beliefs, they often experience extreme loneliness, depression, and a severe lack of social support. Many people have a negative attitude towards women, believing that women are shallow and are only interested in extremely attractive men.
Scientists Brandon Sparks and Robin Mooney wanted to better understand how pornography fits into this particular worldview. Sparks and Mooney pointed out that pornography often serves as the primary source of sexual information for young men. Because incels lack real-world sexual experience and romantic partners, they may rely heavily on adult media to learn about intimacy.
“I have been conducting incel research related to their social and emotional health for several years, and came across a very interesting study by Charest and Kleinplatz (2021) that looked at where men and women get their sexual information from,” said study author Brandon Sparks, a postdoctoral fellow at the University of New Brunswick.
“Participants generally reported that they got their knowledge about the ‘fun’ parts of sex from friends and intimate partners. However, incels typically do not have such social networks, nor do they have previous intimate partners from which to draw that information. This is because Charest and Kleinplatz (2021) found that men rated pornography much higher in informational value, so the question became whether this might be where incels are getting their information.”
“Conceptually, it seemed to be mapped out. In some incel forums, it’s been discussed that sex is transactional, and that’s how it’s portrayed in porn. Incels have a lot of concerns about their body image. Yes, but this is also related to men’s porn use. And finally, incels were to some extent likely to engage in more porn use to remedy their high levels of loneliness and lack of sexual outlet. Really, it was a “fit” from many angles. ”
For the study, scientists recruited 137 men through various communities on the online university research system, social media platform X, and Reddit. After excluding participants who did not fully complete the survey, the final sample consisted of 121 men. This group included 45 men who self-identified as incels and 76 men who did not.
Most participants were heterosexual and the average age was 29 years. They completed a series of online surveys designed to measure their porn viewing habits. The researchers provided a standard definition of pornography so that all participants based their responses on the exact same concept.
The survey asked men how often they watched porn and how much time they spent on it at a time. Participants also answered a question about whether they viewed pornography as a realistic depiction of an actual sexual encounter. Another section of the survey asked participants whether they thought adult media was a major source of education about sex.
In addition to viewing habits, the researchers measured several aspects of the men’s psychological and emotional health. They asked participants about their daily levels of social and emotional loneliness. The survey also measured how often men use masturbation as a way to cope with everyday worries and negative emotions.
The researchers also assessed whether the men were satisfied with their own appearance. This included asking participants how satisfied they were with their muscle mass, body fat, and height. Another survey asked men to rate their satisfaction with the overall size and appearance of their genitals.
Another core part of the study focused on relationship expectations. Scientists measured what men expected from potential romantic partners in terms of physical attractiveness. They also asked whether men thought their fellow female partners expected something in return from them.
Specifically, the survey asked whether men felt that their future partners expected them to look and perform sexually like male actors seen in porn. Finally, participants answered a question about whether their porn habits were negatively impacting their personal views of women. Once the survey was completed, researchers used statistical software to compare the responses of the two groups.
The results showed clear behavioral and psychological differences between the two groups of men. Incels reported consuming significantly more pornography than men who did not identify as incels. They were also dealing with much higher levels of masturbation. That is, they frequently used masturbation to manage daily stress and forget about their worries.
Furthermore, the incel group reported much higher levels of social isolation and daily loneliness. When it came to the adult content itself, incel men considered porn to be much more realistic than other men. They were also more likely to admit that watching porn had worsened their views of women over time.
The two groups did not differ in their expectations of a female partner’s physical appearance. Incels and non-incels had similar aesthetic expectations for female porn actors. However, the incel group reported stronger beliefs that they would expect future female partners to match the physical standards of male porn actors.
This particular belief was strongly associated with negative feelings about their own physical characteristics. Researchers found that incels felt significantly more dissatisfied with their overall body image. They also reported much higher levels of dissatisfaction with their own genital images compared to other men.
Scientists used statistical models to investigate how these various factors influence each other. They found that the belief that women expect men to look like porn actors acts as a bridge between being an incel and having severe body image issues. Essentially, identifying as an incel and internalizing the body standards seen in adult media tends to predict intense body dissatisfaction.
“Incel men reported having more concerns about their overall appearance and genitalia than non-incel men,” Sparks told SciPost. “This is partly explained by their belief that women watch porn and expect the same standards of appearance and performance from other men. In other words, the more incels consume porn, the more they seem to have internalized the belief that they cannot live up to women’s expectations.”
“When I was designing this study, I was communicating with an incel via email, and he suggested that I include some way to capture the perceptions and expectations I mentioned above, and he was happy to oblige. So, while I ended up going into the study with this hypothesis, it wasn’t the one I originally had when I first conceptualized the study.”
Although this study provides new insights into the psychological struggles of socially isolated men, it is not without limitations. The sample size of 121 men is relatively small for a psychology study. Researchers note that this is common when studying incels, as incels generally have a deep distrust of academics and outsiders.
The study also relied on a cross-sectional design, meaning the researchers cannot draw conclusions about cause-and-effect relationships. It’s not entirely clear whether consuming porn directly causes body image problems, or whether men who already have poor body image are simply more likely to consume more porn.
“This study is cross-sectional, meaning all data was collected at a single time point,” Sparks noted. “So I can’t confirm whether there’s a causal relationship here. It makes sense conceptually, and it makes sense based on what the incels I was dealing with told me, but more rigorous testing under different paradigms is needed to really flesh out the mechanism.”
“It’s also worth noting that incels’ internalization of pornographic standards does not entirely explain their increased interest in body and genital images; therefore, there are other factors to consider as well.”
To build on these initial findings, the scientists plan to expand their research to include other isolated online communities.
“We began studying female incels (femcels) to see if the same trends that we see in male incels (femcels) existed among them,” Sparks explained. “I will also be investigating the issue of relationships and sex between incels and femcels.”
Ultimately, the researchers hope their work will encourage an objective and empathetic approach to a much-maligned group.
“I think it’s important, especially in incel research, to make sure you humanize the participants,” Sparks said. “This research is not intended to position incels in any way (good or bad), but to understand some of the issues that incels are dealing with so that we can better support them.”
The study, “Pornography Consumption, Body Image, and Sexual Schemas in Incel and Non-Incel Men,” was authored by Brandon Sparks and Robin Mooney.
