Behind the Bastards Part One: From Elliott Rodger to Clavicular: The Story of Incel Evolution
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Mar 10, 2026 Kat Abu Ghazaleh, former researcher and journalist now running for Congress in Illinois, walks through the rise of incel culture and its migration into influencer spaces. She and Robert trace Elliot Rodger’s impact, the spread of opaque jargon, lookism and race science, and how looksmaxing morphed into viral figures like Clavicular. Short, sharp takes on dangerous online subcultures and their mainstreaming.
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How Incel Slang Broke Into Mainstream Culture
- Incels' jargon (e.g., foids, mogging, gooning) spread into mainstream culture because viral posts remixing absurd neologisms made them shareable.
- Robert Evans points to a viral Reddit post about Clavicular that paired nonsensical slang with a strange livestream clip, amplifying terms beyond the subculture.
Incel Originated As A Supportive Forum
- The term "involuntary celibate" began in 1997 as a supportive, mixed-gender forum created by a Canadian student named Alana.
- Alana's intent was community and mutual help, and the original site was benign before later toxic takeover.
Pickup Artistry Shifted From Listening To Manipulation
- Pickup artist (PUA) culture morphed from pragmatic dating advice into manipulative hacks like negging and peacocking by the 2000s.
- Neil Strauss's The Game popularized PUA techniques that framed women as systems to be hacked, enabling later misogynistic communities.
