Incel Attitudes & Beliefs (Upper-Intermediate Lesson Plan)

ESL/EFL Level: B2/C1 (Advanced)
Lesson Topics: incels, misogyny, dating culture
Skill Focus: Reading, Speaking, Vocabulary
Approximate Class Time: 2.5 hours
Lesson Plan Download: incel-study-upper-intermediate-lesson-062025.docx

  • Foreword: Page two has an extended activity on stereotypes based on memes from the incel community. Be sure to pre-read and edit as required. Younger students will find the activity fun (I assume), but as teachers, we need to be mindful of the potential harm of stereotyping. Avoid use if you teach for a conservative institution.  -MB
  • The lesson begins with warm-up questions about dating and attraction between the sexes.
  • The reading passage, at 300 words in length, first gives background on the incel community. It then summarizes a new study (May 21, 2025) on incel attitudes and beliefs published the Archives of Sexual Behavior journal. The study's results challenge some misconceptions about the incel community and highlight the mental health and antisocial factors that lead to such harmful atitudes.
  • The reading passage is followed by comprehension and follow-up questions.
  • Next, students match vocabulary from the passage to definitions. Then students form discussion questions with the target vocabulary. 
  • The lesson has two debate prompts related to finding a romantic partner and the value of dating apps.
  • The first extended speaking activity focuses on four archetypes from the incel community: The Stacey, The Chad, The Becky, and The Virgin. After labelling a meme-based images, students read a list of 13 descriptors that they must try to match to each archetype. I've made an effort to include more lighthearted descriptors (compared to some of the vulgar ideas found in the original memes). The activity ends with a discussion of how memes such as these affect our views of men and women.
  • The first roleplay describes a situation between a father who wants to get his incel son to begin dating and have a "normal" social life. The second is between a TikTok content manager who is considering banning a controversial "alpha-male" influencer.
  • Next, students review one famous quotation and the lesson's collocations for both the passage and the archetype activity.
  • Finally, students review vocabulary before discussing some final discussion questions.

An image based on four incel community archetypes.

UPPER-INTERMEDIATE (B2/C1) Lesson on Incel Attitudes & Beliefs: Warm-up

  1. In your opinion, is getting a boyfriend or girlfriend difficult?
  2. Are you the type of person who is good at dating or attracting a partner?
  3. What kind of person are men and women typically physically attracted to? Complete the table below:
Women desire someone who is ….Men desire someone who is …
  • Some people identify as “incels”. What does this mean? What do you know about them?

Reading Passage: New Study on Incel Attitudes & Beliefs

Incels are men who describe themselves as involuntarily celibate (in + cel). In other words, these men want a sexual or romantic partner, but they cannot get one. Incels often have prejudiced views about women, thinking that women are only attracted to a limited type of men. As a result, incels feel that they have been “black-pilled”, i.e. forced to live in a situation that they cannot change due to their appearance or society. In the past two decades, incels have built community spaces online. People who identify as incels have also committed a number of violent attacks against women.

A large study[1] on the incel community was recently published by Swansea University and the University of Texas. It surveyed 561 incels from the US and UK. Researcher Andrew G. Thomas comments that there is a stereotype of incels as “young, white, right-wing men who are not in employment, education, or training.” Thomas’s research challenges some of these ideas. Its key results are as follows:

  • Mental health: 37% of incels said they think about suicide every day. A total of 86% had experienced bullying. Thirty percent of the community showed signs of autism, compared to one percent for the general population.
  • Backgrounds: 58% were white while 42% were people of color. 42.4% were employed full time. The average participant age was 26. Politically, most were slightly left of center.

Overall, the study found two causes for harmful attitudes among incels. The first was mental health challenges, including autistic traits, bullying, and low self-esteem. The second was having an antisocial personality that includes selfishness and extreme right-wing views.

The study is the first to examine the incel community in detail. The researchers hope it will help government respond to both online hate and the challenges faced by some young men today.

[Sources: https://www.eurekalert.org/news-releases/1086144, https://www.ctvnews.ca/health/article/over-500-incels-completed-a-survey-this-is-what-researchers-learned/, https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s10508-025-03161-y]

Comprehension Questions & Follow-Up Questions

1)     Recall & Retell: Summarize the main ideas of the passage in your own words.

2)     What does it mean to feel black-pilled? How might that affect the motivation of incels?

3)     According to Thomas, what do people commonly believe about incels?

4)     How are the results of the study similar or different from these common beliefs?

5)     What does the phrase “slightly left of center” mean in the description of participants? Does this match the stereotype of incels?

6)     Chicken or the egg: In your opinion, are mental health challenges caused by feeling black-pilled, or is it the other way around?

7)     Opinion: What could government do to help resolve this problem?

Vocabulary: Match the bold words to their meaning based on how they were used in the article.

1.     celibate (adj)]

2.     prejudiced (adj)

3.     attract (v)

4.     identify as sb (v)

5.     stereotype (n)

6.     suicide (n)

7.     bullying (n)

8.     autism (n)

9.     self-esteem (n)

10.  antisocial (adj)

11.  extreme (adj)

12.  examine (v)

a)     repeated unkind or harmful behavior toward someone weaker

b)     very strong or far from what is normal

c)     the act of killing yourself

d)     to say that you are part of a certain group or category

e)     not having sexual/romantic relationships, usually by choice

f)      a common but often untrue idea about a group of people

g)     not caring about social rules

h)     having opinions about a group of people

i)      the way you feel about yourself and your value

j)      a condition affecting how someone thinks, communicates, or relates to others

k)     to make someone feel interested in you romantically

l)      to study something closely

Pronunciation: Pronounce the underlined syllables above with your teacher.

Replace the underlined phrase with one of the words below. Then ask the questions to a partner.

  1. How does social media affect feelings of our own value?
  2. Does your country have many very strong and not-normal political groups? If so, what are they?
  3. What common beliefs are there about people from your country?
  4. Do you say you are part of a certain group, e.g. gamers, vegans, foodies, etc.?
  5. Do you have any experiences with repeated unkind behavior that you’d feel comfortable sharing?
  6. Do you think more people will remain nonsexual in the future?
  7. What type of personality romantically interests you?

Speaking Activity: Debate

  • There’s someone out there for everybody.
  • Dating apps have made dating worse for most people.

Speaking Activity: Incel Archetypes[2]

Note: This activity describes stereotypes in incel culture. Its purpose is to learn the stereotypes and language but also to discuss how they can be harmful.

Step 1: Guess the name that matches four archetypes (typical examples) on the right:The Virgin / The Becky / The Chad / The Stacey Step 2: Below are some descriptions of each archetype found in memes. Match each phrase below to an archetype. More than one phrase may apply to the same archetype.

a)     Thinks guys like the “natural” look

b)     Feminist

c)     Never works a day in her life, lives in luxury

d)     Walks with confidence and perfect posture (back perfectly straight)

e)     Will marry a banker when she hits 30.

f)      Has a job but dreams of being a  “travel blogger”

g)     Has many Chads blowing up her phone

h)     Wears backpack with both straps

i)      Bends forward when he walks, avoids eye contact

j)      Likes cats and pumpkin-spiced lattes

k)     Tells The Virgin he's “like a brother”

l)      Always knows what to say

m)   Practicing conversations in head

[Answers on last page of lesson]

[Download .DOCX for images]

Name: _____________

a sexually attractive woman who can have her choice of sexual partners; ignores “nice guys”

Name: _____________an attractive male who is sexually successful with women; is quite good-looking (square jaw, height, etc.)
Name: _____________an average looking woman; incels feel they are ‘owed’ sex and relationships from these women
Name: _____________a socially awkward, shy, and sexually inexperienced man

Step 3: Discuss these questions:

  • In your opinion, do these labels describe real people? Do you see yourself in any of the archetypes?
  • How do memes like this affect people’s view of gender or dating?
  • Becky is considered a “normie” (slang for normal person). Why do people dislike being a ‘normie’?
  • How much do physical features affect a person’s dating success?

Speaking Activity: Roleplay

Situation: John’s 17-year-old son, Eugene, is graduating high school this year.

John: You are worried about Eugene. He spends a lot of time online, where most of his friends live. He’s never had a girlfriend. He’s not bad looking, but he doesn’t want to talk to girls.Task: You were popular in high school and had a lot of fun. Talk to Eugene. Try to improve his self-esteem. He has a great sense of humor and he’s really kind. You want him to get a girlfriend and have a “normal” social life. You will start the conversation.

Possible expression: Girls are attracted to confidence; it’s not all about looks.

Eugene: Your dad was a Chad in high school (tall, strong chin). That’s not you. He probably wants you to get a girlfriend. You tried talking to a girl once. She laughed and embarrassed you. You are not doing that again.Your dad wants to talk with you.

Possible expression: That's easy for you to say, Chad.

Situation: ManWolf is a TikTok influencer with 2 million followers. He sells courses that promise to make young men into “alpha males.”  Crystal Cheung is a content manager at TikTok. She has gotten many complaints about @ManWolf’s posts.

Crystal: People are complaining that ManWolf’s content breaks TikTok rules (e.g., it is hate speech). People are also worried that it harms young men. They say:·       He makes money by taking advantage of young men

·       His service is a pyramid scheme—paying members recruit other members to earn fees.

·       He’s said terrible things about women. For example,

o   “Women only respect power. If you show emotion, you lose.”

o   “You don’t date women — you manage them.”

Task: Call ManWolf and discuss his content. Decide whether his account should be removed or not.

Possible expression: We’re concerned that you’re taking advantage of young men.

ManWolf: Some losers are complaining about your posts. A TikTok representative wants to talk with you. You are worried that they’ll shut down your account, which would be terrible for your business.Task: Talk with the woman. Explain that your service helps young men who feel lost. If she doesn’t believe that, tell her that websites like TikTok have to protect free speech.Possible expression: I help men boost their self-esteem. What’s wrong with that?

Famous Quotation

  • “If you’re not being rejected, you’re not trying hard enough.”  – Mark Cuban

Collocation Review from Passage

1.     a romantic

2.     a number of violent

3.     young, white, right-

4.     people of

5.     most were slightly left of

a.     partner

b.     wing men

c.     color

d.     center

e.     attacks

Collocation Review from Archetype Activity

1.     thinks guys like the “natural

2.     lives in

3.     walks with perfect

4.     a travel

5.     has many Chads

6.     pumpkin-spiced

a.     blogger

b.     lattes

c.     blowing up her phone

d.     look”

e.     luxury

f.      posture

Vocabulary: Insert one of the below vocabulary items into the appropriate blank.

bullying / identify as / antisocial / celibate / self-esteem / autism / stereotype / suicide

attract / examine / extreme / prejudiced

1.     Incels are men who describe themselves as involuntarily ____________ (in + cel).

2.     Incels often have ____________ views about women, thinking that women are only ____________ to a limited type of men.

3.     People who ____________ incels have also committed a number of violent attacks ….

4.     … there is a ____________ of incels as “young, white, right-wing men who are not in employment, education, or training.”

5.     37% of incels said they think about ____________ every day.

6.     A total of 86% had experienced ____________.

7.     Thirty percent of the community showed signs of ____________ …

8.     The first was mental health challenges, including autistic traits, bullying, and low ____________.

9.     The second was having an ____________ personality that includes selfishness and ____________ right-wing views.

10.  The study is the first to ____________ the incel community in detail.

Final Discussion Questions

  1. Should people with extreme views be allowed to use social media platforms?
  2. Do you ever feel black-pilled with your situation in life?
  3. Incels are typically men. Have you heard of women who have similar problems?
  4. How important is appearance in relationships?

This lesson plan was created by Matthew Barton of EnglishCurrent.com (copyright). Site members may photocopy and edit the file for their classes. Permission is not given to rebrand the lesson, redistribute it on another platform, or sell it as part of commercial course curriculum. ChatGPT was used to generate answer keys and some famous quotations. For questions, contact the author.

Comprehension Question Answer Key

  1. Incels are men who feel rejected by women and society; the study challenges stereotypes and highlights mental health and personality issues.
  2. Believing your situation can’t improve due to looks or society; it leads to hopelessness.
  3. That incels are young, white, right-wing, and unemployed.
  4. Many are employed, not all are white, and most are politically left of center.
  5. Politically progressive or moderate; no, it doesn’t match the stereotype.
  6. …
  7. …

Vocabulary: 1-e, 2-h, 3-k, 4-d, 5-f, 6-c, 7-a, 8-j, 9-i, 10-g, 11-b, 12-l

Archetype answers:

  • Stacey-c,e,g,j
  • Chad-d,k
  • Becky-a,b,f
  • Virgin-h,I,l

Passage Collocations 1-a, 2-e, 3-b, 4-d, 5-d

Archetype Collocations: 1-d, 2-e, 3-f, 4-a, 5-c, 6-b

[1] https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s10508-025-03161-y

[2] https://www.educateagainsthate.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/11/Incels-A-guide-for-those-teaching-Year-10-and-above-1-1.pdf , descriptions: https://www.vox.com/2018/4/28/17290256/incel-chad-stacy-becky

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