Involuntary celibacy is the state of a person who has not established an intimate relationship or engaged in sexual intercourse for reasons other than voluntary celibacy or sexual abstinence. The term is used especially for adults who, despite general expectations, have had little to no sexual or romantic experience. An intimate relationship is a particularly close interpersonal relationship. ... It has been suggested that Duration of sexual intercourse be merged into this article or section. ... Celibacy refers either to being unmarried or to sexual abstinence. ... This article needs additional references or sources for verification. ...

People who are unable to engage in sexual activities due to medical limitations are termed medcel (medically celibate). Married couples who do not engage in sexual activities are termed marcel (marriage celibate). People who choose to stay celibate are termed vocel (voluntarily celibate). These terms are not formally defined but are in common usage in the incel community.^{[citation needed]}

Definition

An involuntarily celibate person is someone who fails to initiate or sustain a sexual or romantic relationship, despite his/her desire to experience such a relationship. Afflicted people may suffer from loneliness, frustration, and may be mistaken for homosexuals who are hiding their sexuality. An interpersonal relationship is some relationship or connection between two people. ... Loneliness is an emotional state in which a person experiences a powerful feeling of emptiness and isolation. ... This article does not cite any references or sources. ... Since its coinage, the word homosexuality has acquired multiple meanings. ...

There is debate concerning the duration of the celibacy needed to qualify for the label of involuntary celibacy. Some people class themselves as involuntary celibate because they are not in a relationship at the moment, though they have been in the recent past and are likely to be again. Critics to this view suggest that the proper label for this is simply being "single", which, unlike "involuntarily celibate", is in common usage and does not carry potential social stigma. Donnelly and Burgess used a floor figure of six months of involuntary celibacy in their study design. Others apply the term only to those who have never been involved in a sexual and/or romantic relationship, or to those who never had a date, or even kissed somebody.^{[citation needed]}

Research

A study was initiated in 1998 by researchers from Georgia State University when a member of an online discussion group for involuntary celibates inquired about current research on the subject. ^[1] The study, Involuntary celibacy: A life course analysis, ^[2] was published in 2001 in the Journal of Sex Research, produced by the Society for the Scientific Study of Sexuality. A news article reporting on the study indicated that involuntary celibacy can lead to anger and depression. ^[3] Involuntary celibacy: A life course analysis has also been included in an anthology of scholarly literature. ^[4] Georgia State University (GSU) is an urban research university in the heart of downtown Atlanta, Georgia, USA. Founded in 1913, it serves over 28,000[1] students, and is one of the University System of Georgias four research universities. ... The Journal of Sex Research (or JSR, ISSN 0022-4499) is published by the Society for the Scientific Study of Sexuality registered in New York City. ... The Society for the Scientific Study of Sexuality, formed in 1957, claims to be the oldest organization of professionals interested in the study of sexuality in the United States. ...

In a March 6, 2004 letter by Brian G. Gilmartin, who performed extensive studies on involuntarily celibate males (whom he termed "love-shy"), he noted that "as many as 40 percent of the cases of severely love-shy men would qualify for a diagnosis of 'Asperger's Syndrome'", a proportion supported in his 1987 book.^[5] Brian G. Gilmartin (b. ... The term love-shyness is sometimes used to designate a specific type of severe chronic shyness. ... Asperger described his patients as little professors. Aspergers syndrome (AS, or the more common shorthand Aspergers), is characterized as one of the five pervasive developmental disorders, and is commonly referred to as a form of high functioning autism. ...

Criticism

Very little research has been published on involuntary celibacy, and few statistics are available, although it is finding its way onto university syllabi.^[6][7] It does not appear to be a concept taken seriously by those who do not experience it. However, conditions associated with involuntary celibacy may include severe depression, self-harm, mental illness, substance abuse and even suicide. On the Threshold of Eternity. ... Self-harm (SH) is deliberate injury to ones own body. ... A mental illness or mental disorder refers to one of many mental health conditions characterized by distress, impaired cognitive functioning, atypical behavior, emotional dysregulation, and/or maladaptive behavior. ... Also see Alcoholism and Drug addiction. ... For other uses, see Suicide (disambiguation). ...

Contributing factors

Lack of social skills, charisma or sex-appeal, disability, socio-economic factors, such as homelessness and poverty, may also play a role by discouraging courtship. Certain other factors such as having a criminal record or having HIV/AIDS may also play such similar roles in courtship discouragement. Discrimination may also be a big factor in causing involuntary celibacy because of disapproval of the person's partner from family and friends, especially if the person is attracted to people of a different race, ethnicity, religion, and/or nationality.^{[citation needed]} For other uses, see Charisma (disambiguation). ... Sex in advertising is the use of sexual interest as a tool of persuasion to draw interest to a particular product, for purpose of sale. ... Look up disability in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ... Socioeconomics is the study of the social and economic impacts of any product or service offering, market intervention or other activity on an economy as a whole and on the companies, organization and individuals who are its main economic actors. ... A homeless person in Paris. ... A boy from an East Cipinang trash dump slum in Jakarta, Indonesia shows what he found. ... Suitor redirects here. ... This article is about the crime term. ... Species Human immunodeficiency virus 1 Human immunodeficiency virus 2 Human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) is a retrovirus that causes acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS, a condition in humans in which the immune system begins to fail, leading to life-threatening opportunistic infections). ... For other uses, see AIDS (disambiguation). ... This box:      Most broadly, discrimination is the discernment of qualities and rejection of subjects with undesirable qualities. ... For other uses, see Race (disambiguation). ... This article or section should be merged with ethnic group Ethnicity is the cultural characteristics that connect a particular group or groups of people to each other. ... In English usage, nationality is the legal relationship between a person and a country. ...

Involuntary celibacy may also be perpetuated by cognitive biases and/or negative explanatory styles such as learned helplessness or Fundamental Attribution Error. Learned helplessness occurs when, after experiencing repeated rejection, an individual is conditioned to assume all other potential prospects will also reject them. Every "signal" of interest may be dismissed, even when the object of one's attraction is genuinely interested. "Actual helplessness" occurs when there are no signals of interest to be misinterpreted. The Fundamental Attribution Error can cause individuals to see people as being mean or shallow towards them when they have experienced a rejection of some form, instead of explaining the behaviour through situational or environmental factors. For example, someone may jump to the conclusion that they are undesirable simply because they went to a supermarket and a cashier brushed them off when they tried to crack a joke. There could be many situational or environmental reasons to the cashier's reaction that has nothing to do with whether or not one is attractive. Perhaps the cashier was in a bad mood, or was having a bad day, or perhaps had some other unseen problems in his/her life. It is important to note that both of these cognitive errors can happen among the general population and are not necessarily signs of mental illness, although this type of thought is much more common among sufferers.^{[citation needed]} This article or section does not cite its references or sources. ... Explanatory style is a psychological attribute that indicates how people explain to themselves why they are victims of a negative event. ... This article does not cite its references or sources. ... In attribution theory, the fundamental attribution error (also known as correspondence bias or overattribution effect and frequently confused with the actor-observer bias) is the tendency for people to over-emphasize dispositional, or personality-based, explanations for behaviors observed in others while under-emphasizing the role and power of situational...

See also

• Asexuality
• Attachment theory
• Love-shyness
• Sexual addiction
• Unrequited love

This article is about the sexual orientation in humans. ... Mother and child. ... The term love-shyness is sometimes used to designate a specific type of severe chronic shyness. ... Sexual addiction (sexual compulsion)—a postulated form of psychological addiction—is a hotly debated topic with numerous critics and evidence on both sides of the debate. ... Unrequited love is love that is not reciprocated, even though reciprocation is usually deeply desired. ...

References

1. ^ For many, sexless lifestyle is not a choice, Georgia State University News Release, July 24, 2001 (accessed December 14, 2006)
2. ^ Involuntary celibacy: A life course analysis D. Donnelly, E. Burgess, S. Anderson, R. Curry, J. Dillard, Journal of Sex Research 38(2), S. 159-169. (2001) (accessed December 14, 2006)
3. ^ Study shows that involuntary celibacy can lead to anger and depression American Association of Single People, November 12, 2001 (accessed December 14, 2006)
4. ^ Sex Matters AbeBooks.com, (accessed December 14, 2006) DEAD LINK! (Also: if this is a regular book, then citation should be by ISBN.)
5. ^ Brian G. Gilmartin (1987), Shyness and Love: Causes, Consequences and Treatment, University Press of America, Lanham, Maryland (701 pages). ISBN 0-8191-6102-0
6. ^ Sexuality in Society syllabus for San Francisco State University, Fall 2004 (accessed December 14, 2006)
7. ^ Sociology of Sexuality Syllabus for Washington State University, Summer Quarter, 2006 (accessed December 14, 2006)

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External links

• Involuntary Celibacy advice and information (Incelsite)
• Outsiders Trust, a UK-based organization founded to help the disabled and others suffering from involuntary celibacy.
• IncelSupport, an Involuntary Celibacy support group