What is incel ideology? Meaning and its role in Bianca Devins' murder case explored

The shocking murder of Bianca Devins is the focus of CBS 48 Hours' upcoming episode, which is set to air on Saturday, August 13, 2022. The 17-year-old girl was murdered by her friend Brandon Clark, who then went on to post photos of her dead body on social media.

The images went viral on various platforms, with many trolls sending Devins' family members memes made out of the photos along with offensive and hateful messages. The people who shared these photos are allegedly considered to be a part of an online community of men called incels.

Read further to find out more details about the incel ideology and the role it played in Bianca Devins' murder case.

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Bianca Devins murder: Incel ideology and its significance in the case explained

Noted behavioral scientist Steven Crimando spoke to CBS News about the infamous online community of men called incels. Incel is derived from the words involuntary celibates. According to CBS News, people belonging to this group are men, aged 21 or more, who haven't indulged in any kind of sexual activity for more than six months despite the desire to do so.

Incels consider attractive men as ''chads'' and attractive women as ''stacys''. The notorious online community is often accused of spreading misogynistic messages, online propaganda, racism, and violence against women.

The incel ideology is characterized by hatred towards women, narcissism, and male entitlement, among various other things. They strongly oppose feminism and women's rights. Several incels reportedly suffer from depression and display suicidal tendencies.

Although not all incels are harmful or dangerous, some have resorted to violence in the past, according to CBS News. Several mass murders across North America have been committed by men whose beliefs share similarities with the incel ideology.

After murdering Bianca Devins, Brandon Clark posted pictures of her dead body on social media, which soon went viral. According to Steven Crimando, those who shared the photos with Devins' family members, along with hateful messages blaming her for what happened, belong to the incel community.

Behavioral scientist Steven Crimando calls it a form of ''psychological terrorism.'' He told CBS News that the teenage girl's image was distorted online to promote the incel propaganda, with several incels on various platforms lauding Clark. Clark, however, did not consider himself to be an incel, as per CBS News.

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CBS 48 Hours: More details about Bianca Devins' murder case

According to Rolling Stone magazine, on July 13, 2019, 17-year-old Bianca Devins went to a Nicole Dollanganger gig in Queens with Brandon Clark, whom she'd met online. There, she met another friend of hers, and the two allegedly kissed, according to authorities. Clark and Devins later got involved in an intense argument that night. The next morning, Clark shared a photo of Devins' lifeless body on Discord. More images of her dead body were posted on Instagram.

Clark later dialed 911, mentioned that he'd committed a ''murder-suicide'', and gave his address. Authorities arrived at the scene to find him cut his throat. They also discovered Devins' body at the scene.

Clark managed to survive the injuries, but was eventually charged with second-degree murder, to which he initially pleaded not guilty. In February 2020, he reportedly changed his plea to guilty and was ultimately sentenced to 25 years to life in jail.

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You can watch the upcoming episode about Bianca Devins on CBS' 48 Hours on Saturday, August 13, 2022.