When someone throws around “incel” as an insult, it usually says more about them than the person they’re targeting. It’s often a way to feel superior while avoiding their own insecurities. They’re not offering some deep insight—they’re just being petty. It’s classic projection: mocking loneliness or awkwardness because those things scare them, too. And underneath it all is this weird, transactional view of sex, like it’s some kind of prize for good behavior. The cruelty gets masked as wit, but really, it just comes off as insecure and mean-spirited.