this post was submitted on 30 Dec 2025
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I miss when MGTOW wasn't co-opted by incels. It used to be dudes talking about goals they were pursuing or hobbies they enjoyed. Some were even married!! It was more about trying to "follow your own path" and making sure you carve out time for things you enjoy doing instead of losing your entire life to a family or children or job or feeling like you needed to follow the "traditional" path. But that was over a decade ago. And now, ironically, all MGTOW does is focus on women.
I think it was inevitable because women were the common thread that held it all together. If people wanted to talk about hobbies, they should just go to a forum for that hobby, not a "I'm doing hobbies instead of seeing women" forum because the focus is already off the hobby and on how much the hobby can help distract from the desire to see a woman.
I always saw mgtow as a group as obsessed with women as the incels, they were just coping with their pain differently (and better, don't get me wrong, mgtow is far less dangerous than inceldom, but they are similar in patheticness).
And note that I'm only talking about people who make that a core part of their identity. I think it's OK to decide that you're not going to pursue dating anymore, whether it's because you don't want to be hurt or because you don't feel worthy of love or whatever. But if you're constantly bringing it up or always want to talk about it, it might be a sign that you're not actually OK with that choice.