Donnelly study

Categories: Incelology, Academic work, Surveys

The '''Donnelly study''', officialy titled "'''Involuntary Celibacy: A Life Course Analysis'''",<ref>http://cda.morris.umn.edu/~meeklesr/celibacy.html [https://archive.fo/2t2iv Archive]</ref> was the first academic study to take the concept of [[involuntary celibacy]] seriously, and has been cited dozens of times by academic literature, including peer-reviewed academic research. The study was also peer-reviewed and published in the ''The Journal of Sex Research'' in 2001.<ref>https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/00224490109552083</ref> This study introduced the use of the expression "involuntary celibacy" as an academic sociological term. [[Alana]]'s incel [[Alana's Involuntary Celibacy Project|mailing list]] was coordinating with the professor of sociology [[Denise Donnelly]] and a team of Georgia State University researchers to use her community as a beginning for research on the causes of involuntary celibacy in early 1999.
==Definition of incel==
'Involuntarily celibate' is a valid academic sociological term popularized in the Donnelly study. In the study, an involuntary celibate is a person who would like to have a "willing" [[Relationship|partner]] to have [[sex]] with, but cannot find one for six months or more. The period of time to determine when one can be considered an involuntarily celibate was chosen by [[Denise Donnelly]] as six months, as that factored in that some [[Sex haver|sexually active]] people go [[Dry spell|weeks without sex]], and people start to worry about their sex lives after a certain period longer than that period.
==The study==
The questionnaire for the study was filled out by 60 [[men]] and 22 [[women]] who identified as involuntarily celibate. Findings showed that involuntary celibates may come from broad sexual and personal backgrounds.

The participants were divided into three categories: 1) [[virgins]], who had never had [[sex]], 2) singles, who had sex in the past but were unable to establish current sexual [[relationships]], 3) those with romantic partners but currently in [[sexless]] relationships.

Of the virgin involuntary celibates, 76% were male, and 24% were female. Men in the study reported they felt trapped by being stuck in the role of the initiator of [[dates]], while the women in the study reported that they felt like they should not initiate romantic or sexual encounters. 

Overall, 35% of respondents felt dissatisfied, frustrated, or angry about their lack of sexual relationships regardless of their current partnership status. Most involuntary celibates appeared to feel despair, depression, frustration and a loss of [[confidence]].
{{See also|[[Teen love pill]]}}
The study also found grounding for a common incel concern of [[Incelosphere timeline#2010s|today]]: that as [[sexual]] and [[relationship]] milestones are missed, it becomes harder and harder to achieve normality going forward. Many felt that their sexual development had somehow stalled in an earlier stage of life, leading them to feel different from their peers and that they will never catch up.
==Involuntary celibacy, a valid academic sociological term==
While the Donnelly study's sample size was quite small, the study has been cited 62 times in scholarly literature, including an encyclopedia about family life, a peer-reviewed sociology journal, and various books by accredited sociologists and an accredited anthropologist, giving the term "involuntary celibacy" academic legitimacy, at least as a sociological term describing a real-life circumstance.
==See also==
* [[Causes of inceldom]]
* [[Denise Donnelly]]
==References==
<references />
== External links ==
* [https://www.webmd.com/men/features/sexless-in-the-city#1 WebMD article on Involuntary Celibacy]
*[https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/00224490109552083 The study]
{{History}}
[[Category:Incelology]]
[[Category:Academic work]]
[[Category:Surveys]]

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