An Inconsummate Man: The Violent Dramaturgy of Elliot Rodger

Unable to perform the perceived demands of his gender—unable to have sex—in 2014 the incel Elliot Rodger devised a performance of ruthless cruelty. His mass murder, a now habituated performance of US American masculinity, was preceded by an autobiographical text. Recounting his pursuit of a consummate manhood, Rodger's manifesto reveals the consequential movement from narrative to performance, from genre to gender, from a discourse of discontent to a violent dramaturgy of masculinity.