https//wwwredditcom/r/selfimprovement/comments/1uj11vp/my_friend_thinks_selfimprovement_is_a_cult_should/ to the commenters, look, I get it that self-improvement in theory is supposed to...well, improve yourself. but if in practice its overrun with, as OP's friend put it, "incels, tied to masculinity influencers, looksmaxxing, and people selling overpriced courses" then it really doesn't matter how it should work in theory. and I'm sorry to say this but they're right, the SI community really has turned into a cult or at least gives very heavy rhetoric of such. I mean just look at the comment section (TW: very aggressive), all telling them to cut this friend off immediately over some strong opinions about their community, one of the classic cult maneuvers.