Disturbed young men in ‘incel’ cult are hammering their faces in a bid to improve their looks

Upset young men hit themselves in the face with hammers to look more attractive.

They are ‘involuntary celibates’ or ‘incels’, part of a misogynistic subculture on shady online forums where users exchange fantasies about rape and mass murder.

Members believe in a conspiracy theory called the “black pill,” a nihilistic ideology that preaches that its followers are doomed to a life without sex or relationships because of their genetic appearance.

Filmmaker Ben Zand, who researched British incels for a new Channel 4 documentary, said: ‘The ideology tells you that if you’re not attractive, you have no hope. Then you have three possible outcomes: you can kill yourself, you can kill other people, or the only redeeming option is radically changing your appearance.’

Upset young men hit themselves in the face with hammers to look more attractive

Many incels practice so-called “looksmaxxing” – activities to boost their appearance, including extreme use of the gym, taking testosterone and reconstructive surgery. To achieve the idealized face shape online — narrow eyes, prominent cheekbones, and a pronounced jawbone — some looksmaxxers have resorted to repeatedly traumatizing their facial bones. With their hands, blunt instruments or hammers, they beat themselves repeatedly in the belief that it will stimulate bone growth and change their appearance, a practice known as “breaking bones.”

Looksmaxxing influencer William Li, who doesn’t identify as an incel, said he’s seen “temporary” progress with bone-breaking. He added: “At first I used my hands to occasionally tap my chin, lower jaw and brow back, but it was mostly my chin.

“Eventually I started using a massage gun to do it for me, but I realized that was way too hard and I got bruises on my chin.”

Male model Austin Wayne said he had to endure bone fractures up to three times a day as he struggled with his appearance as a 17-year-old.

He said: ‘I was a very insecure child and I kept noticing all those imperfections in my face.

“I used my hands and just tapped my jaw and chin where I wanted to see growth. I’m not an expert on it, but I believed it worked for me.

“I now realize it’s very extreme and I don’t think it’s healthy for people to do.”

There is no established medical basis for the bone-breaking claims associated with discredited scientific beliefs. Incels’ violent hatred has occasionally spilled over into the real world, with tragic consequences.

Jake Davison, 22, who shot and killed five people in Plymouth last year, had posted numerous videos online showing extreme opinions.

‘Incels’ are part of a misogynistic subculture on shady online forums where users exchange fantasies about rape and mass murder (file photo)

Mr Zand’s research for the documentary suggested there were up to 3,000 incels in Britain.

A recent survey by the Center For Countering Digital Hate found that reports of mass murder had risen 59 percent in the past year on the web’s most popular incel sites.

Mr. Zand said: “All signs point to the number of incels in this country increasing.

Membership in the most popular incel forum is growing every year and some of those members are British. They are lonely men who have lost their sense of community and the only places they can find community are on these very dark websites.”

Untold: The Secret World Of Incels is now available to watch on All4.