Warning: graphic content
A self-confessed incel virgin has opened up about hitting himself in the face with a hammer in a bid to to make himself 'look better'.
The incel - a term for those who describe themselves as involuntarily celibate - performed the shocking ritual during Channel 4's new documentary, The Secret Life of Incels.
Advert
The doc, which aired on Monday, lifted the lid on the lives of the growing number of incels in the UK.
While the movement has historically been associated with men living in the US, recent data suggests that 2,500 of 18,000 members in one online forum are located in the UK.
Incels are described in the Channel 4 programme as 'angry and frustrated young men' who believe that they were born physically 'inferior' to other men.
The most extreme members of the movement describe themselves as 'Blackpills', and they are of the opinion that in order for a woman to be attracted to a man, he must be a Chad - that is someone who is tall, muscular and generally handsome.
In a bid to become like the men they believe they are not, some incels resort to 'looksmaxxing' or 'bone smashing'; using often violent techniques to 'sculpt' their faces.
A man in the documentary explained that while it sounds extreme, it is 'not uncommon' among the community and explained that the technique involves hitting the parts of your face that you are not happy with in an attempt to change their shape and make you more attractive.
The incel movement is not only characterised by self-loathing but often violence, too.
This violence is particularly prevalent on incel forums, where videos of women being tortured in a variety of ways are popular.
As reported by The Sun, there are is so much violent rhetoric on incel forums that the word 'rape' was used every 29 minutes on one.
An incel in the documentary, D, explained his situation.
He said: "It began with living in a place where it was difficult to make friends and have a social group. I've spent 10,000 hours on the internet.
"If you have no mutual friends it's almost impossible to meet anyone. I'm on benefits, not in employment work or training, so people look to the internet for answers.
"Why am I struggling to get women? Why do I have no friends? I tried to overdose at 12 and again at 15 and most of the people I know have also tried to take their own lives."
Tragically, this violence has extended into the real world on more than one occasion, and the movement gained global notoriety when Elliot Rodger, 22, went on an incel-inspired killing spree in 2014 that saw him take the lives of six people in California.
Similar crimes have also happened in the UK, and just last year, self-confessed incel Jake Davidson, 22, shot and killed five people in the UK before taking his own life.
It's not just men who identify as being incels either, and the documentary also speaks to a woman who sees herself as a 'femcel' and she admitted to having fantasises about murder.
The Secret Life of Incels is available to stream on All 4
Topics: News
Emma Guinness