Inside the world of incels... and the sinister secret codes of women hating men trends now
An 'ex-incel' has shone a light on the sinister world of involuntary celibates and their cryptic online language.
A 23-year-old from Chicago has lifted the lid on incel ideology which, in its simplest form, refers to people unable to find a romantic or sexual partner despite wanting one.
Yet recently, incels have become more known as violent extremists, with the term made famous following a number of mass murders including the 2014 Isla Vista killings committed by Elliot Rodger, and the UK's Plymouth gun attack in 2021.
The Plymouth gunman, Jake Davison, 23, killed five people, including his mother and a toddler before turning the gun on himself.
Plymouth shooter Jake Davison (pictured) opened fire on strangers, killing five people before turning the gun on himself
An inquest begun just this Tuesday for the victims of his attack, with concerns raised about why the UK man was allowed to legally own a firearm under a sporting licence.
Elliot Rodger also killed six people and injured fourteen near the University of California campus before shooting himself.
He committed these crimes after believing he was 'denied' sex and love.
Despite this, Riley Drapp of Chicago, stressed that not all incels have violent tendencies and are often drawn to toxic online communities in their loneliest moments.
The 23-year-old urged that young men struggling with their sexual identities need more support to steer them away from extremism.
He said: 'I think the incels featured on the news are the one per cent - those are a completely different breed. Most incels are the ones with sexual struggle.
'I was in a properly dark period in my life. I dropped out of college I didn't have a job and I didn't do well financially.
'I was right about to turn 21 and then the pandemic happened, so I couldn't go out to a bar or anything so that was kind of sad.
'I didn't really have many friends. I just felt like my life wasn't really going anywhere.
'All I would do all day is stay eternally online on social media, maybe playing a game or two here or there but I realised it really didn't help.'
Riley found a dark part of the internet which he claimed was largely driven by 18 to 25-year-olds with a 'warped perception' on life.
For over a year, he looked at life through the lens of incel terminologies and theories.
The community hosts a number of 'pill' ideologies ranging in colours such as black, blue, red and purple.
Riley related most to the beliefs of the black pill which he described as having accepted his fate of feeling unattractive and sad.
Incels also uses a number of terms to describe different types of people.
The word 'chad' is used to represent a conventionally attractive and successful man, while a 'Stacy' depicts a conventionally attractive woman.
The idea of 'looksmax' also refers to using earnings, possessions, exercise or plastic surgery to maximise attractiveness.
Some incels have taken the idea of this to another level by hitting themselves in the face with hammers in an attempt to become more attractive.
At one point, Riley was hooked on much of the vocabulary used by incels.
He said: 'One time my parents had a neighbourhood party and there was this one kid and he looked around 6ft 2 and he had his girlfriend there. He had a little bit of muscle and I was like "oh this guy looks like a gigachad".
'I wanted to get those incel terms out of my head - the whole chad, the whole red pill, the whole black pill - all those
