First official study reveals what creates incels

Research has found they are more likely to believe they are inferior

Plymouth gunman Jake Davison expressed incel views (PA Media)

A first-of-its-kind study on involuntary celibates, often referred to as incels, has contradicted the commonly held belief that they hold women to unrealistic standards.

Incels is the term used for a group of sexually embittered men who form their identities around their perceived inability to establish romantic connections with women.

Online communities of young men have drawn considerable concern, after they frequently associate themselves with views that are misogynistic or hostile to the opposite sex, and towards men that are sexually active.

Commentators have frequently suggested that the reason incels fail in the dating world is because they hold women to ridiculously high standards, and are unrealistic about the caliber of partner they will attract.

However, researchers at the University of Texas who had conducted the first official study into incel mating psychology have suggested that self-confessed incels actually make fewer demands of potential female suitors that men who are not in that group.

In this latest study, 319 men were recruited via social media, with 139 identifying as incels with the average age of 29.

Despite common misconceptions, incels were willing to settle for below average ratings on 12 out of 15 characteristics, which ranged from facial attractiveness, intelligence to sexual skill.

The study required them to choose a minimum score between one and ten which a person would have to meet across 15 traits for them to consider them as a “potential long-term romantic partner”.

Incels are known for forming online communities spouting misogynistic and hostile views towards women (Dominic Lipinski/PA) (PA Wire)

Published in The Journal of Sex Research last month, the study also asked men why they thought they’d been unlucky in love, with the results showing they were more likely that others to assume they were inferior.

They were more likely to attribute to their singlehood to external reasons such as competition from other men, while the findings also revealed differences in what the characteristics they assumed were attractive to women.

The group underestimated the desire for intelligence, kindness and humour, while placing a heavier importance on physical attractiveness and financial prospects.

Researchers also found that incels were more likely to be of shorter height, with studies showing that women are more likely to be attracted to taller-than-average men, which contributed to their sense of rejection.

Alek Minassian killed 11 people after posting ‘The Incel Rebellion has begun!’

In recent years, incels have become more widely discussed in the mainstream media after becoming responsible for a number of terror attacks.

Elliot Rodger murdered six people in California in 2014 in a gun and knife attack, shortly after posting a video complaining that he was still a virgin at the age of 22.

He had also published a 141 page document detailing his hatred of women and his anger at being sexually rejected.

Another infamous incel to make headlines is Alek Minassian, who killed 11 people and injured 15 in a van attack in Toronto in what was characterised as ‘misogynist terrorism’.

In a Facebook post shortly before the attack, he had posted ‘The Incel Rebellion has already begun!’ and had seemingly idolised Rodger for being the ‘incel founding father’.

In Plymouth mass killer Jake Davison conducted online searches for incel serial killers and counter-terror police in the UK days before his massacre.