Incels & Self-Harm: When Looksmaxing Goes Too Far

• In Event: Diverse Findings from the University of Cincinnati Cybercrime and Behavior Online Research Group (UC CYBORG)

Abstract

The increased prevalence of incel (involuntary celibate) extremist material online has generated interest in the practices of individuals within such online subcultures. For example, many incels report attempts to ostensibly improve their attractiveness. Termed looksmaxing, many such activities could be considered self-harming yet systematic assessment of these strategies and how they have changed over time is lacking in the literature. Using extremist forum data from the Cambridge Cybercrime Centre, including posts from the Inceldom and Lookism forums, the current study identified the lasting popularity of these practices, the presence of extremist ideology, and changes in the unique vocabulary of incels. Additionally, behaviors were operationalized for their level of potential psychological or bodily harm and the context forum posts were examined to identify factors that may influence the level of self-harm. While many factors appeared salient, the findings illustrated some informative patterns in the unique data. Overall, the current study could help inform online moderators of the potential predictors for self-harm behavior and future research regarding the evolution of extremist ideology in online spaces.

Author

• Kaylin Aubrey Coe, University of Cincinnati