They have found a platform on the internet, where they freely spew their hatred for women, particularly the ones they find attractive.

They have developed a vocabulary for those they detest. Men, who, who fit the fraternity-guy image, popular with women on campuses are referred to as “Chads.” The women, who prefer “Chads,” are labeled “Stacys”.

They sympathize with persons who have committed violence around the country, specifically targeting women. They detest other minorities and inter-racial couples.

This group of men have labeled themselves “incels,” a shortcut for involuntary celibates, who have endured such a degree of rejection from women in their lives that they now despise them.

Scott Beierle, the 40-year-old man who shot and killed two women last fall and injured five others at Hot Yoga studio in Tallahassee, has been identified as a member of this following. So has Elliot Rodger, who killed six and injured 14 in Isla Vista, California.

Both Rodger and Beierle killed themselves after committing their heinous acts.

Understanding more about this population of men will be part of the research conducted at Florida State University through the Maura’s Voice research fund. It has been established in honor of Maura Binkley, the 21-year-old FSU student who was killed at the Tallahassee massacre.

Related:FSU, Maura's Voice launch research exploring the 'intersection of hate and violence'

Details of Maura’s Voice will be announced Monday during a news conference on the steps of the Old Capitol.

Leading research efforts in the incel culture will be Amy Coren, an assistant teaching professor of psychology at FSU. She holds a doctorate in cognitive psychology from the University of Texas-Austin and a juris doctor degree from the University of California-Berkeley.

Coren first started studying this culture last year as a Fulbright scholar at the University of Pe’cs, Hungary, with research professor Adam Putz.

That research focused on people’s perceptions of a sexual assault crime and how upset it made them, victim blame and to what extent perpetrators needed to be punished.

“We found with this one particular group of males, the ones willing to blame the attractive victim in every sample also had very low self-perceived attractiveness leanings,” Coren said. “Essentially what we found by accident was an entire group of 'incels.' These individuals are hyper-aggressive toward women, typically having very low self-esteem themselves.”

Coren said that initial sampling found this subset of men were typically not upset at sexual assault crimes and felt the perpetrator should receive little punishment.

“Even more shockingly, (they) displayed high levels of blame toward the victim, that only increased as the attractiveness of the victim increased,” Coren said. “We realized that the attitudes of these participants were extremely similar to the incel community, which we had inadvertently tapped into.”

At FSU, Coren is conducting research on her own time, assisted by undergraduate student researcher. Lauren Callahan, who is studying the linguistics features in online incel communities, found on sites like Reddit.

“There are a number of online sites where these groups can find community,” Coren said. “I think the general unregulated nature of the internet at large provides a 'safe' and attractive haven for these individuals.”

The incel label itself, Coren said, was derived from within that community, not by researchers.

James Clark, dean of the College of Social Work at FSU, who is directing the research arm of Maura’s Voice, said Coren’s work will help explore the influence of social media in the incel community and how it has provided them a forum.

“We also know that social media networking has made it possible for such subcultures to develop, and we are interested in how that might work to ‘radicalize’ individuals who would otherwise remain socially isolated and non-lethal in behavior,” Clark said.

Florida State’s deep-dive into the incel community could prove valuable as there have been very few studies done on these individuals.

“The problem with incel research is there really isn’t any,” Coren said. “We can’t exactly ask people ‘are you an incel.’ We have to figure out who these people are. There is no empirical research that says, ‘This is an incel,’ much like ‘This is a psychopath. We don’t even have a list of criteria that makes somebody an incel.”

Coren said research has shown that not all people self-identifying as incels are violent. There are incels who go from being sad to aggressive to physically violent.

“Physically violent incel would be the case with the individual in Maura’s shooting,” she said. “The question is what distinguishes him from all these other self-identified incels? What makes one person go one way and another person go a different path?"

Warning signs:

Coren did say she doesn’t think most incels are driven by mental illness, as is the case with other violent behaviors.

“I think it’s going to be more environmentally based, which means anybody can be an incel,” she said. “We are not going to find some biology that is going to lead us to an incel. It’s going to be a sociological-psychological phenomena."

“I think we need to stop talking about, “Oh, these people are mentally ill,” she added. “I don’t think it’s that. I think it’s their internal script and how they view the world. I believe their script is problematic.”

Coren said this line of research is new, which means the Maura’s Voice collective will have to chart its own blueprint in the study of incels.

The downside is it will have to begin without the help of large grant providing organizations such as the National Institutes of Health, the National Institute of Mental Health or the National Science Foundation.

“These are brand new questions being asked and they are difficult questions being asked,” said Coren who says several students are working with her and Callahan. “It’s very, very groundbreaking."

Contact senior writer Byron Dobson at bdobson@tallahassee.com or on Twitter @byrondobson.

To learn more about Maura’s Voice and to donate to the cause, visit https://maurasvoice.org/