While Boston Latin School students crammed AP United States History notes and champa rice lessons right before February break, a different type of history was unfolding — not measured by academic achievement, but by shoulder width, jawlines and bone structure. In an intense and heated confrontation, acclaimed “looksmaxxer” and “level-ten chad” social media personlity Branden Peters — better known as Clavicular — was brutally “frame-mogged” by an Arizona State University fraternity leader. But who is Clavicular? And what even is “looksmaxxing”?
Influencer and streamer Clavicular first rose to fame through his unique take on self-improvement, spreading tips on confidence, skincare and fitness in order to maximize physical appearance through what he called “looksmaxxing.” What started off as simple instructions on how to glow-up took a sharp and dark turn when his content began prioritizing male attractiveness over anything else.
Not long after his online presence blew up, Clavicular began promoting “hardmaxxing,” a more intense and harmful form of “looksmaxxing.” Clavicular appeared on online streaming platforms, podcasts and YouTube videos, admitting to using substances, taking testosterone and even “bone-smashing” in an effort to appear more attractive. He moreover confessed that these modifications have even led to his infertility and declining health.
“Bone-smashing,” for example, involves constantly striking facial bones, often until bruising, in order to reframe the face. The danger of this exercise is evident — As Forbes puts it, “Cracking your facial bones with a hammer could leave them deformed and your face even worse off.” Despite numerous warnings from online plastic surgeons and dermatologists, the “looksmaxxing” community is nevertheless hooked to Clavicular’s unconventional practices.
The rise of “looksmaxxing” reveals greater societal issues: fixation on appearance and young people’s susceptibility to harmful influences. Adebola Adetoye (II) states, “The ‘looksmaxxing’ culture of today is just inventing new insecurities amongst young people because it’s so prevalent on social media. [It is causing them to] hate their true selves, and I just think we [have to] love each other.”
The rising popularity of “looksmaxxing” and glow-up culture certainly sparks a conversation about its potential harms. Its content creates a false notion that a person’s physical appearance is their most important attribute, and since this content is often aimed at a young audience on social media, it teaches young people to obsess over their insecurities and go to extreme lengths to radically transform themselves.
Though some engage with “looksmaxxing” to its full extent, many, including those in the BLS community, view this practice as simply an internet meme. Hishaam Habib (II) explains, “It’s just a really funny joke that people talk about, and I don’t really take it seriously at all. But for people that do take it seriously, the negative effect […] is it just gives people a mindset where you prioritize ego and how you look over genuine connection.”
Whether “looksmaxxing” is just a joke or a genuine mindset, the glow-up community is a constantly evolving and an ever-present internet sensation. Regardless, it is important to take short-form content with a grain of salt, especially when the line between joke and obsession is becoming increasingly thin.