The online trend known as 'looksmaxxing,' rooted in misogyny, encourages socially isolated young men to undertake painful practices to gain beauty and status. This movement, part of the 'manosphere,' promotes toxic masculinity and hatred toward women, promising participants a higher 'sexual market value' and better life through rigorous self-improvement rituals. The trend comes with its own lingo, significant financial costs, and physical pain, including practices like 'starvemaxxing' (extreme dieting), 'bonesmashing' (using a hammer to reshape facial bones), steroid use, and plastic surgery.

A key figure in the looksmaxxing universe is Clavicular (real name Braden Peters), a 20-year-old US influencer who documents his 'alpha male ascension' on TikTok and live streams. He reportedly takes high doses of amphetamines and testosterone—which he claims have likely made him sterile—and engages in bonesmashing to alter his cheekbones. He is said to earn $100,000 (€86,800) per month from streams on the Kick platform. The movement often intersects with racism, including 'whitemaxxing' to change skin color, and has associations with extremist figures like Holocaust denier Nick Fuentes and manosphere influencer Andrew Tate, who faces charges for sexual crimes.

The language of looksmaxxing has begun to appear in White House communications, highlighting its infiltration into mainstream discourse. In February, the US Department of War posted on X: 'Low cortisol. Locked in. Lethalitymaxxing,' accompanied by an image of a square-jawed marine. This post appropriated insider manosphere jargon to convey military strength, occurring just weeks before the US and Israeli attacks on Iran. Experts suggest the administration is attempting to tap into online subcultures to mobilize support among young men who express resentment toward feminism, immigration, and democratic norms.

Sociologists warn of the dark implications of this trend. Ozan Felix Sousbois, an associate researcher at the University of Stavanger, notes that looksmaxxing emerges from an era of 'hyper-masculinity' and 'male anger,' where governments, the manosphere, incels, and traditional men's rights movements converge. Jordan Foster, an assistant professor at MacEwan University, describes it as 'a potent form of bait' for vulnerable young men grappling with anxieties about their future and national affairs. As this language normalizes, Sousbois cautions it could lead to 'visible harm for women, gender and sexual minorities,' as well as ethnic and religious groups, exacerbating social divisions and conflict.

Source: www.dw.com