Who is Clavicular and what is 'Looksmaxxing'?

The term "looksmaxxing" has been mentioned more frequently on social media these days, with influencers peddling the concerning trend.

One of the most prominent figures is Clavicular - real name Braden Peters - a 20-year-old American who describes himself as the "lab rat of the [looksmaxxing] community."

But firstly, what is looksmaxxing?

For those who aren't chronically online, or have managed to avoid this side of the algorithm, looksmaxxing is the pursuit of maximising one's own physical attractiveness.

The term was first used in online incel communities and the manosphere, but in recent years has since emerged on self-improvement forums, with it taking off on other social media platforms.

Content-wise, looksmaxxing videos can include analysing male celebrities’ bone structure, in which Clavicular described actor Matt Bomer as the "most harmonious man's face in existence," in a recent New York Times profile. As well as gym videos, facial symmetry, body ratios and "mewing," achieving the appearance of a sharper jawline by sticking your tongue on the roof of your mouth - oh, and not forgetting the sexism and misogyny as the influencer refers to women as ‘targets’ or ‘foids’, short for female humanoid.

Extreme lengths are taken in the community to achieve their desired look, this can include steroids, surgery and in Clavicular's case, he smashed his bones to get a better jawline - something medical experts have strongly advised against - and claims he is infertile due to years of steroid abuse, and suppressing his appetite with methamphetamine.

Meanwhile, critics of looksmaxxing say it focuses on whiteness as a physical ideal, with Peter describing this racism criticism as "dumb" and defending his repeated use of the N-word, saying it's "not a racist thing”.

As for the name Clavicular, which Peters has built a platform with (785,000 followers on TikTok, and 411,000 on Instagram), it is in reference to the clavicle, the collarbone, which is important in the looksmax community.

According to the New York Times, Clavicular's lookmaxxing journey began at just 14 years old when he "injected and ingested dozens of controlled substances to 'ascend,'" and spent hours editing images of himself in Photoshop.

His online presence hasn't been without controversy, and some of these include being filmed chanting the lyrics to Kanye West’s 'Heil Hitler' in a nightclub with the self-described “misogynist influencer” Andrew Tate and the white nationalist commentator Nick Fuentes, and casual use of the N-word.

Clavicular recently hit the runway at New York Fashion Week, as he closed the FW26 show by Elena Velez.

Elsewhere from Indy100, Inside the minds of men who left the manosphere, and Louis Theroux confronts the manosphere in explosive Netflix doc.

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