The rise of 'looksmaxxing', a trend promoted by influencers such as Clavicular (real name Braden Peters), is reshaping private struggles with appearance into a public arena of competition and ridicule. This movement, which targets young boys, reframes physical self-improvement as a mathematical problem to be solved with tools like measurements, ratios, and even surgical interventions. Peters, a 20-year-old influencer, claims to have injected himself with so much testosterone that he is infertile, all in pursuit of what he calls 'ascension'—an ultimate but unreachable glow-up.
Critics argue that looksmaxxing pulls appearance into a quasi-Olympic arena of masculine competition, where men battle over muscularity and facial symmetry. This has little to do with attracting women, despite incel logic informing the community's foundations. Instead, it speaks to a deeper homoeroticism inherent in the movement, where the cultivation of beauty is about impressing other men rather than oneself.
For young boys, adolescence and puberty can be bruising, with everyone receiving different, unfixed outcomes. Some gain height, deeper voices, beards, or athleticism, while others struggle with acne, weight issues, or wonky teeth. The stress of navigating this emotionally difficult time often leads to silence, as it is hard for boys to articulate feelings of insecurity about their appearance. Looksmaxxing exacerbates this by offering a false promise of control and perfection, stunting the emotional journey towards self-acceptance that comes with maturity.
As an adult, I have benefited from the space and time to sit with the emotional difficulty of not liking parts of myself and becoming accepting of it. This clarity about the real worth of appearance is an insight that can only come from maturity. There are limits and constraints on who you can be and what you will look like, but there are also things you can do to feel good about yourself or develop a style that flatters your best parts. Looksmaxxing, however, offers no such acceptance, only an endless pursuit of an unattainable ideal.
