The Perils of Looksmaxxing for Young Men: A Guide for Parents and Caregivers

From psychiatric disorders to the effects of digital media on emotional development—we tackle the topics that matter to you. Explore our PDF library, podcasts, and videos - your hub for insights and resources. Of all the times that I’ve been burned/By now you’d think I’d have learned/That it’s who you look like, not who you are/You all keep that in mind – Jackson Browne (1977) Social pressures on physical appearance are not new. Girls and young women have sustained a thinness imperative from the Flappers in the 1920s, through the present. An ideal of thinness for women has been compounded by the use of social media associating thinness with beauty, wealth, success and belonging. Boys and young men have been influenced far less, though for some not insignificantly. Witness the body building and action figure dominance from the 1960s to 1980s as exemplified by superheroes and the V-taper focus of The Terminator. And now for boys and young men, the emphasis on physical appearance has been captured and promoted by social and streaming media. Witness the ultimate extreme – looksmaxxing. Looksmaxxing is an online trend used by young men to “maximize” their appearance according to prescribed, mathematical metrics that follow a prescribed paradigm. The sole emphasis is modifying one’s physical stature to achieve self-improvement. It has all the earmarks of a cult. Led by Braden Peters, known as Clavicular, an online streamer who posits that the ideal of male attractiveness and “sexual market value,” is appearance. Clavicular has developed a series of Looksmaxxing words and phrases that capture who you are – “subhuman” (totally inferior), “normie” (normal), “Chad” (white, muscular, affluent). And during streaming, he would conduct “mogging,” the process of comparing an individual clearly out of line with the “ascendent” metrics, with one who is close to “perfection.” This kind of humiliation, narcissism and toxic masculinity is a notable feature of looksmaxxing. The techniques to achieve predetermined physical appearance, such as precise metrics for waist size, muscularity, jawline, and “hunter eyes,” angled slightly upward, may be achieved in several ways including: Softmaxxing: grooming procedures such as skin care, “mewing” or putting the tongue up toward the palate to lengthen the jaw (and it does not work). Hardmaxxing: including “bone smashing,” using various tools to bash and alter the jaw; surgical procedures, such as forms of cosmetic surgery; substance use (steroids, testosterone injections, weight loss drugs) and restrictive dieting (“starvemaxxing”). These processes have been embedded in online platforms that embrace toxic communities that promote a distorted vision of masculinity, misogyny, and to some extent self-harm or advocate suicide if goals are not met. And influencers have used the goals of looksmaxxing to promote and sell various products that claim to be transformative, and none are based on clinical evidence. Though there have not been studies on the etiology or consequences of looksmaxxing per se, research has shown that excessive appearance preoccupation, use of social media to focus on appearance, and compulsive behaviors aimed at cosmetic improvements, all in alignment with looksmaxxing has mental health and physical health risks including: Before we go into specific interventions, let’s consider a general overview. Parents need to keep in mind and reinforce that identity is grounded on one’s values, personal traits such as kindness, generosity, honest, trustworthy, and of accepting of differences, particularly in personal relationships. We want our kids to be independent, resilient, able to make sound, healthy decisions, and possess the ability to be self-reflective, aware of problems, and come to trusted individuals for help and guidance. Beauty is grounded in who you are, not what you look like. With this framework in mind, here are some guidelines for our helping young people: Let’s face it, we all struggle with appearance. It is a consequence of pervasive social forces. However, we can balance our feeling comfortable in our own skin and help our kids feel similarly. Gene Beresin, MD, MA is executive director of The MGH Clay Center for Young Healthy Minds, and a staff child and adolescent psychiatrist at Massachusetts General Hospital. He is also... To learn more about Gene, or to contact him directly, please see Our Team. Subscribe Multimedia Podcasts Videos Interest By Age Grade School Teenagers Young Adults Families General: 617-643-1590 The Clay Center for Young Healthy Minds at Massachusetts General Hospital is dedicated to promoting and supporting the mental, emotional, and behavioral well-being of young people.