The Boys Need Help

I blame Panic World for infecting my brain.

This recent episode made me aware of Clavicular, who might be the dumbest influencer in an ocean of online idiots.

How being straight became gay

When did liking women, as a straight man, become gay? Today, we posit that the “logical” endpoint of being in the manosphere is that eventually being so hateful toward women dictates that liking…

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After listening to the episode, I realized, “OH. This kid is everywhere.”

And trust me when I say this is a very bad development.

I had to learn about the concept of “looksmaxxing,” which is basically explainable through context clues (but you‘ll definitely feel dumber for having figured it out). Just means an extreme level of vanity for men: trying to max out one’s looks, as it were.

It’s extreme, and it’s insane. At least as practiced by this guy, who’s now recognized as a sort of leader to this online community of supremely sad young men.

I noticed the Slate podcast ICYMI were also talking about him.

Boys Just Wanna Looksmax

On today’s episode, host Kate Lindsay is joined by writer Charlie Sosnick to break down “looksmaxxing.” While the trend—which involves things like jaw surgery and “bone smashing” to achieve…

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They provide a helpful glossary of dumb-ass terms and what they mean. They spend the rest of the podcast just trying to get their head around why this would be a thing in a way that is so relatable.

Much of their commentary is either describing or responding to this New York Times article profiling him.

It’s worth a read (enjoy a free gift link below), and lest you think it’s some out of touch, fawning piece on a bit of internet culture that the writer clearly doesn’t understand, let me share this absolute bar:

Guns, drugs, misogyny, body dysmorphia: The miasma of nihilism swirling around Clavicular has made him an irresistible symbol of social decline — a freakish avatar for the hopelessly fallen, social-media-addled state of the young American man.