What “Looksmaxxing” Is and How It Ties to Video Games

To truly understand how Looksmaxxing became such a popular trend, the story has to go back to the early 2010s and the rise of the Manosphere. For those who don’t know, the Manosphere is a general term for online forums and websites that cater to misogyny. These groups gave rise to things like incel (involuntarily celibate) culture and a resurgence in pick-up artists. Eventually, this would give birth to the term “Looksmaxxing,” and it’s directly connected to RPGs.

How Exactly is Looksmaxxing Connected to Video Games?

Throughout the 2010s, discussions in these Manosphere spaces would often become fixated on the genetic advantages of other men in the dating world. This led some to the conclusion that only “good” looks truly matter when trying to find a partner. Thus, Looksmaxxing was born. It just means doing everything possible to achieve the best physical appearance one can achieve. That’s where RPGs come into play, as the phrase originates from maxing out a character’s stats. On the surface, it may just sound like a lifestyle improvement trend, but Looksmaxxing can quickly spiral into a toxic mindset that is focused on physical appearance over everything. Manosphere influencers like Andrew Tate and Myron Gaines aren’t technically part of the Looksmaxxing trend, but their prominence online has likely helped set the stage for Looksmaxxing to become what it is today.

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Looksmaxxing Reaches New Heights and a Younger Audience, Thanks to TikTok

TikTok reaches every single generation at this point, but Gen Z and Gen Alpha are prime users. Last year, it was estimated that around 60% of TikTok’s user base was Gen Z alone. As TikTok became a larger part of Gen Z culture, Looksmaxxing moved from its niche online community and made its debut on the social media platform around 2022, with the term out-generalizing its origins (as sometimes is the case with trendy language). It was still fairly niche back in 2022 and 2023, but it has quickly become a prominent TikTok trend that has created its own brand of influencers.

Clavicular Takes Center Stage in 2025

Clavicular is probably the most popular Looksmaxxer around right now. He quickly gained attention through TikTok and Kick streaming last year, but not just because of his looks. Clavicular has proven to be incredibly controversial in his short time in the spotlight.

Looksmaxxer Clavicular during Kick stream

• Softmaxxing
• Hardmaxxing
• Bonesmashing
• Mewing
• Mogging
• Sexual Market Value (SMV)

Softmaxxing, Hardmaxxing, Bonesmashing, and Mewing

Softmaxxing is a more grounded route that encourages everyday habits to improve a person’s health and confidence. Regular exercise, a healthy diet, skin care, and finding the ideal haircut for one’s face shape are some of the main lifestyle choices associated with this form of Looksmaxxing. Overall, those are things that can improve any person’s quality of life and aren’t inherently unhealthy. This can still be taken to dangerous extremes, though, which has caused many health experts to voice concern about Looksmaxxing leading to eating disorders and body dysmorphia in young men.

Dr. Stuart Murray from the University of Southern California stated to the BBC in 2024, “The TikTok stuff out there is not evidence-based, but it’s reported as science.” A lot of Gen Z gamers have grown up with games that have character customization, and some may be so drawn to Looksmaxxing because it gamifies appearance in a way that is familiar.

Mewing is a popular method that’s associated with Softmaxxing. With Mewing, Looksmaxxers hold their tongue to the roof of their mouth and close their lips while their teeth lightly touch. This is supposed to make one’s jawline look more prominent. Hardmaxxing is an even more extreme step in Looksmaxxing, though. This involves plastic surgery, steroid use, limb lengthening procedures, and bonesmashing. Bonesmashing has Looksmaxxers take hammers (or any hard object) and lightly hit themselves in the face in hopes that it will give them more defined cheekbones and a prominent jawline.

Some of the most popular male video game characters have chiseled jaws, so this plays even more into the trend’s gaming roots. There is a really intense focus on the jawline in general with Looksmaxxing, since it’s believed to look more “manly” in these circles.

Mogging

These are the more intense and toxic terms seen in Looksmaxxing circles. Of course, it’s important to note that not every Looksmaxxer indulges in things like Mogging and SMV, but it’s still part of the trend. SMV is basically an attractiveness score that dilutes people’s worth down to an arbitrary number. Anonymous messaging boards and TikTok all have corners where Looksmaxxers rate each other’s SMV. Mogging is when a Looksmaxxer deems themselves physically superior to another person. Terms like SMV and Mogging are things that bring Looksmaxxing full circle, back to the Manosphere.

The term has become increasingly generalized away from the Manosphere and gaming roots, becoming more of a general term in current trends. Whether it stays as popular as it is or goes back to its niche remains to be seen. Even though Looksmaxxing and the controversial lifestyle choices that come with it started with gaming references, it shouldn’t be seen as a reflection of gaming culture as a whole

Games like GTA have continued to be falsely accused of influencing young people in undesirable ways. The debate about violence in video games has been going on for decades at this point, but it’s surprising that gaming is now connected to a trend that involves changing one’s appearance, often in extreme ways.