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Injections, Bone Hammering and the Pursuit of Peak Male Beauty

Injections, Bone Hammering and the Pursuit of Peak Male Beauty

The Daily vor 6 Monaten

0:00

37:53

If you’ve spent any time on social media recently, you’ve
probably come across a video of a young, square-jawed influencer
calling himself Clavicular. He has become the face of an internet
subculture called looksmaxxing, in which men do almost anything —
like taking steroids and hormones or bashing their jaws with a
hammer — to try to become more handsome.

In this episode, Natalie Kitroeff talks with reporter Joseph
Bernstein about the world of looksmaxxing and how what might seem
like a fringe phenomenon is actually the culmination of a digital
culture that rewards physical perfection with status and
algorithmic power.

On Today’s Episode

Joseph Bernstein covers digital subcultures for
the Styles desk at The New York Times.

Background Reading

Handsome at Any Cost

Young Men Seek Answers to an Age-Old Question: How to Be Hot

The Suffix That Tells Us to Ruthlessly Optimize Everything

Photo Credit: Cassidy Araiza for The New York Times

For more information on today’s episode, visit
nytimes.com/thedaily. Transcripts of each
episode will be made available by the next workday.

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