{"id":1775976,"date":"2026-02-17T11:49:00","date_gmt":"2026-02-17T08:49:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/?p=1775976"},"modified":"2026-02-17T11:49:00","modified_gmt":"2026-02-17T08:49:00","slug":"from-looksmaxxing-to-mogging-how-incel-language-went-mainstream","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/?p=1775976","title":{"rendered":"From looksmaxxing to mogging: How incel language went mainstream"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>[analyse_image type=&#8221;featured&#8221; src=&#8221;https:\/\/images-prod.dazeddigital.com\/1200\/345-456-1770-1180\/azure\/dazed-prod\/1430\/7\/1437627.jpg&#8221;]<\/p>\n<article class=\"main-article standard \">\n<div class=\"article-main-content article-wrapper has-media-but-its-an-image\" data-status=\"loaded\" data-primary-article=\"true\" data-url=\"\/life-culture\/article\/69637\/1\/language-looksmaxxing-jestergooning-incel-4chan-clavicular-adam-aleksic\" data-article-id=\"69637\">\n<header class=\"article-header has-landscape-image no-media\">\n<div class=\"wrapper dg-max-width\">\n<div class=\"inner\">\n<figure class=\"main-img has-figcaption\" data-img-aspect-ratio-type=\"landscape\" data-img-aspect-ratio=\"1.57\" data-template=\"Standard Article\"><span class=\"has-css-custom-props image-container\" data-aspect-ratio-type=\"landscape\"><span class=\"preserve-aspect-ratio\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" alt=\"looksmaxxing\" class=\"img\" height=\"1911\" src=\"https:\/\/images-prod.dazeddigital.com\/1400\/azure\/dazed-prod\/1430\/7\/1437627.jpg\" width=\"3000\"><\/span><\/span><figcaption class=\"img-caption\"><span class=\"inner\"><span class=\"credit\">Photo by CHRIS DELMAS\/AFP via <span class=\"nowrap\">Getty Images<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<aside class=\"meta\">\n<div class=\"inner\"><time datetime=\"2026-02-17T11:49:00+00:00\" class=\"timestamp\" title=\"17 February 2026\"><span class=\"month\">February<\/span>\u00a0<br \/>\n<span class=\"day\" data-day=\"17\">17,<\/span>\u00a0<br \/>\n<span class=\"year\">2026<\/span><\/time><\/div>\n<\/aside>\n<div class=\"titles\">\n<div class=\"tags\">\n<div class=\"sections\"><a class=\"category vertical - life-culture\" href=\"https:\/\/www.dazeddigital.com\/life-culture\">Life &amp; Culture<\/a><br \/>\n\/<br \/>\n<a class=\"series\" href=\"https:\/\/www.dazeddigital.com\/ask-an-expert\">Ask an expert<\/a><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"standard-tag-container\"><a class=\"standard-category\" href=\"https:\/\/www.dazeddigital.com\/life-culture\">Life &amp; Culture<\/a> \/<br \/>\n<a class=\"standard-series\" href=\"https:\/\/www.dazeddigital.com\/ask-an-expert\">Ask an expert<\/a><\/div>\n<h1 class=\"title\"><span>From looksmaxxing to mogging: How incel language <span class=\"nowrap\">went mainstream<\/span><\/span><\/h1>\n<div class=\"standfirst\">\n<h2>The controversial influencer Clavicular has spawned a wave of memes about framemogging and cortisol spikes \u2013 linguist Adam Aleksic explores the slang\u2019s roots in 4chan\u2019s incel forums, and the misogynistic ideas it helps <span class=\"nowrap\">normalise today<\/span><\/h2>\n<\/div>\n<p><time datetime=\"2026-02-17T11:49:00+00:00\" class=\"timestamp\" title=\"17 February 2026\"><span class=\"month\">February<\/span>\u00a0<br \/>\n<span class=\"day\" data-day=\"17\">17,<\/span>\u00a0<br \/>\n<span class=\"year\">2026<\/span><\/time><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p><time datetime=\"2026-02-17T11:49:00+00:00\" class=\"timestamp\" title=\"17 February 2026\"><span class=\"month\">February<\/span>\u00a0<br \/>\n<span class=\"day\" data-day=\"17\">17,<\/span>\u00a0<br \/>\n<span class=\"year\">2026<\/span><\/time><\/p>\n<div class=\"providers\">\n<div class=\"contributors\"><span class=\"contributor\" data-contributor-role=\"Text\"><span class=\"contributor-role\">Text<\/span><a class=\"contributor-name\" href=\"https:\/\/www.dazeddigital.com\/user\/ThomWaite\">Thom Waite<\/a><\/span><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/header>\n<div class=\"article-body-container\">\n<div class=\"article-body wrapper\">\n<div class=\"embed-content\" data-embed-type=\"raw-html\">\n<p><span>Do you remember where you were when Clavicular got brutally framemogged by an ASU frat leader? Were you stressmaxxing when his cortisol was spiked by a group of jestergooning gymcels, while he was chadfishing at the club? Do these words mean absolutely nothing to you? Congratulations, you might not be chronically online! Maybe stop reading now, to avoid falling deeper down the rabbit hole.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>In recent weeks, the \u201clooksmaxxing\u201d influencer Clavicular (real name Braden Peters) has been the subject of a series of viral memes on social media. Revolving around clips from his Kick livestreams or TikTok videos, these memes lean into the esoteric language of the controversial subculture, which frequently features regressive views toward women, as well as dangerous \u2013\u00a0and <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/theconversation.com\/bone-smashing-broken-bones-tooth-loss-and-blood-vessel-damage-are-just-a-few-of-the-harms-of-this-bizarre-tiktok-trend-215936\"><span>frequently debunked<\/span><\/a><span> \u2013 \u2018self-improvement\u2019 practices like bone-smashing. As a result, you end up with X posts like <a href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/chromeheart600\/status\/2019920668087972200\">this one<\/a>: \u201cClavicular was mid jestergooning when a group of Foids came and spiked his Cortisol levels \ud83d\ude2dIs Ignoring the Foids while munting and mogging Moids more useful than SMV chadfishing in the club?\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>In his 2025 book <a href=\"https:\/\/www.penguinrandomhouse.com\/books\/776856\/algospeak-by-adam-aleksic\/\"><em>Algospeak<\/em><\/a>, the internet linguist <a href=\"https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/etymologynerd\/?hl=en\">Adam Aleksic<\/a> traces the origins of the slang associated with looksmaxxing back to the incel culture that proliferated on internet message boards like 4chan in the 2010s. As he continues to measure the popularity of words on the internet, though, he adds that they\u2019ve never been more mainstream than today. \u201cRight now,\u201d he says, \u201cI\u2019m tracking more of these \u2018incel\u2019 words than ever before.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>As the language \u201ctrickles down\u201d to mainstream platforms like X, TikTok, and Instagram from deeper and darker corners of the internet, it has also evolved beyond its original meaning. When you eat pizza for dinner and say you\u2019re \u201cpizza-maxxing\u201d or \u201cpizza-pilled\u201d, it doesn\u2019t necessarily mean you\u2019re a member of an alt-right community. In fact, many memes openly mock the subculture they\u2019re imitating, even as they enjoy the playful language it\u2019s created. But are they helping to normalise that language nevertheless, and the misogynistic views that come with it? <\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>To answer that question, we need to figure out what some of the words actually <\/span><em><span>mean<\/span><\/em><span>, and how they might be changing.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"embed-content has-tweet\" data-embed-type=\"media-twitter\" data-script-depends=\"twitter-widgets\">\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"500\" data-dnt=\"true\">\n<p lang=\"pt\" dir=\"ltr\">(explodes)<\/p>\n<p>&mdash; Merriam-Webster (@MerriamWebster) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/MerriamWebster\/status\/2020496361146523698?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">February 8, 2026<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/div>\n<div class=\"embed-content\" data-embed-type=\"raw-html\">\n<h1><span>WHERE DID LOOKSMAXXING SLANG COME FROM?<\/span><\/h1>\n<p><span>Platforms like 4chan \u2013 which hasn\u2019t really recovered from a large-scale hack in April 2025 \u2013 are responsible for a disproportionate amount of internet culture. This has been attributed to their total anonymity, which makes them a safe haven for edgelords, the alt-right, and political movements like Anonymous. But anonymity has another effect, says Aleksic: \u201cTo show that users are in the in-group, they have to demonstrate a proficiency in the shared slang. So they come up with new words to signal to each other that they are not normies. Then, the group becomes obscure to outsiders and reinforces this kind of cultlike hierarchy.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>Given their controversial ideas, it\u2019s easy to see why looksmaxxers would want to hide behind a veil of cultish slang and secret codes. Among a broader landscape of \u201cblackpill\u201d communities, many have migrated to even more obscure forums since 4chan\u2019s decline, where they can continue to spread medical misinformation and hate speech without fear of IRL consequences. Then again, openly right-wing figures like Andrew Tate and Nick Fuentes \u2013 both Clavicular collaborators, by the way \u2013 seem to be doing just fine on X.<\/span><\/p>\n<h1><span>WHAT DO ANY OF THE WORDS ACTUALLY MEAN?<\/span><\/h1>\n<p><span>Because it\u2019s designed to separate the in-group from the normies, slang changes fast. As it hits mainstream platforms, the meaning also \u201cbroadens a lot\u201d, says Aleksic. Take, for example, the word \u201cgooning\u201d, which has gone from describing a very specific practice of <a href=\"https:\/\/www.dazeddigital.com\/beauty\/article\/68079\/1\/gooning-what-happens-when-a-fetish-goes-mainstream-kink\">prolonged masturbation<\/a> to acting as a catch-all for all kinds of obsessive or \u2018degenerate\u2019 behaviours. Another example of this shift is the word \u201cmunting\u201d, a word that\u2019s often used in tandem with \u201cmogging\u201d (dominating other men by appearing more physically attractive) but originally described a graphic necrophilic act (I\u2019ll let you look that one up for yourselves).<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>There\u2019s one word that even Aleksic thought too extreme to ever go mainstream: \u201cFoid.\u201d Short for \u201cfemoid\u201d, this essentially conveys the idea that women should be treated as subhuman. When he first encountered it on blackpill messageboards, Aleksic says: \u201cIt was just a straight-up slur. It was used with such contempt and disgust. Now, it\u2019s being used in this ironic, cheeky way. It\u2019s layered in irony.\u201d Of course, that doesn\u2019t mean we should be too quick to forget where it came from.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"embed-content has-tweet\" data-embed-type=\"media-twitter\" data-script-depends=\"twitter-widgets\">\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"500\" data-dnt=\"true\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">Clavicular just had his CORTISOL SPIKED after an ASU jesterfoid pressed him for his real name \ud83d\ude2d<\/p>\n<p>Does this prove that MYSTIQUEMAXXING is the new meta for  ignoring jesterfoids? <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/tBSOBtePeq\">pic.twitter.com\/tBSOBtePeq<\/a><\/p>\n<p>&mdash; Jeffrey Josephs (Alpha Male) (@AlphaJeffrey45) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/AlphaJeffrey45\/status\/2020981383079088498?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">February 9, 2026<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/div>\n<div class=\"embed-content\" data-embed-type=\"raw-html\">\n<h1><span>HOW DOES IT REACH THE MAINSTREAM?<\/span><\/h1>\n<p><span>Today\u2019s media landscape is messy, and the boundaries between different networks are very porous. Case in point: the Clavicular memes that arrive on our timeline often feature slang from niche internet forums, popularised via Reddit, repeated on streaming platforms like Kick, and clipped to be reposted on mainstream sites like X.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>If this is the circulatory system for memes and ideas, language is the virus. \u201cIt\u2019s transmitted from a patient zero to another patient, and so on,\u201d suggests Aleksic. \u201cWhen you go back and do an epidemiological analysis of how Gen Z slang broke contagion, the patient zero is almost always African-American English or 4chan, or something adjacent to it.\u201d And, just like a virus, the higher nodes in the network have an outsized influence on the nodes further down the chain. As each person spreads the \u2018virus\u2019 to multiple others, it spreads exponentially, which might explain how trends like looksmaxxing slang seem to explode into public discourse all at once.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>\u201cIf you can make the goofiest combination of words on Twitter [or X], you\u2019re going viral,\u201d says Aleksic. Looksmaxxing slang definitely lends itself to that. As <a href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/dsonoiki\/status\/2020301322118131876?s=46&amp;t=iDpx3ykERm-OnMEGmqfC7w\">pointed out<\/a> by commentators on its recent ascent, like the writer Damilare Sonoiki, many of the phrases \u201cimmediately make sense\u201d despite sounding like total nonsense, and lots of the words are easy to adapt to pretty much any scenario you can imagine. Someone accidentally put cheese on Clavicular\u2019s burger? He got \u201c<a href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/nayclipz\/status\/2021067333213499843?s=46&amp;t=iDpx3ykERm-OnMEGmqfC7w\">dairygooned<\/a>\u201d while \u201c<a href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/goingwestt\/status\/2021433408312815707?s=46&amp;t=iDpx3ykERm-OnMEGmqfC7w\">bingewhoppermaxxing\u201d<\/a>. UK politics is in shambles? \u201cStarmer <a href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/milo_edwards\/status\/2021240480692842700?s=46&amp;t=iDpx3ykERm-OnMEGmqfC7w\">announcement-mogged<\/a> the resignpilled pressoids and journocels by staymaxxing.\u201d Your dog bit an innocent child? Try: \u201cMy pitbull just <a href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/mkaylaultra\/status\/2020961286062997792?s=46&amp;t=iDpx3ykERm-OnMEGmqfC7w\">teethmogged<\/a> this toddloid, and now she\u2019s sobmaxxing.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"embed-content\" data-embed-type=\"raw-html\">\n<blockquote>\n<p><span>\u201c<\/span>Clavicular is kind of like the human 6-7<span>\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"embed-content\" data-embed-type=\"raw-html\">\n<p><span>It goes deeper than just goofy-sounding tweets, though. The limits of social media changed around the second election of Donald Trump, as Meta relaxed its hate speech rules and got rid of DEI programs, and Elon Musk continued to transform X into a cesspit of right-wing ideology. \u201cI started noticing a lot more overt racism and dog whistles,\u201d Aleksic notes. Meanwhile, the incentives of the platforms themselves shifted, once they no longer had to worry about \u2018political correctness\u2019. Today, he adds, \u201cthere\u2019s a tendency of these platforms to allow any discourse that makes them money, so long as it does not overtly breach the words they cannot say.\u201d\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>This means figures like Clavicular and slurs like \u201cfoid\u201d are now pretty much fair game, and attention-hungry posters will piggyback on their popularity whether they believe in the underlying ideology or not. In this sense, \u201cClavicular is kind of like the human 6-7\u201d \u2013 an empty container for engagement-maxxing.<\/span><\/p>\n<h1><span>WHAT\u2019S THE HARM IN A BIT OF JESTERGOONING?<\/span><\/h1>\n<p><span>You don\u2019t have to be a misogynistic freak to joke in the group chat that wagecels are spiking your cortisol levels on the Tube home. Many of the memes being shared online actually draw their humour from mocking the way looksmaxxers talk. \u201cThis also takes the in-group dynamic away from their language,\u201d Aleksic points out. But this comes at a cost. \u201cThe tradeoff is that you normalise that rhetoric in society.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>This is a case of widening the Overton window \u2013 the range of words, discourse, and ideas it\u2019s deemed acceptable to share in public. \u201cThere\u2019s a reason that when I was writing <\/span><em><span>Algospeak<\/span><\/em><span>, only the words \u2018-maxxing\u2019, \u2018-pill\u2019, and \u2018sigma\u2019 were really popular, and \u2018foid\u2019 wasn\u2019t popular yet,\u201d he adds. \u201cIt\u2019s because we needed to reach a cultural moment where people were aware enough of the other incel terms for that language to reach the mainstream.\u201d Now it has crossed that threshold (drenched in irony or not) it remains to be seen what other buried slurs could be unleashed.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"embed-content has-tweet\" data-embed-type=\"media-twitter\" data-script-depends=\"twitter-widgets\">\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"500\" data-dnt=\"true\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">what it genuinely feels like to be a jestergooner in a room full of frame moggers <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/jL4kMdgoui\">pic.twitter.com\/jL4kMdgoui<\/a><\/p>\n<p>&mdash; \u2729 em \u2729 (@promptprincess) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/promptprincess\/status\/2020553732694421813?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">February 8, 2026<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/div>\n<div class=\"embed-content\" data-embed-type=\"raw-html\">\n<p><span>Like many problems we face today, we can place a lot of blame for the popularity of looksmaxxing on social media sites run by the likes of Elon and Mark Zuckerberg, whose algorithms are designed to optimise engagement above all else. Barring a radical change in how Big Tech operates, though, it doesn\u2019t seem possible to change their bad incentives anytime soon, and hateful language will keep making headlines. \u201cThere\u2019s no metric for kindness online,\u201d Aleksic says. \u201cSo <a href=\"https:\/\/www.dazeddigital.com\/life-culture\/article\/69290\/1\/2025-year-of-peak-ragebait-sydney-sweeney-donald-trump-wuthering-heights\">ragebait<\/a> will always spread more than a compassionate idea.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>On a personal level, though, we can exercise a bit more influence. For one, Aleksic says, we can be more aware of our <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.tiktok.com\/@etymologynerd\/video\/7535280352797920526\"><span>epistemic firewall<\/span><\/a><span>. This is essentially \u201ca barrier in our brains\u201d that prevents ideas from spreading to us. If someone openly admits that \u201cfoid\u201d is a slur for women, you\u2019re probably not going to want to use it, he explains. \u201cSo the epistemic firewall is high.\u201d But humour can act like a Trojan horse, allowing harmful ideas to sneak through (see also: right-wing politicians using dumb memes and AI slop to spread their regressive ideas).\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>As well as keeping in mind our own brain\u2019s security features, it\u2019s worth considering your intended audience when engaging with content online. \u201cIt\u2019s ok to tell my friends I\u2019m burrito-maxxing,\u201d Aleksic adds, \u201cbut if I\u2019m on the [public] internet, am I potentially normalising harmful ideas? I don\u2019t know. At least be aware of what you\u2019re doing, and where the ideas are coming from. Engage with deliberate precision.\u201d And maybe try to avoid using slurs either way.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"embed-content has-tweet\" data-embed-type=\"media-twitter\" data-script-depends=\"twitter-widgets\">\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"500\" data-dnt=\"true\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">Clavicular almost caught a CAREER-ENDING cortisol spike after a LARPMAXXED stacy tried jesterfying him on stream by calling him a good boy while he was mid-mog between 2 LOW-TIER NORMIES at ASU\ud83d\ude2d <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/M6NPUO7SKn\">pic.twitter.com\/M6NPUO7SKn<\/a><\/p>\n<p>&mdash; Clippd (@gotclippd) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/gotclippd\/status\/2020592149709136036?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">February 8, 2026<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/div>\n<div class=\"embed-content has-tweet\" data-embed-type=\"media-twitter\" data-script-depends=\"twitter-widgets\">\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"500\" data-dnt=\"true\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">Sir, clavicular has been frame Mogged for the second time <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/ve0ccjcc2a\">https:\/\/t.co\/ve0ccjcc2a<\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/bm2XUyhbe8\">pic.twitter.com\/bm2XUyhbe8<\/a><\/p>\n<p>&mdash; C (@fbgcon) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/fbgcon\/status\/2020593788704690593?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">February 8, 2026<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/div>\n<div id=\"newsletter-inline-last\">\n<div class=\"newsletter-small\">\n<div class=\"inner\">\n<h1 class=\"newsletter-title\">Escape the algorithm! 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Get The Drop<\/h1>\n<div class=\"meta-row\">\n<p class=\"meta\">Get must-see stories direct to your inbox every weekday.<\/p>\n<p class=\"paragraph\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.dazeddigital.com\/privacy-policy\" class=\"meta-link\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><br \/>\nPrivacy policy<br \/>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"confirmation\" aria-live=\"polite\">\n<p class=\"confirmation-title\">Thank you. You have been subscribed<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.dazeddigital.com\/privacy-policy\" class=\"meta-link\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><br \/>\nPrivacy policy<br \/>\n<\/a><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/article>\n<div class=\"article-body wrapper\">\n<div class=\"embed-content\" data-embed-type=\"raw-html\">\n<p><span>Do you remember where you were when Clavicular got brutally framemogged by an ASU frat leader? Were you stressmaxxing when his cortisol was spiked by a group of jestergooning gymcels, while he was chadfishing at the club? Do these words mean absolutely nothing to you? Congratulations, you might not be chronically online! Maybe stop reading now, to avoid falling deeper down the rabbit hole.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>In recent weeks, the \u201clooksmaxxing\u201d influencer Clavicular (real name Braden Peters) has been the subject of a series of viral memes on social media. Revolving around clips from his Kick livestreams or TikTok videos, these memes lean into the esoteric language of the controversial subculture, which frequently features regressive views toward women, as well as dangerous \u2013\u00a0and <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/theconversation.com\/bone-smashing-broken-bones-tooth-loss-and-blood-vessel-damage-are-just-a-few-of-the-harms-of-this-bizarre-tiktok-trend-215936\"><span>frequently debunked<\/span><\/a><span> \u2013 \u2018self-improvement\u2019 practices like bone-smashing. As a result, you end up with X posts like <a href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/chromeheart600\/status\/2019920668087972200\">this one<\/a>: \u201cClavicular was mid jestergooning when a group of Foids came and spiked his Cortisol levels \ud83d\ude2dIs Ignoring the Foids while munting and mogging Moids more useful than SMV chadfishing in the club?\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>In his 2025 book <a href=\"https:\/\/www.penguinrandomhouse.com\/books\/776856\/algospeak-by-adam-aleksic\/\"><em>Algospeak<\/em><\/a>, the internet linguist <a href=\"https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/etymologynerd\/?hl=en\">Adam Aleksic<\/a> traces the origins of the slang associated with looksmaxxing back to the incel culture that proliferated on internet message boards like 4chan in the 2010s. As he continues to measure the popularity of words on the internet, though, he adds that they\u2019ve never been more mainstream than today. \u201cRight now,\u201d he says, \u201cI\u2019m tracking more of these \u2018incel\u2019 words than ever before.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>As the language \u201ctrickles down\u201d to mainstream platforms like X, TikTok, and Instagram from deeper and darker corners of the internet, it has also evolved beyond its original meaning. When you eat pizza for dinner and say you\u2019re \u201cpizza-maxxing\u201d or \u201cpizza-pilled\u201d, it doesn\u2019t necessarily mean you\u2019re a member of an alt-right community. In fact, many memes openly mock the subculture they\u2019re imitating, even as they enjoy the playful language it\u2019s created. But are they helping to normalise that language nevertheless, and the misogynistic views that come with it? <\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>To answer that question, we need to figure out what some of the words actually <\/span><em><span>mean<\/span><\/em><span>, and how they might be changing.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"embed-content has-tweet\" data-embed-type=\"media-twitter\" data-script-depends=\"twitter-widgets\">\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"500\" data-dnt=\"true\">\n<p lang=\"pt\" dir=\"ltr\">(explodes)<\/p>\n<p>&mdash; Merriam-Webster (@MerriamWebster) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/MerriamWebster\/status\/2020496361146523698?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">February 8, 2026<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/div>\n<div class=\"embed-content\" data-embed-type=\"raw-html\">\n<h1><span>WHERE DID LOOKSMAXXING SLANG COME FROM?<\/span><\/h1>\n<p><span>Platforms like 4chan \u2013 which hasn\u2019t really recovered from a large-scale hack in April 2025 \u2013 are responsible for a disproportionate amount of internet culture. This has been attributed to their total anonymity, which makes them a safe haven for edgelords, the alt-right, and political movements like Anonymous. But anonymity has another effect, says Aleksic: \u201cTo show that users are in the in-group, they have to demonstrate a proficiency in the shared slang. So they come up with new words to signal to each other that they are not normies. Then, the group becomes obscure to outsiders and reinforces this kind of cultlike hierarchy.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>Given their controversial ideas, it\u2019s easy to see why looksmaxxers would want to hide behind a veil of cultish slang and secret codes. Among a broader landscape of \u201cblackpill\u201d communities, many have migrated to even more obscure forums since 4chan\u2019s decline, where they can continue to spread medical misinformation and hate speech without fear of IRL consequences. Then again, openly right-wing figures like Andrew Tate and Nick Fuentes \u2013 both Clavicular collaborators, by the way \u2013 seem to be doing just fine on X.<\/span><\/p>\n<h1><span>WHAT DO ANY OF THE WORDS ACTUALLY MEAN?<\/span><\/h1>\n<p><span>Because it\u2019s designed to separate the in-group from the normies, slang changes fast. As it hits mainstream platforms, the meaning also \u201cbroadens a lot\u201d, says Aleksic. Take, for example, the word \u201cgooning\u201d, which has gone from describing a very specific practice of <a href=\"https:\/\/www.dazeddigital.com\/beauty\/article\/68079\/1\/gooning-what-happens-when-a-fetish-goes-mainstream-kink\">prolonged masturbation<\/a> to acting as a catch-all for all kinds of obsessive or \u2018degenerate\u2019 behaviours. Another example of this shift is the word \u201cmunting\u201d, a word that\u2019s often used in tandem with \u201cmogging\u201d (dominating other men by appearing more physically attractive) but originally described a graphic necrophilic act (I\u2019ll let you look that one up for yourselves).<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>There\u2019s one word that even Aleksic thought too extreme to ever go mainstream: \u201cFoid.\u201d Short for \u201cfemoid\u201d, this essentially conveys the idea that women should be treated as subhuman. When he first encountered it on blackpill messageboards, Aleksic says: \u201cIt was just a straight-up slur. It was used with such contempt and disgust. Now, it\u2019s being used in this ironic, cheeky way. It\u2019s layered in irony.\u201d Of course, that doesn\u2019t mean we should be too quick to forget where it came from.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"embed-content has-tweet\" data-embed-type=\"media-twitter\" data-script-depends=\"twitter-widgets\">\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"500\" data-dnt=\"true\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">Clavicular just had his CORTISOL SPIKED after an ASU jesterfoid pressed him for his real name \ud83d\ude2d<\/p>\n<p>Does this prove that MYSTIQUEMAXXING is the new meta for  ignoring jesterfoids? <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/tBSOBtePeq\">pic.twitter.com\/tBSOBtePeq<\/a><\/p>\n<p>&mdash; Jeffrey Josephs (Alpha Male) (@AlphaJeffrey45) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/AlphaJeffrey45\/status\/2020981383079088498?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">February 9, 2026<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/div>\n<div class=\"embed-content\" data-embed-type=\"raw-html\">\n<h1><span>HOW DOES IT REACH THE MAINSTREAM?<\/span><\/h1>\n<p><span>Today\u2019s media landscape is messy, and the boundaries between different networks are very porous. Case in point: the Clavicular memes that arrive on our timeline often feature slang from niche internet forums, popularised via Reddit, repeated on streaming platforms like Kick, and clipped to be reposted on mainstream sites like X.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>If this is the circulatory system for memes and ideas, language is the virus. \u201cIt\u2019s transmitted from a patient zero to another patient, and so on,\u201d suggests Aleksic. \u201cWhen you go back and do an epidemiological analysis of how Gen Z slang broke contagion, the patient zero is almost always African-American English or 4chan, or something adjacent to it.\u201d And, just like a virus, the higher nodes in the network have an outsized influence on the nodes further down the chain. As each person spreads the \u2018virus\u2019 to multiple others, it spreads exponentially, which might explain how trends like looksmaxxing slang seem to explode into public discourse all at once.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>\u201cIf you can make the goofiest combination of words on Twitter [or X], you\u2019re going viral,\u201d says Aleksic. Looksmaxxing slang definitely lends itself to that. As <a href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/dsonoiki\/status\/2020301322118131876?s=46&amp;t=iDpx3ykERm-OnMEGmqfC7w\">pointed out<\/a> by commentators on its recent ascent, like the writer Damilare Sonoiki, many of the phrases \u201cimmediately make sense\u201d despite sounding like total nonsense, and lots of the words are easy to adapt to pretty much any scenario you can imagine. Someone accidentally put cheese on Clavicular\u2019s burger? He got \u201c<a href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/nayclipz\/status\/2021067333213499843?s=46&amp;t=iDpx3ykERm-OnMEGmqfC7w\">dairygooned<\/a>\u201d while \u201c<a href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/goingwestt\/status\/2021433408312815707?s=46&amp;t=iDpx3ykERm-OnMEGmqfC7w\">bingewhoppermaxxing\u201d<\/a>. UK politics is in shambles? \u201cStarmer <a href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/milo_edwards\/status\/2021240480692842700?s=46&amp;t=iDpx3ykERm-OnMEGmqfC7w\">announcement-mogged<\/a> the resignpilled pressoids and journocels by staymaxxing.\u201d Your dog bit an innocent child? Try: \u201cMy pitbull just <a href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/mkaylaultra\/status\/2020961286062997792?s=46&amp;t=iDpx3ykERm-OnMEGmqfC7w\">teethmogged<\/a> this toddloid, and now she\u2019s sobmaxxing.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"embed-content\" data-embed-type=\"raw-html\">\n<blockquote>\n<p><span>\u201c<\/span>Clavicular is kind of like the human 6-7<span>\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"embed-content\" data-embed-type=\"raw-html\">\n<p><span>It goes deeper than just goofy-sounding tweets, though. The limits of social media changed around the second election of Donald Trump, as Meta relaxed its hate speech rules and got rid of DEI programs, and Elon Musk continued to transform X into a cesspit of right-wing ideology. \u201cI started noticing a lot more overt racism and dog whistles,\u201d Aleksic notes. Meanwhile, the incentives of the platforms themselves shifted, once they no longer had to worry about \u2018political correctness\u2019. Today, he adds, \u201cthere\u2019s a tendency of these platforms to allow any discourse that makes them money, so long as it does not overtly breach the words they cannot say.\u201d\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>This means figures like Clavicular and slurs like \u201cfoid\u201d are now pretty much fair game, and attention-hungry posters will piggyback on their popularity whether they believe in the underlying ideology or not. In this sense, \u201cClavicular is kind of like the human 6-7\u201d \u2013 an empty container for engagement-maxxing.<\/span><\/p>\n<h1><span>WHAT\u2019S THE HARM IN A BIT OF JESTERGOONING?<\/span><\/h1>\n<p><span>You don\u2019t have to be a misogynistic freak to joke in the group chat that wagecels are spiking your cortisol levels on the Tube home. Many of the memes being shared online actually draw their humour from mocking the way looksmaxxers talk. \u201cThis also takes the in-group dynamic away from their language,\u201d Aleksic points out. But this comes at a cost. \u201cThe tradeoff is that you normalise that rhetoric in society.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>This is a case of widening the Overton window \u2013 the range of words, discourse, and ideas it\u2019s deemed acceptable to share in public. \u201cThere\u2019s a reason that when I was writing <\/span><em><span>Algospeak<\/span><\/em><span>, only the words \u2018-maxxing\u2019, \u2018-pill\u2019, and \u2018sigma\u2019 were really popular, and \u2018foid\u2019 wasn\u2019t popular yet,\u201d he adds. \u201cIt\u2019s because we needed to reach a cultural moment where people were aware enough of the other incel terms for that language to reach the mainstream.\u201d Now it has crossed that threshold (drenched in irony or not) it remains to be seen what other buried slurs could be unleashed.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"embed-content has-tweet\" data-embed-type=\"media-twitter\" data-script-depends=\"twitter-widgets\">\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"500\" data-dnt=\"true\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">what it genuinely feels like to be a jestergooner in a room full of frame moggers <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/jL4kMdgoui\">pic.twitter.com\/jL4kMdgoui<\/a><\/p>\n<p>&mdash; \u2729 em \u2729 (@promptprincess) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/promptprincess\/status\/2020553732694421813?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">February 8, 2026<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/div>\n<div class=\"embed-content\" data-embed-type=\"raw-html\">\n<p><span>Like many problems we face today, we can place a lot of blame for the popularity of looksmaxxing on social media sites run by the likes of Elon and Mark Zuckerberg, whose algorithms are designed to optimise engagement above all else. Barring a radical change in how Big Tech operates, though, it doesn\u2019t seem possible to change their bad incentives anytime soon, and hateful language will keep making headlines. \u201cThere\u2019s no metric for kindness online,\u201d Aleksic says. \u201cSo <a href=\"https:\/\/www.dazeddigital.com\/life-culture\/article\/69290\/1\/2025-year-of-peak-ragebait-sydney-sweeney-donald-trump-wuthering-heights\">ragebait<\/a> will always spread more than a compassionate idea.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>On a personal level, though, we can exercise a bit more influence. For one, Aleksic says, we can be more aware of our <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.tiktok.com\/@etymologynerd\/video\/7535280352797920526\"><span>epistemic firewall<\/span><\/a><span>. This is essentially \u201ca barrier in our brains\u201d that prevents ideas from spreading to us. If someone openly admits that \u201cfoid\u201d is a slur for women, you\u2019re probably not going to want to use it, he explains. \u201cSo the epistemic firewall is high.\u201d But humour can act like a Trojan horse, allowing harmful ideas to sneak through (see also: right-wing politicians using dumb memes and AI slop to spread their regressive ideas).\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>As well as keeping in mind our own brain\u2019s security features, it\u2019s worth considering your intended audience when engaging with content online. \u201cIt\u2019s ok to tell my friends I\u2019m burrito-maxxing,\u201d Aleksic adds, \u201cbut if I\u2019m on the [public] internet, am I potentially normalising harmful ideas? I don\u2019t know. At least be aware of what you\u2019re doing, and where the ideas are coming from. Engage with deliberate precision.\u201d And maybe try to avoid using slurs either way.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"embed-content has-tweet\" data-embed-type=\"media-twitter\" data-script-depends=\"twitter-widgets\">\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"500\" data-dnt=\"true\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">Clavicular almost caught a CAREER-ENDING cortisol spike after a LARPMAXXED stacy tried jesterfying him on stream by calling him a good boy while he was mid-mog between 2 LOW-TIER NORMIES at ASU\ud83d\ude2d <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/M6NPUO7SKn\">pic.twitter.com\/M6NPUO7SKn<\/a><\/p>\n<p>&mdash; Clippd (@gotclippd) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/gotclippd\/status\/2020592149709136036?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">February 8, 2026<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/div>\n<div class=\"embed-content has-tweet\" data-embed-type=\"media-twitter\" data-script-depends=\"twitter-widgets\">\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"500\" data-dnt=\"true\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">Sir, clavicular has been frame Mogged for the second time <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/ve0ccjcc2a\">https:\/\/t.co\/ve0ccjcc2a<\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/bm2XUyhbe8\">pic.twitter.com\/bm2XUyhbe8<\/a><\/p>\n<p>&mdash; C (@fbgcon) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/fbgcon\/status\/2020593788704690593?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">February 8, 2026<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/div>\n<div id=\"newsletter-inline-last\">\n<div class=\"newsletter-small\">\n<div class=\"inner\">\n<h1 class=\"newsletter-title\">Escape the algorithm! Get The Drop<\/h1>\n<div class=\"meta-row\">\n<p class=\"meta\">Get must-see stories direct to your inbox every weekday.<\/p>\n<p class=\"paragraph\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.dazeddigital.com\/privacy-policy\" class=\"meta-link\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><br \/>\nPrivacy policy<br \/>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"confirmation\" aria-live=\"polite\">\n<p class=\"confirmation-title\">Thank you. You have been subscribed<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.dazeddigital.com\/privacy-policy\" class=\"meta-link\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><br \/>\nPrivacy policy<br \/>\n<\/a><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p>[analyse_source url=&#8221;https:\/\/www.dazeddigital.com\/life-culture\/article\/69637\/1\/language-looksmaxxing-jestergooning-incel-4chan-clavicular-adam-aleksic&#8221;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>[analyse_image type=&#8221;featured&#8221; src=&#8221;https:\/\/images-prod.dazeddigital.com\/1200\/345-456-1770-1180\/azure\/dazed-prod\/1430\/7\/1437627.jpg&#8221;] Photo by CHRIS DELMAS\/AFP via Getty Images February\u00a0 17,\u00a0 2026 Life &amp; Culture \/ Ask an expert Life &amp; Culture \/ Ask an expert From looksmaxxing to mogging: How incel language went mainstream The controversial influencer Clavicular has spawned a wave of memes about framemogging and cortisol spikes \u2013 linguist Adam Aleksic [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[226,76],"class_list":["post-1775976","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-politics","tag-crawlmanager","tag-dazeddigital-com"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1775976","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=1775976"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1775976\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=1775976"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=1775976"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=1775976"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}