Clavicular, looksmaxxing, and how extremists hijack the algorithm

Clavicular, looksmaxxing, and how extremists hijack the algorithm

From There Are No Girls on the Internet by iHeartPodcasts

April 28, 2026 · 40 min · Season 5 · Episode 103

About this episode

The episode explores the origins and implications of looksmaxxing and the media's role in promoting extremist ideologies through the case of Braden Peters, known as Clavicular.

This is the second part of a 2-part series, so if you haven’t listened to part 1 (published on April 21, 2026), please listen to that first. In part 1, we explain who Clavicular is, how the media elevated him to national prominence, and why his looksmaxxing ideology is just a new veneer on old tropes of self-harm and white supremacy.  What happens when a teenage boy spends his formative years on incel forums, starts injecting steroids at 14, hits himself in the face with a hammer in the name of self-improvement, injects his underage girlfriend with unlicensed substances on a live stream — and the response from mainstream media is a New York Times profile and a Fashion Week runway? This week we're digging into looksmaxxing: where it actually came from, what the TikTok version obscured, and why a movement rooted in white supremacist beauty standards got repackaged as self-help. Then we talk about Braden Peters, the influencer known as Clavicular, and make the case that the media didn't just cover his rise — it manufactured it.   Let us know what you think by emailing hello@tangoti.com or leaving a comment on Spotify.    Pre-order Bridget's…

People in this episode

Host: Bridget

Topics covered

  • looksmaxxing
  • white supremacy
  • self-improvement
  • media influence
  • incel culture
  • social media

Keywords

  • Clavicular
  • looksmaxxing
  • extremism
  • self-harm
  • white supremacy
  • TikTok
  • influencer
  • media coverage

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: New York Times, Fashion Week

Books & works: Love At First Prompt

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