This week, France banned online influencers from promoting cosmetic surgery and extreme makeover hacks. Looksmaxxing started on obscure message boards. Now it’s in memes, targeted ads, and TikTok feeds. It promotes the idea that male success is determined by physical appearance — sometimes through extreme grooming, supplements, cosmetic procedures, and risky “optimisation” techniques. 

With influencers like “Clavicular” drawing huge audiences, concerns are growing about body image pressure, belief that some people are genetically superior, and misogyny embedded in the culture. 

Ciara Doherty speaks to James Bloodworth, author of Lost Boys: A Personal Journey Through the Manosphere, and Professor Debbie Ging, expert in digital media and gender at DCU.