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 forthcoming audiobook about AI and intimate relationships at LoveAtFirstPrompt.com ! 

 

Follow Bridget and TANGOTI on social media!  ||  instagram.com/bridgetmarieindc/ || tiktok.com/@bridgetmarieindc ||  youtube.com/@ThereAreNoGirlsOnTheInternet || bsky.app/profile/tangoti.bsky.social

 

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

This is the second part of a 2-part series, so if you haven&rsquo;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.&nbsp;
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 &mdash; 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 &mdash; it manufactured it.
&nbsp;
Let us know what you think by emailing <a href="mailto:hello@tangoti.com">hello@tangoti.com</a> or leaving a comment on Spotify.&nbsp;
&nbsp;
Pre-order Bridget's forthcoming audiobook about AI and intimate relationships at <a href="http://loveatfirstprompt.com">LoveAtFirstPrompt.com</a> !&nbsp;
&nbsp;
Follow Bridget and TANGOTI on social media!&nbsp; ||&nbsp; instagram.com/bridgetmarieindc/ || tiktok.com/@bridgetmarieindc ||&nbsp; youtube.com/@ThereAreNoGirlsOnTheInternet || bsky.app/profile/tangoti.bsky.social
&nbsp;
See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Marginalized voices have always been at the forefront of the internet, yet our stories often go overlooked. Bridget Todd chronicles our experiences online, and the ways marginalized voices have shaped the internet from the very beginning. We need monuments to all of the identities that make being online what it is. So let’s build them.

There Are No Girls on the Internet

Clavicular, looksmaxxing, and how extremists hijack the algorithm 

https://api.omny.fm/orgs/e73c998e-6e60-432f-8610-ae210140c5b1/clips/74a8ee18-ecf5-4e6f-b386-b43a01428519/transcript