[Ads-l] looksmaxxing (2016)

[Ben Zimmer]

We consider "looksmaxxing" and the "-maxxing" combining form more generally
in the May 2025 installment of "Among the New Words" in _American Speech_
100.2, covering nominees in the 2024 American Dialect Society Word of the
Year voting.

https://read.dukeupress.edu/american-speech/article-abstract/100/2/259/400475/Among-the-New-Words

In the citations included in the supplementary material, we provide
evidence for "-maxxing" from 2014 and "looksmaxxing" specifically from 2015.

---
2015 June 29, MistGeburt3000, “ttl: i’ll teach you how to become a Sex God”
(first post), Looksmaxing (forum), Lookism.net (Internet Archive)
https://web.archive.org/web/20150703130926/http://www.lookism.net/forumdisplay.php?fid=6
---
2015 Nov. 8, anonymous, /r9k/ - ROBOT9001, 4chan (desuarchive): Getting fit
wont fix your ugly face Looksmaxxing is pure snake oil
https://desuarchive.org/r9k/thread/24110467/#q24110523
---

--bgz


On Fri, Jul 3, 2026 at 8:09 AM dave at wilton.net <dave at wilton.net> wrote:

>
> "Looksmaxxing" isn't in the OED. Merriam-Webster has 2018. As far as I
> know, this is the first of the "-maxxing" terms.
>
> I found these two 2016 instances on Reddit:
>
> “Other Than Suicide, What Our Plans for Getting Out of This?”
> Reddit.com/r/ForeverUnwanted, 26 February 2016. (The subreddit has been
> deleted, but the post is available via PullPush.io search)  [
> https://search.pullpush.io/?type=submission&q=looksmaxxing&sort_type=created_utc&sort=desc&before=1469923200
> ](
> https://search.pullpush.io/?type=submission&q=looksmaxxing&sort_type=created_utc&sort=desc&before=1469923200
> )
>
> "I'm looksmaxxing harder than anyone on this forum, and doing everything I
> can to go from nervous paranoia to being as low-inhibition as humanly
> possible.
>
> "after these things are theoretically achieved i have no clue what happens
> next. I'll be going to school next year, i guess that'd be last opportunity
> to become 'normal' but I relate to no one anyway so eh who gives a shit"
>
>
> DerPhilosoph. “Starting a 3rd Course of Accutane…” Reddit.com/r/acne, 16
> May 2016. [
> https://www.reddit.com/r/acne/comments/4jm7bf/starting_a_3rd_course_of_accutane/
> ](
> https://www.reddit.com/r/acne/comments/4jm7bf/starting_a_3rd_course_of_accutane/
> )
>
> "Because I think it is worth the risk and liver damage...
>
> "What the 10 years of my 20s taught me was that looksmaxxing is what we
> all should be doing... There was a night and day difference between how I
> was treated when I had totally clear skin (early to mid 20s) after my 2nd
> course of accutane and how I have been treated in the past 4 years or so.
>
> "Quality of life and not quantity is what I am aiming for now."
>
>
>

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