Looks & body image
There is now a vocabulary for ranking faces, and your child knows it.
Online appearance culture has produced a whole technical language — jawlines, 'aura', looksmaxxing — that makes judging bodies sound like a hobby. Most of it is harmless teenage self-consciousness. The deeper end of this community is genuinely harsh.
What you'll actually hear
- can't talk, i'm mewing
- that fade is chopped
- he lost so much aura today
- starting my looksmaxxing arc
Watch
60 Minutes Australia · 27:31
Looksmaxxing: Inside the dangerous trend taking over the feeds of young men | 60 Minutes Australia
Current affairs journalism on looksmaxxing, mewing and the surgery end of it. Told in the register of a TV exposé, so watch it for the reporting on the subculture rather than for clinical guidance.
What it tends to mean
Patterns worth noticing — not diagnoses.
The joke version and the real version look identical
'Mewing' as a gesture to avoid answering you is a joke. Mewing alongside restricted eating, compulsive mirror-checking or distress about photographs is a different thing wearing the same word.
Ranking language aimed at real classmates
'Chopped' or numeric rating of specific people at school has usually stopped being banter. It's frequently how appearance-based bullying is conducted in the open.
Routines that stop being optional
Skincare and gym interest are ordinary. The signal is rigidity — visible anxiety when the routine is interrupted, rather than the routine itself.
Three things you could say tonight
Low-stakes openers. The goal is a conversation, not an interrogation.
- Where do you see most of this stuff — TikTok, YouTube?
- Does anyone at school get a hard time about how they look?
- What do you reckon that content is actually selling?
The vocabulary
Mewing
Pressing your tongue to the roof of your mouth to sharpen your jawline.
Looksmaxxing
Maximising your physical attractiveness.
Chopped
Unattractive or badly done.
Aura
Your cool points. Gained and lost in real time.
Aura farming
Deliberately doing things to look cool.
Gyat
A shout of surprise at someone's body.
Drip
Stylish clothing.
Snatched
Looking sharp. Perfectly put together.
Worth recognising
Body count
The number of people someone has slept with.
Where to get proper help
We decode the language. These organisations do the support — all independent, none affiliated with us.
- Beat (UK)Eating disorder support and helpline
- NEDA (US)Eating disorder information and helpline
- Anna Freud CentreEvidence-based mental health advice for families
- Internet MattersOnline safety guides for parents
- Common Sense MediaAge ratings and app reviews
- eSafety Commissioner (Australia)Advice and a real complaints service for serious cyberbullying
Know the words, or test yourself.
Every term on this page has its own entry — or find out how much you're missing in two minutes.