(NEXSTAR) – A slang term that originated in the “manosphere” is making its way into the mainstream. The term “mog,” according to the Merriam-Webster online dictionary, essentially means “to outclass” another person, though it’s frequently used in the context of physical appearance. In other words, to “mog” someone essentially means outshining that person in terms of looks. The word has been used for years online — along with variations such as “mogged” or “mogging” — but its roots go back to the so-called “manosphere,” which is itself a term referring to online communities that promote masculinity (and often reject feminism). The word "mog" itself may have been derived from the acronym “AMOG,” which means “alpha male of the group,” per Dictionary.com. The slang word “mog” later became associated with the controversial “looksmaxxxing” trend on social media, whereby influencers shared their methods for making themselves or others more physically attractive or used their platforms to rate the physical attractiveness of others, Merriam-Webster explained. Others say they’ve heard the term used in the context of athletic or gaming ability, or even personality. “I like to think of [it as] being better,” one Reddit user explained in a recent post to the platform, having “learned” this from a young relative. “If you ‘mogged’ someone in something, that means you completely outdid them.” Despite its longtime usage on social media, “mog” began making headlines this week thanks to an incident involving an influencer named Braden Peters, ala “Clavicular,” who was allegedly “frame-mogged” by a frat member at Arizona State University. In a clip of their meeting, Peters — who was recently profiled in The New York Times — appears to comment on the ASU frat member’s muscular physique. The moment, which Peters shared with fans on the streaming service Kick, was then re-posted to X by a user who claimed that Peters had been “frame-mogged” by the muscular university student. And some of Peters' critics seemed happy to pile on. (Peters has attracted controversy, both for his views on physical attractiveness and his association with alt-right influencers Nick Fuentes and Andrew Tate, all three of whom were seen singing Kanye West’s “Heil Hitler” song during a meet-up in Miami, The New York Times reported.) Plenty of commenters, though, found the whole “looksmaxxing” culture to be ridiculous, along with any of the “mogging” slang associated with it. “I’m glad I don’t [know] who this is [or] what that sentence means,” one X user said. Like “looksmaxxing,” though, experts warn that these trends, and even continued usage of the word “mogging” to describe someone subjectively out-performing another person in terms of attractiveness, can be detrimental to self-image. "In some cases, the word can reinforce insecurity, pressures on physical or body images, or social status anxiety," licensed marriage and family therapist Lisa Chen told Parents magazine in 2025. "This can be dangerous for teens whose identity is still being shaped.”