Bigrams and Trigrams are both sequences of two and three consecutive words respectively. 

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By capturing not just isolated words but the relationships between them, n-grams help us see which concepts co-occur, which phrases carry particular ideological weight, and how speakers structure their messages. In the context of looksmaxxing communities, where much of the discourse revolves around self-improvement, aesthetic enhancement, and in-group terminology, examining bigrams and trigrams can reveal both overt affirmations of ideology and subtle rejections or redirections of that same language.

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Analysis of bigrams and trigrams reveals patterns in the lexicon used by looksmaxxers.

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When we look at the rejected bigrams, they seem to align with looksmaxxing ideology. Take “focus maximizing,” for example: it suggests a concern with optimization, a core principle in looksmaxxing. Similarly, “the game” is a phrase deeply rooted in certain manosphere communities, implying strategy, competition, and self-improvement. Yet these phrases appear in the subset of rejected content. In other words, a phrase can adopt in-group terminology, yet still be used to shift the conversation away from direct looksmaxxing advice. That act of redirection comes up a lot in our ethical discussions. Fro example, we explore the idea if redirection is enough to combat incel rhtoric from an LLM, or if LLMs should outwardly reject incel rhetoric. 

For instance, “focus maximizing” in a rejected context might not be offering a concrete suggestion for jawline improvement; rather, it could be warning against obsession or criticizing the notion of obsessive self-optimization. The phrase implies that the LLM has awareness of looksmaxx terminology but repurposes it to make a broader point, perhaps about mental health or the futility of trying to chase an unattainable ideal. Similarly, a bigram like “the game” might be used to caution newcomers: “the game can be rigged” or “the game is a distraction from self-esteem.” In these uses, speakers are still referencing community-specific metaphors, but they are using these phrases to critique or broaden the discussion, rather than to push users toward a set of practices. That redirection is the hallmark of a “rejecting” bigram: language that looks familiar but points away from the core aesthetic-enhancement agenda.

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In contrast, the bigrams found in accepted content frequently signal unambiguous references to looksmaxxing techniques or goals. Phrases like “jawline improvement,” “diet and exercise,” and “facial exercises” leave little room for misinterpretation. These are explicit instructions or motivations to enhance appearances, and they often function as keywords that generate or reinforce a step-by-step plan for facial and bodily optimization and these are  strong indicators of ideological conformity. In other words, if a user’s language features words like “diet” right next to “exercise,” or “jawline” next to “facial,” it’s a reliable signal that they are actively embracing and propagating looksmaxxing practices.