Social media has surfaced and popularized fitness and wellness trends that dot the spectrum from fake news to flat-out dangerous. “Looksmaxxing” is an example of a trend that leans toward the more concerning side of that scale. Communities of “looksmaxxers” have gained popularity in recent years, spreading messages that can be damaging to their audiences’ body images and self worth. Specifically, “looksmaxxers” target men and boys, groups that have been historically left out of conversations about eating disorders. Here, we look at the impact that the rise of these communities may have on the people who follow their guidance.

What Is Looksmaxxing?

“Looksmaxxing” is the practice of trying to maximize physical attractiveness based on societal perceptions of the ideal body. Like many fitness and wellness trends, it hides under the guise of self-improvement and pretend objectivity. But it doesn’t take much to peel back the curtain and see some pretty sinister mechanisms at play.

The Origins of Looksmaxxing

For starters, the practice of “looksmaxxing” is tied to the manosphere, a community that promotes a rigid view of masculinity along with a disturbing dose of misogyny. The manosphere culture has established itself in a corner of the internet where it reinforces the idea that a man’s worth and his ability to attract women are determined by his physical appearance.

“Looksmaxxers” also don’t give much room for diversity in beauty. Similar to beauty standards for women, the looksmaxxers have a narrow definition about what warrants attractiveness. The physical traits idealized within these communities are overwhelmingly Eurocentric, reinforcing a narrow standard of attractiveness based on the white alpha male.

Questionable Advice

So, what does looksmaxxing look like in practice? The advice varies from a routine you’d barely bat an eye at to self-harm. On one end are relatively ordinary habits like grooming, skin care, or changing your hairstyle. But looksmaxxing can quickly move beyond everyday self-care into rigid dieting and exercise routines, steroid use, to surgical procedures.

One of the more troubling features of looksmaxxing is its preoccupation with measuring attractiveness. Looksmaxxing content often breaks the body down into individual features that can supposedly be evaluated against “objective” standards. Followers may be encouraged to measure facial proportions, compare the width and length of different features, calculate ratios, or scrutinize things like jawlines, cheekbones, body-fat percentages, and shoulder-to-waist ratios. Certain measurements are then presented as the mathematical formula for being attractive.

Impacts on Body Image and Mental Health

Tracking, measuring, comparing…These practices sound scientific at the surface, but raise serious red flags from a mental health perspective. And, as we’ve pointed out, the origins of these “idealized” measurements aren’t backed by any tangible health metrics, but are pulled from a patriarchal and white supremacist hat. Because of the disproportionate value put on attractiveness, the very limited definition of what attractiveness means, and the anonymous nature of online communities, “looksmaxxing” spaces pose a serious threat to the health of boys and men.

The Mental Health Cost of Treating Attractiveness Like a Formula

By assigning specific values to different parts of the body, “looksmaxxing” communities make it nearly impossible to be “right” and all too easy to be “wrong.” There is always another measurement that could be better, another perceived flaw to scrutinize, or another feature to “fix.”

Over time, viewing attractiveness as a formula can teach people to see their bodies not as a whole, but as a collection of defects that need correcting. That mindset leaves little room for the natural diversity of human bodies or for the reality that beauty is subjective in the first place. When meeting these impossible standards becomes tied to someone’s self-worth, the consequences can extend far beyond dissatisfaction with their appearance. Low self-esteem, depression, and eating disorders can all become part of the equation.

When you introduce the online element, these trends become more disturbing. “Looksmaxxing” forums commonly see users posting pictures of themselves to be rated by others. A review of these discussion boards published in Sociology of Health & Illness found comments to be especially cruel. Researchers found that users routinely weaponized their narrow definition of attractiveness against one another.

When Looksmaxxing Crosses Into Disordered Eating

These attacks on one’s mental health and critical focus on one’s body put “looksmaxxers” at risk of developing eating disorders. The hypercritical and competitive environment, combined with an encouragement of disordered eating behaviors, is concerning. Restriction, compulsive exercise, and pursuing extremely low levels of body fat can all be framed as simply having the “discipline” in looksmaxxing communities.

Muscle Dysmorphia

These behaviors are particularly important to recognize because eating disorders don’t always look like the stereotypes we’ve been taught to expect. A person struggling with food and body image may not be pursuing thinness at all. For some boys and men, the goal may instead be to become leaner or more muscular.

This pursuit can be associated with muscle dysmorphia, a form of body dysmorphic disorder characterized by a preoccupation with not being muscular enough. That distorted perception can fuel increasingly rigid eating and exercise behaviors as someone continually chases a body that never feels “good enough.”

Added Pressure on Boys and Men

This is part of what makes looksmaxxing culture so concerning. Behaviors that deserve treatment are praised as discipline. Boys and young men who are especially susceptible to the influence of looksmaxxing content can get swept up in a culture that normalizes increasingly risky behaviors while framing concern as weakness.

At the same time, the rigid version of masculinity promoted within these communities leaves little room for emotional vulnerability. Admitting to struggling with mental health can feel at odds with the expectation to be confident and relentlessly focused on “improvement.” That can make an already isolating experience even harder to talk about.

Boys and men have also historically been left out of conversations about body dissatisfaction and eating disorders, despite accounting for an estimated one-third of people with eating disorders. Expanding our understanding of what eating disorders look like, and who experiences them, is essential to making sure everyone gets the support they need. Everyone deserves to have their struggles taken seriously and to be able to find support without shame.

Your Body Isn’t a Problem to Optimize

As with many “wellness” trends, looksmaxxing treats the body as a problem. It takes existing pressures on one’s body image and gives them a new language of rankings, measurements, and optimization. For boys and young men especially, it can normalize intense body dissatisfaction in spaces that present themselves as self-improvement communities. But our bodies aren’t formulas to solve, and our self-worth can’t be calculated with a set of measurements. A healthier relationship with our bodies starts with treating them with care rooted in science rather than TikTok trends and giving them grace when they don’t perform like perfectly optimized machines (spoiler: they aren’t!).

If looksmaxxing or other body-focused content is affecting the way you think about food, exercise, or your body, you don’t have to wait until your experience fits a particular image of an eating disorder to seek support. At the Alliance, we offer resources for everyone to find the road to healing. Start by checking out our support group page or calling our helpline, where a licensed mental health provider can help you find treatment options that best fit your needs. Whether you’re concerned about yourself or someone you care about, the Alliance is here to help you take that next step.