Written By: Sakura Snyder, Staff Writer
FASCINATING: Taking a look into modern male beauty standards.
About a month or two ago, during the midst of one of my mindless social media scrolling sessions, I noticed something interesting on my phone. As I scrolled through TikTok, a video popped up of a man forcefully chiseling his face with an eyebrow raised at the camera, the caption being tagged Looksmaxxing. Without thinking, I let out a chuckle—the description of the clip as well as the clip itself was so unheard of, that I didn’t think it was anything but some sort of a silly joke. Out of pure amusement as well as a twinge of genuine curiosity, I decided to click on the tag to see what others had contributed to this strange phrase. And, there it was—I had stumbled upon the pipeline of Looksmaxxing.
Looksmaxxing, in a literal sense, is the maximizing of looks. Young men participating in Lookmaxxing find it critically important to secure the most attractive physical features possible, even if this means taking unrealistic and sometimes even dangerous measures. For example, the phrase “bonesmashing,” which refers to the hitting of one’s face repeatedly with an object, became recently popularized as a forceful facial structure-improving technique within the community. Other methods consisting of techniques like “mewing” where one attempts to refine their jawline through specific tongue structure and straightforward hardcore weight loss have also come forth as opportunities to enrich these individuals.
If the techniques for achieving the standard weren’t strange to read about already, the standard itself is quite absurd. Looksmaxxers seem to have a fascinating obsession with eyes, especially the canthal tilt. For those who are not aware of what canthal tilt refers to, imagine the different ways in which an eye can be slanted. Most people would consider the diversity of this eye slant and shape to be beautiful; right? For Looksmaxxers, this is sadly not so much the case. Having a positive canthal tilt, in other words, upward-turning eyes is ideal—anything else, not so much. Another component that Looksmaxxers assess heavily is the sharpness of an individual’s jawline. Depending on how sharp or soft one’s jaw is, supposedly, attractiveness is also scaled.
As fascinating as Looksmaxing standards and requirements may sound, I myself cannot say that Looksmaxxers are completely incomprehensible. Seeing attractive people day after day on social media has debilitating effects on mental health, and only confirms society’s obsession to present oneself in an unachievable sense. From a teenager who has previously struggled with her own self confidence, I only have one ultimate piece of advice to those fighting with themselves—the diversity of the human character is what makes us so beautiful. It is okay to not look one certain way, for the different possibilities to make a change is what sticks in society.