Young men and teenage boys are learning to see their faces and bodies as projects to measure and optimize.
On social media platforms like Reddit, Instagram and TikTok, jawlines are dissected, cheekbones compared and percevied “flaws” catalogued. Widely viewed videos and reels help users to rank their faces and identify areas for improvement. They also advise on just how best to bulk up, trim down, make over and become more desirable — and more masculine.
This growing practice of ritualized self-scrutiny, and the litany of “solutions” in service of it, is known as “looksmaxxing.”
