In the hyper-competitive era of “looks inflation,” young Black men are increasingly navigating looksmaxxing—a radical self-improvement subculture rooted in incel forums—where the pursuit of physical “ascension” frequently collides with systemic racism and rigid Eurocentric beauty ideals.
The Toxic Barrier to Digital Ascension
For Imeh, a 20-year-old college student based in Houston, the foray into looksmaxxing began as a quest for self-confidence. Seeking to fill a void in a community dominated by white creators, he branded himself the “First Black Looksmaxxer” on TikTok. The reaction was instantaneous and vitriolic. Within an hour, his comments section was flooded with racial slurs and “JBW” (Just Be White) rhetoric—a staple of incel ideology suggesting that non-white men are inherently disadvantaged in the “sexual market.”
The experience transformed Imeh from a participant into a critic. Now reaching 36,000 followers, he produces content that deconstructs the movement’s flaws, specifically targeting its obsession with “mogging”—the act of physically dominating others in side-by-side comparisons. Despite facing doxing and relentless harassment, Imeh views his current role as a necessary counter-narrative to a movement he describes as a “right-wing pipeline” fueled by an obsession with blue eyes, straight hair, and light skin.
The Science and Pseudoscience of the “Chad” Ideal
Looksmaxxing, which originated on fringe boards like 4chan a decade ago, posits that a man’s social and romantic success is a direct byproduct of his “sexual market value.” Adherents aim to achieve the “Chad” status—the pinnacle of masculinity characterized by “hunter eyes” (deep-set and almond-shaped), chiseled jawlines, and facial symmetry. This obsession has moved beyond the screen and into the surgical suite.
Dr. Gary Linkov, a Manhattan-based plastic surgeon, has observed a surge in young men seeking procedures to “improve the mid-face” or requesting chin implants to achieve hyper-masculine symmetry. While Linkov facilitates these requests, he warns against the pressure on minority groups to conform to Caucasian archetypes. “They have their own beauty that should be enhanced and not transformed into a whole different race,” Linkov notes, highlighting the rise of “Brotox” and non-surgical treatments like CoolSculpting and dermal fillers among Gen Z men.
More alarming to medical professionals is the community’s reliance on pseudoscience. Techniques like “bonesmashing”—the act of intentionally causing micro-fractures in facial bones to encourage thicker growth—are gaining traction. Dermatologist Elaine Kung warns that such practices mark a dangerous shift from healthy self-care to “territory of self-harm,” potentially leading to permanent disfigurement and body dysmorphia.
Internalized Bias in the Pursuit of the “Giga-Chad”
Not all Black men in the space share Imeh’s total rejection of the movement. Khai Taylor, a 21-year-old YouTuber from Dallas, credits looksmaxxing with transforming his life from a socially isolated introvert with severe acne to a successful influencer. His video “I Tried ‘Looksmaxxing’ For an Entire Year” garnered over 842,000 views, leading to a lucrative coaching business where he helps young men “ascend.”
However, Taylor acknowledges the inherent racism baked into the movement’s metrics. He argues that while overt slurs are common on forums, the more insidious issue is the “internalized racism” in how facial aesthetics are judged. The community’s ideal face is almost exclusively built on white features, leaving Black men to navigate a system that rarely views their natural traits as the “ideal.”
The Reality of Looks Inflation
The rise of looksmaxxing reflects a broader cultural shift Taylor calls “looks inflation.” In an environment saturated by curated social media feeds, the baseline for being “attractive” has shifted toward the extreme. “It’s getting to a point where you literally have to be six-foot-four, have a super giga-Chad jawline, and a jacked body just to even be looked at,” Taylor explains. This hyper-fixation on facial angles and bone structure highlights a growing social isolation among young men who feel that without physical perfection, they remain invisible in the modern dating market.
As the movement continues to grow, it functions as a polarizing force. For some, it provides a roadmap for self-improvement and social integration; for others, it is a gateway to radicalization and an unattainable standard that fuels a cycle of self-loathing and racial exclusion.
