When mating strategies become common knowledge through online discourse, they are perceived as inauthentic and manipulative rather than genuine self-improvement. This self-awareness fosters a cynical dating culture where even positive efforts, like self-betterment to attract a partner, are viewed with suspicion.

Many believe broadcasting achievements leads to love, but research shows it only brings admiration. True connection comes from authentic intimacy where imperfections are shared, as being truly "known" is more important than being "noticed."

Men engaging in extreme beautification trends ('looksmaxing') often focus on traits that other men find formidable, such as a strong jawline. This intrasexual competition strategy may not align with what women actually find most attractive, which can be a slightly more feminized face on a masculine body.

The rising trend of "look maxing," where young men obsess over specific beauty standards, is a new form of male-on-male competition. It's less about appealing to the female gaze and more about gaining status within male hierarchies.

Men's pursuit of extreme muscularity and masculinized features is often a failure of cross-sex mind reading. They are coding for formidability and respect from other men, whereas research suggests women often prefer a more neutral or even slightly feminized face combined with a masculinized body.

The male-focused "looksmaxxing" trend eerily parallels the behavior of the "Beautiful Ones" in the Universe 25 experiment. In this rodent "utopia," a generation of males withdrew from society, ceased mating, and focused only on grooming, reflecting a collapse of normal social roles and hierarchies.

Men often admire extremely lean physiques in other men because they represent a high-status signal of discipline and difficulty. This creates a perception gap, as women may view the same physique as less formidable or as a sign of an unhealthy obsession with looks.

The obsession with "looksmaxing" is a displacement activity. Improving one's appearance is a controllable, single-player game. It's a way to avoid the terrifying, complex, and uncontrollable challenge of learning social skills and navigating the possibility of rejection from other people.

A study on plastic surgery found that while men prefer natural beauty, women with enhancements were still rated as more attractive and datable. The effect was simply attenuated when men knew about the surgery, suggesting our response to beauty signals outweighs our knowledge of their origin.