Optimizing one's appearance, taking care of one's body, feeling good in one's own skin: nothing new under the sun. However, a trend originating on social media is taking this logic much further. "Looksmaxxing" is as intriguing as it is alarming, particularly among young men.<\/p>\n
Lookmaxxing is based on a simple\u2026 and dangerous idea: your appearance is the key to your success. Flirting, social status, confidence\u2014everything supposedly hinges on your physique. On platformslike TikTok<\/a> , Reddit, and YouTube, a wealth of content encourages users to analyze every detail of their face and body: symmetry, jawline, eyes, proportions. Some even go so far as to offer beauty \u201crankings\u201d or \u201cscores,\u201d as if there were a universal formula for \u201cperfect masculinity.\u201d<\/p>\n As a result, your body can quickly be perceived not as a space to inhabit, but as a project to be constantly improved, corrected, and optimized. A vision that can become exhausting and disconnected from reality.<\/p>\n While self-care can be positive, some practices associated with looksmaxxing go far beyond this. These include techniques such as "mewing" (positioning the tongue against the palate to modify the jaw), intensive chewing exercises, very strict diets, and extreme physical training.<\/p>\n Even more worrying, some dangerous methods are circulating, such as "bone-smashing," which involves striking facial bones in an attempt to reshape them. Healthcare professionals warn of very real risks: injuries, joint problems, nerve damage\u2026 not to mention the psychological impact. Because when the desired results are not achieved\u2014which is often the case\u2014the frustration can be intense.<\/p>\n Behind this quest for "maximization," there is also an impact on mental health. Some specialists are observing an increase in body image disorders among men, particularly body dysmorphic disorder. In this case, you may feel that your body is never muscular enough, never defined enough, never "perfect" enough, even if this isn't the reality.<\/p>\n This focus on "flaws" can lead to anxiety<\/a> , loss of confidence, social isolation, or even unbalanced eating habits. The trap? Thinking that the problem stems solely from your appearance, when it is often linked to how you see yourself.<\/p>\n Lookmaxing isn't just about aesthetics. It also promotes a highly codified image of masculinity<\/a> : a square jaw, a lean and muscular body, a dominant posture, and a cold stare. This model leaves little room for the diversity of bodies, styles, or personalities. It can also reinforce virile norms, where a man's worth is linked to his appearance and attractiveness.<\/p>\n For some young people, this quest becomes a way to regain control in a world perceived as uncertain. Except that this control comes at a cost: constant pressure, perpetual comparison, and difficulty feeling "enough".<\/p>\n Faced with the scale of the phenomenon, psychologists and sociologists are sounding the alarm<\/a> . Testimonies from young men suffering from this problem are multiplying: obsession with mirrors, addiction to selfies, and feelings of failure in the face of unattainable standards. Social media plays an amplifying role. By constantly seeing the same faces, the same bodies, the same "ideals," these images end up seeming normal, even though they are often unrealistic or heavily filtered.<\/p>\n Fortunately, alternatives are emerging. More and more specialists are encouraging a more nuanced approach to self-image: developing critical thinking skills regarding online content, valuing body diversity, and proposing more open models of masculinity.<\/p>\n Your body isn't a problem to be fixed, nor a project to be made profitable. It evolves, it expresses itself, it accompanies you every day. Taking care of yourself can remain a positive process, as long as it doesn't turn into constant pressure. You have the right to want to feel good in your body, without trying to conform to a single ideal.<\/p>\n Ultimately, what the debate around looksmaxxing highlights is an essential question: what if feeling good doesn't just depend on what we see in the mirror, but also on how we choose to look at ourselves?<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Optimizing one's appearance, taking care of one's body, feeling good in one's own skin: nothing new under the...","protected":false},"author":8375,"featured_media":439475,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"disable_msn":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[5678],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-439321","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-societe"],"image":{"medium":["https:\/\/www.ma-grande-taille.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/looksmaxxing-200x113.jpg",200,113,true],"large":["https:\/\/www.ma-grande-taille.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/looksmaxxing-500x281.jpg",500,281,true]},"custom":{"td_video":"","featured_image":"https:\/\/www.ma-grande-taille.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/looksmaxxing.jpg","author":{"name":"Fabienne Baure","avatar":"https:\/\/www.ma-grande-taille.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/fabienne_baure-96x96.jpg"},"categories":[{"term_id":5678,"name":"Society","slug":"societe","term_group":0,"term_taxonomy_id":5846,"taxonomy":"category","description":" The Society section of The Body Optimist unpacks the debates that shape women\u2019s lives: equality, discrimination, beauty standards, social ties and the place of bodies in public space. Its analysis, first-person stories and practical advice are for anyone who wants to understand the pressures of everyday life and push back, with an inclusive, body-positive and judgment-free perspective.<\/p>\n Beauty standards are a social issue because they are neither natural nor universal: they shift from one country to another and from one era to the next, as our article on how beauty standards differ around the world<\/a> shows. Yet these ideals of thinness, youth and flawless skin have very real effects: comments starting in childhood, pressure to watch your weight, unequal treatment at work and in health care, online harassment. Recognizing that a norm is constructed helps you take a step back, spot the messages designed to make you feel guilty and choose what you want to keep. That is the common thread of this section: connecting individual experiences to the collective mechanisms that produce them.<\/p>\n If you experience discrimination or online harassment, the first step is to keep evidence, then to turn to the right people, who will depend on the country you live in:<\/p>\n Born from a plus-size fashion site, our magazine looks at social issues through the lens of the body and representation. We give a voice to the people most affected, we explain the words before debating them (sexism, fatphobia, trans identity, consent) and we favor practical ways forward over outrage alone. Our articles start from everyday experiences to shed light on broader patterns, without moralizing or pitting women against each other.<\/p>\n Discrimination is unequal treatment based on a characteristic protected by law, in a specific area such as employment, housing or access to goods and services. Protected grounds vary from country to country, but they often include sex, race or ethnic origin, disability, age, religion, sexual orientation and gender identity. Some places also protect physical appearance or weight.<\/p>\n Intersectionality describes how several forms of discrimination can overlap in the same person and reinforce one another. The American legal scholar Kimberl\u00e9 Crenshaw coined the term to describe the experiences of Black women. A woman who is both fat and lesbian, for example, may face sexism, fatphobia and homophobia, which compound one another rather than simply adding up.<\/p>\n Diet culture is the set of beliefs that equates thinness with health, success and personal worth. It shows up in foods labeled \u201cgood\u201d or \u201cbad,\u201d compliments on weight loss and the shaming of fat bodies. Our magazine prefers a weight-inclusive approach to health, at every size.<\/p>\n Want to go further? Our Culture<\/a> section explores how bodies and identities are portrayed in movies, TV shows and books, and our Psychology<\/a> section supports you with self-image, confidence and emotions.<\/p>","parent":0,"count":1539,"filter":"raw","cat_ID":5678,"category_count":1539,"category_description":" The Society section of The Body Optimist unpacks the debates that shape women\u2019s lives: equality, discrimination, beauty standards, social ties and the place of bodies in public space. Its analysis, first-person stories and practical advice are for anyone who wants to understand the pressures of everyday life and push back, with an inclusive, body-positive and judgment-free perspective.<\/p>\n Beauty standards are a social issue because they are neither natural nor universal: they shift from one country to another and from one era to the next, as our article on how beauty standards differ around the world<\/a> shows. Yet these ideals of thinness, youth and flawless skin have very real effects: comments starting in childhood, pressure to watch your weight, unequal treatment at work and in health care, online harassment. Recognizing that a norm is constructed helps you take a step back, spot the messages designed to make you feel guilty and choose what you want to keep. That is the common thread of this section: connecting individual experiences to the collective mechanisms that produce them.<\/p>\n If you experience discrimination or online harassment, the first step is to keep evidence, then to turn to the right people, who will depend on the country you live in:<\/p>\n Born from a plus-size fashion site, our magazine looks at social issues through the lens of the body and representation. We give a voice to the people most affected, we explain the words before debating them (sexism, fatphobia, trans identity, consent) and we favor practical ways forward over outrage alone. Our articles start from everyday experiences to shed light on broader patterns, without moralizing or pitting women against each other.<\/p>\n Discrimination is unequal treatment based on a characteristic protected by law, in a specific area such as employment, housing or access to goods and services. Protected grounds vary from country to country, but they often include sex, race or ethnic origin, disability, age, religion, sexual orientation and gender identity. Some places also protect physical appearance or weight.<\/p>\n Intersectionality describes how several forms of discrimination can overlap in the same person and reinforce one another. The American legal scholar Kimberl\u00e9 Crenshaw coined the term to describe the experiences of Black women. A woman who is both fat and lesbian, for example, may face sexism, fatphobia and homophobia, which compound one another rather than simply adding up.<\/p>\n Diet culture is the set of beliefs that equates thinness with health, success and personal worth. It shows up in foods labeled \u201cgood\u201d or \u201cbad,\u201d compliments on weight loss and the shaming of fat bodies. Our magazine prefers a weight-inclusive approach to health, at every size.<\/p>\n Want to go further? Our Culture<\/a> section explores how bodies and identities are portrayed in movies, TV shows and books, and our Psychology<\/a> section supports you with self-image, confidence and emotions.<\/p>","cat_name":"Society","category_nicename":"societe","category_parent":0}]},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ma-grande-taille.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/439321","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ma-grande-taille.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ma-grande-taille.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ma-grande-taille.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/8375"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ma-grande-taille.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=439321"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.ma-grande-taille.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/439321\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":439476,"href":"https:\/\/www.ma-grande-taille.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/439321\/revisions\/439476"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ma-grande-taille.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/439475"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ma-grande-taille.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=439321"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ma-grande-taille.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=439321"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ma-grande-taille.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=439321"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}} Practices that can go too far<\/h2>\n
A mental pressure that sets in<\/h2>\n
A very rigid view of masculinity<\/h2>\n
A warning from professionals<\/h2>\n
Towards a more peaceful approach to the body<\/h2>\n
What you\u2019ll find in the Society section<\/h2>\n
\n
Why are beauty standards a social issue?<\/h2>\n
What can you do about discrimination or online harassment?<\/h2>\n
\n
Our approach: connecting the personal and the collective<\/h2>\n
Articles to start with<\/h2>\n
\n
Frequently asked questions<\/h2>\n
What counts as discrimination?<\/h3>\n
What is intersectionality?<\/h3>\n
What is diet culture?<\/h3>\n
What you\u2019ll find in the Society section<\/h2>\n
\n
Why are beauty standards a social issue?<\/h2>\n
What can you do about discrimination or online harassment?<\/h2>\n
\n
Our approach: connecting the personal and the collective<\/h2>\n
Articles to start with<\/h2>\n
\n
Frequently asked questions<\/h2>\n
What counts as discrimination?<\/h3>\n
What is intersectionality?<\/h3>\n
What is diet culture?<\/h3>\n