When you’re looking to date as a guy, what personal qualities matter most? Alongside physical appearance, confidence and sense of humor, countless other factors should play a part. 

However, if you ask a particular online community, the only one that matters at all is the first — your looks. Everything else is just self-indulgent window-dressing, especially during spring break as beach bodies are on full display.

Peddlers of this view are called “looksmaxxers,” an online group of men, each of whom is hell-bent on boosting their own individual attractiveness by any means necessary. For them, this often comes at the expense of developing an appealing personality or sense of humor.

If this sounds bizarre or self-destructive, it’s because it is precisely those things. Putting all your eggs in one basket for personal improvement, especially one as shallow as physical attractiveness, is a recipe for disaster.

First and foremost, the notion that physical attractiveness is the linchpin factor in success across multiple dimensions is misguided. This is not to say that appearance is irrelevant, of course; the halo effect of attractive people perceived to be more capable and moral is well documented. But it also works in reverse as intelligent, personable people are perceived to be more attractive.

With that in mind, the tunnel vision that comes with prioritizing attractiveness above all else is bound to make someone less appealing as far as personality is concerned. If your central goal is doing everything you can to increase your attractiveness, the shallow mindset inherent in such a quest will push others away while leaving the individual internally empty and directionless.

Even if it worked, though, looksmaxxing would still be a self-destructive victory. Taking testosterone in your teens, undergoing limb-lengthening surgery and smashing your facial features with a hammer in hopes that they heal sharper will at best result in adverse health consequences and at worst an early grave.

With this in mind, less extreme self-improvement is a different story. Working out, dieting or disciplining yourself in other ways are often advantageous for individuals. However, they are not remotely comparable to the lengths the hardcore looksmaxxers take.

And yet, beyond the extreme, near-suicidal nature of the recommended looksmaxxer regimens, the impact that this sort of thought has on relationships with others is one more adverse effect of this philosophy. In one fell swoop, this straight male’s analysis dehumanizes women, looking at them as nothing more than prizes to be won by the most attractive men. 

Unlike other brands of misogyny, looksmaxxing is so cynically destructive that reduces both women and men to nothing more than their appearance. As looksmaxxers lament how men are only given worth by society if they are attractive, they partake in hierarchy construction the most.

Now, if this path is so detrimental to one’s own life, why do young men go down it? It might have something to do with the clarity of the journey. 

The cultural flowchart for a successful, fulfilling life is more complicated than ever, and more options come with more missed opportunities. We are exposed to the entire world on a daily basis, which appears to be completely chaotic. A competitive young man might look at this wilderness and feel completely disillusioned. 

All of a sudden, a climbable, simple, self-imposed path is discovered, with clear steps and a clear goal. It also plays into latent misogynistic thoughts the individual may have had prior. 

Needless to say, this is a problem, but it’s not a new one. Before this obsession with physical appearances, there was Andrew Tate and the “red pill.” Before that, it was 4chan and other communities in the so-called manosphere.

There will be a new trend before long, and there is no simple solution to address each one. In the end, as cliche as it is, the only way to deal with looksmaxxing is to give the members a healthier, more life-affirming message: You are more than your looks.