“You’re a chud. A sub-five, high-cortisol manlet with weak infraorbitals and a recessed mandible, you might as well reincarnate.”
This is just one of the many types of comments one could find on popular looksmaxxing websites. Comments like these are so divorced from the English language that you need a degree in being chronically online to understand the niche jargon used there. Beneath the outward absurdity of these comments lies an iceberg of biblical proportions. Racism, sexism, homophobia and, ironically, homoeroticism are all underlying factors in this community—a veritable witch’s cauldron—all of which are fueled by a devastating serving of insecurity. How then did this decidedly awful community come to the forefront of Gen Z’s cultural zeitgeist? We have absurdist humor to thank for that.
In an age where shock factor reigns as king, the looksmaxxing craze came along at the perfect time. Within this already niche community lies the extremist “black pill,” a sub-sect that has attracted the most attention. Contrary to the broader looksmaxxing community which preaches altering one’s “appearance to fit in with certain beauty standards,” black pill ideology takes it a step further, proclaiming that physical attractiveness is the only factor that matters in life. Inherent to this philosophy is a heavy dose of inceldom and misogyny, as followers blame their romantic failures on abstract “systemic” factors such as hypergamy. Through this phenomenon of hypergamy, incels argue that only the most physically attractive specimens will get attention from women, yet discussions within the community reveal that it is often other men who most intently fixate upon these idealized masculine figures.
When it comes to hypergamy, incels are far from defeatist. They aren’t just going to take it on the chin; like the true underdogs they are, they can game the system by “ascending” to “chad” status. Ascending involves the methodical work of “fixing” one’s perceived physical malformities through surgery, weightlifting or even through drugs. Once ascended, they believe that women will finally give them the attention they feel that they are entitled to, without having to be a tolerable person. The process of ascending is no easy feat, though. It involves extreme bodily modification, often through harmful means such as bone smashing. These drastic measures may, on paper, be just for the sake of appealing to their perverted picture of women, but within the community lies a strong desire to be appreciated by other men.
As aforementioned, the black pill community is fueled fundamentally by insecurity. Beyond getting the praise of women, these black-pilled looksmaxxers desire the praise (or envy) of fellow men. Clavicular—the current face of the black pill community—has himself stated, “I don’t really give a shit about getting girls, I just wanna mog.” The community has become so focused on the perceived sexual attractiveness of other men that it has ironically adopted a homoerotic nature. Men who are often viewed as desirable templates of chadhood receive scores of edits highlighting their attractiveness. What’s more, within the forums themselves, you can find hundreds of comments worshipping individuals: “‘his bones radiate so much energy and lust towards women. It’s like he’s a God.’ To incels, Chads both command and deserve attention from women.” Women? Or are men the ones that they “command and deserve attention from”? The fact is, for these would-be chads, perceived masculinity has become such an all-encompassing focus that they have even resorted to traditionally feminine mediums of gender affirming resources such as applying makeup.
While the black-pilled community might have originated from a bunch of losers trying to pick up women, it has since jumped the shark, morphing into a bizarrely homoerotic arena where the male physique is analyzed with more passion than any actual woman. “Rate me!” posts are ubiquitous within community conversations, with each one absolutely dripping with a need for male validation. To the black-pilled among us, I implore you to drop the uber-masculine act; no one’s buying it. Instead, consider growing a personality. Unfortunately for you, I hear transplants are not yet available.
