Looksmaxxing, Bonesmashing, and Brotox

or the Search for Sigma Malehood

If you think because it is 2026 you don’t have to tell young men not to hit themselves in the face with a hammer, you’d be wrong. At least on Tik Tok, where there are tutorials on how to hit yourself in the face with a hammer in order to achieve a more masculine bone structure. I’m not making this up. Welcome to the wonderful world of “Looksmaxxing,” a concept that has been floating around online incel culture for a decade, but went mainstream in 2023. If you aren’t familiar with the slang of the Gen Z manosphere, don’t worry, I’ll provide translation as we go.

While it is true that young males have always been concerned with their looks, the advent of camera phones and social media has taken the desire to look at ourselves to new and sometimes absurd levels. The first mirrors were pools of still water or shiny stones. Reflective surfaces have been around for millennia, but it wasn’t until 1835, when Justus von Liebig invented the silver-glass mirror, that staring at ourselves became widespread and commonplace. We look at ourselves on a scale unknown to our ancestors, and with digital photography we are now the most self-image aware humans of all time by a long shot. Notice I said self-image aware, not self-aware. There is a difference, and although it is not intrinsically wrong to work on one’s outward appearance, it is better to work on one’s inner character, which then might be reflected in the outward appearance. In other words, taking a hammer to your hubris will get you further than taking a hammer to your cheekbones. But I’m getting ahead of myself.

Looksmaxxing first surfaced in the online world of incels (involuntary celebates) and is an umbrella term that includes everything from brotox procedures to gymbro culture. Basically anything that increases SMV (sexual market value) and mogging (looking better than the other guy). Those with the most SMV are Chads (self-confident, impressive) and are thought of as sigma males. The poster child for this kind of thing is 22 year old Kareem Shami, who runs Mogwarts Academy of Looksmaxxing and has 1.8M followers on Tik Tok. The Patrick Bateman character from the 2000 film “American Psycho” is the sociopathic archetype these young men are emulating. Played by actor Christian Bale, this character has the “hunter eyes,” (tilted slightly downward) the pronounced cheekbones, and the square jaw apparently so in demand that young men are willing to go under the knife to get them. If mewing (tongue exercises), implants, and leg lengthening seem a bit obsessive to you, then you just don’t understand the price of beauty, Bro! (I’m being sarcastic) Obviously, this trend is disturbing on many levels. Culturally, it is the opposite of the traditional male and female roles throughout most of history, where masculinity was marked by the quest for strength and femininity the quest for beauty. That seems to have been flipped on its head. Women are now chasing strength and men beauty, and both are misunderstanding what those are, and their source.

Patrick Bateman

The Sigma Male Ideal

There is a verse in the Bible that redirects our attention away from self and towards the savior. It is one of the few times that the word attractive appears. Titus 2:10 tells us to “ make the teaching about God our savior attractive.” Why ? “ For the grace of God has appeared that offers salvation to all people. It teaches us to say ‘No’ to ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self-controlled, upright, and godly lives in this present age…” (Titus 2:11-12) 1 Peter 3:3-4 says: “ Your beauty should not come from outward adornment, such as elaborate hairstyles or the wearing of gold jewelry or fine clothes. Rather, it should be that of your inner self, the undying beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit, which is of great worth in God’s sight.” The obsession with self and the false belief that wholeness can come from the outside in, is a dead end. The apostles of the algorithms are leading young men in the wrong direction. What is wrong with us goes deeper than cosmetic. It is cosmic. Looksmaxxing is a poor substitute Spiritmaxxing. Jesus needs to be the male ideal we aim to emulate, and our strength comes from saving grace, not saving face. As the apostle Paul said: “ I pray that out of his glorious riches he may strengthen you in your inner being, so that Christ may dwelling your hearts through faith.” (Eph 3:16-17) The mirror we need to be looking into is scripture: “ Anyone who listens to the word but does not do what it says is like someone who looks at his face in a mirror, and after looking at himself, goes away and immediately forgets what he looks like. But whoever looks intently into the perfect law that gives freedom, and continues in it—not forgetting what they have heard, but doing it— they will be blessed in what they do.” (Js 1:23-25) The mirror of scripture will show us who we really are and looking into it brings transformation, not just shallow, surface-level change. If we spend less time looking at Me-sus and more time looking at Jesus, we will find ourselves less stressed and more blessed.

In the garden of Eden one of the qualities of the forbidden fruit was that it was “pleasing to the eye.” (Gen 3:6) Ultimately, it didn’t deliver what was promised. In fact, it delivered the exact opposite. Things based on what 1 John 2:16 calls “ the lust of the eyes” are like that. There is nothing intrinsically wrong with improving your outward appearance, unless you think your outward appearance is the real you and you build your life around it. In that case, it has become an image or idol taking the place Jesus has reserved for Himself. Ironically, this kind of narcissism is satanic in origin and is actually more repulsive than attractive. We need a paradigm shift where SMV stands for spiritual market value, and the goal is to become a Dad, not a Chad. So maybe a little less cologne and a little more “Christ-like fragrance rising up to God” (2 Cor 2:15) is in order. As Rick Warren put it in The Purpose Driven Life: “ Humility is not thinking less of yourself; it is thinking of yourself less.” Or as C.S. Lewis wrote:

As counterintuitive as this sounds, it echoes Christ’s teaching: “ Whoever finds his life will lose it, and whoever loses his life for my sake will find it.” (Mt 10:39) The famous book In His Steps was inspired by 1 Peter 2:21: “ To this you were called, because Christ suffered for you, leaving you an example, that you should follow in his steps.” The book encouraged Christians to use Jesus as a role model in daily life by asking the simple question: What would Jesus do ? As One who was fully human and fully divine, Jesus modelled what beauty and strength are supposed to look like. He didn’t just leave us an example, He left us His Spirit to help us live out His example. While we have all seen bad imitators of the King (ie. Elvis), imitation is the sincerest form of flattery and devotion is not so much the problem as execution. We could say the same about the imitators of the King of Kings (ie. Christians). However, called to imitate we are, and thankfully the Father judges us on devotion, not execution.

As I write this, the news of Phillip Yancy’s eight year adulterous affair is breaking. Yancy was editor of Christianity Today and a prolific and respected Christian author. He is 76 and joins a long list of leaders that remind us that we are never too old to be vain and make very bad decisions based on selfishness rather than sacrifice. We need to keep our eyes on Jesus. He is the “author and perfecter of the faith.” (Heb 12:2) There is a good chance that if you are looking to anyone else as a role model, you will be let down at some point. So for any younger male readers out there, I would end by encouraging you to imitate Christ, not the bros of the manosphere. And to those of us who are older, I would say: let’s finish strong. Let’s keep imitating Christ so that we can say with confidence the words of the apostle Paul: “ Be imitators of me, as I am of Christ.” (1 Cor 11:1)