The documentary “Looksmaxxing – Young Men and Extreme Body ideal” follows British journalist Ben Zand who dives into a subculture where men do everything to change their appearance in search of success – both for career and women. The phenomenon originated in the misogynic incel world.
Ben Zand meets a case that undergoes a risky bone surgery to be a few centimeters longer, and one that experiments with extreme “makes it yourself” methods to get rid of facial fat.
He also meets “Adonis” – which for several years has devoted himself to look masses – which now asks women online to rate his “new” appearance.
– I’m looking for confirmation, says Adonis.
– It strengthens the ego after being rejected for years. People ran with me, he continues.
Sneak the women he video chats with
The video calls with women are filmed, without their knowledge.
“They probably don’t want to be filmed,” he notes himself.
Adonis says that in the Looksmaxxing forum, often woman-hostile, he has expressed “really negative” above all women.
– I was rejected by humanity because the appearance did not measure up. I thought it justified that I did harmful things against women and people in general, he says.
Accused of harassment
In his teens, Adonis was accused of harassing a woman and questioning by police, but that did not lead to any prosecution.
– A woman thought I was unattractive and reported me for trying to talk to her, he explains.
But the story gets different the more details Adonis admits about what actually happened. He then says that he heard from him frequently, been aggressive and questioning.
Today it is something he regrets, and he thinks that he can now see in retrospect how the Looksmaxing forums affected him.
– These ideas, these people, tried to force themselves on me. You get cold -hearted and can’t really connect with people.
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Documentary about the subculture “Looksmaxxing” where men change their appearance in the hope of attracting women and having a successful career.