Looksmaxxing Commodifies Women and Traps Men in Neoliberal Market Logic
Source: Meagan Day. "Only Love Can Set the Looksmaxxer Free." March 5, 2026. jacobin.com
The Gist
The author argues that young men called 'looksmaxxers' who obsess over their appearance to attract women are actually just using women's attention as a way to compete with other men for status. This turns relationships into a marketplace where women become currency rather than real people, which ultimately makes everyone lonely and disconnected.
Conclusion
Looksmaxxing represents the extension of neoliberal market logic into intimate relationships, commodifying women's attention and trapping men in alienating self-optimization cycles that can only be broken by genuine love
Premises
- Looksmaxxers treat women's attention as currency to exchange for dominance over other men rather than seeking genuine companionship
- The looksmaxxing phenomenon demonstrates Marx's concept of exchange value dominating use value - women's affection has no intrinsic worth but serves only as marketplace currency
- Looksmaxxing techniques often decrease actual sexual performance and satisfaction, showing the pursuit of market value erodes real utility
- Neoliberalism has extended capitalist market logic into intimate spheres of life, encouraging people to view themselves as entrepreneurs of human capital
- The looksmaxxing subculture creates total estrangement from women and hostility between men, resulting in further social alienation
- Only falling in love can transform a woman's exchange value back into use value, allowing genuine human connection
Assumptions
- Marxist economic analysis accurately describes social and romantic relationships
- Neoliberalism is the primary driver behind commodified approaches to relationships
- Genuine love is fundamentally incompatible with market-based thinking about relationships
- The looksmaxxing phenomenon represents a broader trend rather than an isolated subculture
- Men's motivations in dating have shifted from genuine connection to status competition