Pop Syllabus
Pop Syllabus
Pop Syllabus with Christiana Mbakwe Medina
The Dangers of Looksmaxxing With Dr. Michael Halpin
54 minutes Posted Mar 4, 2026 at 8:05 am.
Defining “looksmaxxing”
Who is looksmaxxing?
Lookism and why boys and men are looksmaxxing
How looksmaxxing and its harmful impacts are spreading beyond the manosphere
The PSL scale
How looksmaxxers and incels are subcultures within the manosphere
What can be done to stop harmful looksmaxxing
Looksmaxxing as an emerging health crisis
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54:40
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Show notes
Looksmaxxing is the internet’s latest male self-improvement trend — where your jawline is a strategy and your face is a project.
Today, Christiana sits down with Associate Professor of Sociology at Dalhousie University, Dr. Michael Halpin, to explain what looksmaxxing really is, why cosmetic surgeries are on the rise, and how this corner of the Manosphere is reshaping masculinity and the way men see women.
Dr. Michael’s research on looksmaxxing: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1Hn3HDozK8_GMWOVtv3do3joZ4Guyxlpp/view 
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