The relentless rise of impossible male beauty standards

The images are familiar: square-jawed white men, faces set hard, speaking the language of strength and command. Over the past week Pete Hegseth has appeared on screen after screen, a face already known for other performances — posing in the gym alongside Robert F Kennedy Jr for the Department of War YouTube channel, lecturing the military about “fat generals”, and hosting a weekend show on Fox News.

Donald Trump has offered his own strongman visage, though recently attention has shifted to a new rash on his neck; other figures such as Elon Musk and JD Vance have also undergone public rebrandings, with Vance even known on Chinese TikTok as the “eyeliner man”.

Men’s faces are under scrutiny as never before: on red carpets, in tabloid closeups, across social media feeds, and in movies and adverts. Features are pored over — has Bradley Cooper had fillers, does Brad Pitt have a new jawline, is that really Jim Carrey? Scrutiny of the face is not new, but it has historically focused on women.

male beauty, masculinity, pete hegseth, donald trump, elon musk, jd vance, bradley cooper, cosmetic fillers, social media, red carpet