The concept of trying to look better to upgrade your social standing has existed for years and has taken different forms. A great example being Asians using skin whitening due to the belief that lighter skin showcased that you worked less outside and therefore had more wealth.
While the idea of rating faces en masse - as far as I know- was popularized by Hot or Not in the early 2000s and then again by early Facebook.
So imo, the looksmaxxing community seems like a combination of all of these ideas. What interests me the most however, is how this affects people on a mental health basis. I’m a firm believer that there’s nothing wrong with trying to change your appearance for the better, especially if you suffer from certain skin conditions or have a bad diet, but where is the line between healthy self improvement and being obsessive? This isn’t in anyway an attack on the community though I’m just intrigued!