I sometimes hear men in places like these complain about how men that they themselves consider attractive tend to date women that they themselves find less attractive. I would argue that there are two things at play here.There is a discrepancy in what some women might find attractive and what these men find attractive. And also, what type of women different men like. There are objective facets of beauty but how they are weighted is different.

What women find attractive matters for the pool a man has. Even if most women don't like a certain type of men, these men might have more "success" in terms of amount as the women that like them are more promiscuous or vice versa. I, as a woman myself, constantly see a lot of women preferring men that are substantially less masculine and have less strong facial bones than I prefer. The "pretty boy" look. That preference is associated with safety, but it often plays out in that a lot of women might go for men that look "safe", making them less safe... However I see some men overrelying on facial masculinity over beauty or symmetry when judging other men. A man who essentially looks like an ogre to women is seen as very desirable because he looks masculine. Maybe more male projection of respecting men with physical prowess regardless of his appereance. For men that's more relevant for themselves (best combat allies and worst enemies, threath to actually take a woman away with force) for women it is relevant together with his attractiveness. (A man that is beautiful but less masculine might be seen as a threat by some other men, I do see other men underestimating female preference for masculinity, but these men very rarely hang out on "TRP" and don't struggle with dating)Coversely, there is a difference in what type of women different men go for. I do not see men that TRP call Chads ever go with "e-girl" type women, cute women and so on. Instead, it is rather often women that "true rate me" would rate highly they like. Look at the women athletes date (not all athletes are handsome however), they do not tend to look "cute". Even male models (I googled and got Sean O'Pry, and his girlfriend also have stronger features). It's not only who they end up with, it is also how they talk about different women and which women they see as desirable.

And there is some evidence to this. Less masculine men tend to see women with more strong facial features as p&d material, and those with more soft facial features as relationship material, whereas more masculine men see it the opposite way, soft featured women as p&d material, and those with more strong facial features as relationship material.

... There can be many reasons for this. Both of it can be explained out of fear of cuckoldry. Men that are more masculine do not need that a woman is small and cute to easier control her (benefit for less masculine men in regards to fear of cuckoldry to chose a softer faced woman), they might benefit more from choosing a woman that is not as desirable by men he in turn can easier control (benefit for more masculine men in terms of fear of cuckoldry).

And also maximizing the own genetic potential. If a man invests long term in a woman he wants it to be worth it genetically as well. This "Chad" might not see it as worth it to invest if his potential son might become weak as a result of a cuter woman. For short term, a potential increased fertility or whatnot however gives a different incentive for it, especially as masculine men themselves release less sperm and such (in order to "save it" for more women hah), so there might also be a higher need for it too. (It might be so that the male sperm load for these men is higher if the woman is more strong faced, compensating for her potential lower fertility. But that I do not know, only that more masculine men release less sperm per round of intercourse). In addition more masculine men to a higher degree have sons, as do "masculine" women and vice versa, so both of it is strategies to maximize a certain degree of genetic fitness. This is not only a matter of these men. Men do prefer a 8 cm height gap, which is a smaller one than what is common (women prefer a much larger one), and tall men prefer taller women (but taller women might struggle in that shorter men do not want them as much, whereas less tall women can compensate with other traits). It simply seems like the "sexy son hypothesis" might apply to men as well.

Now this does not mean less attractive women per se. The women often have high symmetry and beauty (especially if the man himself has it). But it simply seems to be that they select for women that have stronger facial features, features that a lot of men that have struggles with women might see as less attractive. In addition, a lot of these men might get high status from their peers, and might attract a decent amount of women, but they themselves lack a certain amount of symmetry. Men like them because they are masculine and strong, not because they neccesarily look good. Being masculine and strong is only one aspect of genetic fitness. They thus might not attract women who themselves have a high degree of symmetry or beauty (again, you don't want to waste your own good genes if you have that).

Even if other men might not find these women attractive and would rather be together with the cute e-girl, these men are not "settling below their potential" or "dating below their league" as their preferences are different as are their intentions and potential rewards for dating different type of women. They simply would prefer Dua Lipa over Belle Delphine, they think she is more attractive. They aren't settling just because someone on an incel forum complained that "our looks matches are supermodels while we rot" referring to Dua Lipa there, while being attracted to anime women themselves. Their taste is simply different...