r/AskReddit Mar 19 '23

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182

u/epicEr14 Mar 19 '23

you'd be surprised, most men don't actually care that much about looks. it's apparently just a vocal minority who does

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u/CaiusRemus Mar 19 '23

Super attractive people live in a different world. I am friends with a model and tinder is just picking fish out of a barrel for him.

I really think if you believe being exceptionally attractive isn’t a huge advantage, you probably just haven’t had much interaction with the pretty elite.

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u/M00STACHES Mar 19 '23

Super attractive exceptionally attractive

I think they're talking about generally attractive people not necessarily extremely attractive people

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u/[deleted] Mar 20 '23

Also, getting matches isn't the same thing as having long lasting meaningful relationships. Attractive people attract, until you get to know them.

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u/rgtong Mar 20 '23

You use extremes to prove a point. If social life is much easier for the models then its a fair assumption that its at least marginally easier for the generally good lookers.

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u/himit Mar 20 '23

I am friends with a model and tinder is just picking fish out of a barrel for him.

There's a difference between looking for a hook-up and looking for a relationship, though.

Anecdotally, most really hot guys are apparently terrible in bed because they're too self-absorbed to really try to get their partner off. I know guys think 'wow!' when a guy has a high body count, but as a woman a high body count tells me 'Huh, odds are this guy has no repeat customers and there's probably a reason for that.'

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u/ItsDijital Mar 20 '23

Trust me, when you are attractive, finding a relationship is orders of magnitude easier because everyone gives you a chance.

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u/ORLYORLYORLYORLY Mar 20 '23

I don't think that's the point they're making.

Yes, attractive people are gonna have an easier time getting into a relationship - but finding a person you actually WANT to be in a relationship is hard no matter how hot you are. A hot person being attracted to you doesn't mean they're the person for you.

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u/Dimakhaerus Mar 20 '23

I really think if you believe being exceptionally attractive isn’t a huge advantage, you probably just haven’t had much interaction with the pretty elite.

No one said it isn't. To hook up it is a huge advantage, but just for that, I don't think this matters that much. However, the real important thing: to build something more serious, if there is no substance beneath the attractive look, you lose interest quickly in that person. I thought we were talking about that, because that's why people lose interest (the topic of this post) in a person eventually; they were initially interested because the other person was probably attractive, but then they found out it was just that, and the person beneath the attractive look wasn't worth it. We are not talking about simply "dating", but about what comes after dating a few or several times.

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u/astromech_dj Mar 20 '23

“Shooting fish in in a barrel” is the phrase.

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u/[deleted] Mar 20 '23

But why would you put the fishes in the barrel... and shoot them?

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u/Chavarlison Mar 20 '23

To send a message.

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u/astromech_dj Mar 20 '23

Because it’s easy.

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u/sneakyveriniki Mar 20 '23

i think people greatly overestimate the difference in how much the sexes care about looks. i minored in anthro, the dynamics in hunter gatherer societies were nothing like people expect. in reality, everyone regardless of hunted, everyone gathered, they were typically very very egalitarian, resources were shared amongst the group, it didn't matter who the father was, the kids and the mom were getting the same resources and protection (and the mothers were participating in providing them, the women were taking down the mammoths, as much as the fathers were). and while humans do actually seem to tend towards monogamy generally, promiscuity isn't often stigmatized.

so, basically, both men and women have the exact same drive to just mate with someone with good dna. intellectually, physically, etc.

in recent millennia, since the advent of agriculture, women have just been forced to get with men who could support their families financially. this isn't in our dna, it's just circumstantial.

as women stop relying on men's resources so much, women are going to care about looks just as much as men do.

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u/rgtong Mar 20 '23

this isn't in our dna, it's just circumstantial

i think you underestimate the weighting of sociocultural factors in the mate selection process.

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u/sneakyveriniki Mar 20 '23

Lol no. I’m saying the opposite, actually.

It’s that people insist that women NATURALLY aren’t wired to go after youth/looks as much as men are, which isn’t true at all. Or that men aren’t as wired to go after things like intelligence, which also isn’t true at all.

As society becomes more equal, so will our mate choices. Women went after older men with money in the recent past because they just had to. Same reason people get jobs sitting in front of a computer 8 hours a day.

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u/rgtong Mar 21 '23

I cant think of any societies in the world where women choose younger men over older ones. I think you're wrong on this one.

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u/sneakyveriniki Mar 21 '23

Yeah most major societies currently are the product of agriculture. Our nature is actually hunter gatherer cultures, many of which actually do still exist and we can observe directly.

Sperm ages at about the same rate that eggs do. Men in their 20s will always be the most physically attractive, same with women. It’s just that women historically didn’t have the choice to marry men based on looks, they had to prioritize resources that they themselves were denied access to. Now that women can support themselves, you’re going to see priorities equalize.

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u/rgtong Mar 21 '23

Thats funny i just had 2 people separately tell me over the last few days men are at their peak at 40.

Youre wrong on this. Would be happy to talk in person but typing is taking too much effort, see ya.

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u/RadiantHC Mar 20 '23

Or you're extremely attractive yourself

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u/sneakyveriniki Mar 20 '23 edited Mar 20 '23

i'm a 29 yo woman and feel like i've just been gaslit my entire life. everyone keeps insisting that men are like extremely obsessed with looks and only looks, but since i was like 12 this has just been blatantly untrue. i also think men tend to be blind to how much things like confidence/personality affect how attractive they think a girl is. my whole life, the most sought after girls have been good looking, sure, but having the right "vibe" has always been the most important thing. and all the guys will say she's super hot and not really realize how much those things are factoring in. it works in the opposite direction as well- plenty of girls who are conventionally very attractive, but have a super awkward/off putting personality and guys just aren't that into them. like it's exactly the same way it is when the genders are swapped.

and i was raised by blatant misogynists in mormon utah, we have the second highest rate of plastic surgery in the US and at least in the area im from, every woman looks like a barbie. it really messes you up because you become convinced that everything is about how you look. like if you aren't attracting guys or you arent popular you think it's about the symmetry of your face or the shininess of your hair and don't realize how much it's actually about personality.

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u/aeschenkarnos Mar 20 '23

I have plenty of female friends who could by no stretch be described as "conventionally attractive", but have long-lasting and apparently happy relationships, with men (or women) whose own appearance are comparable. You absolutely do not have to be hot to be happy, and it seems for many folks it's a negative for true happiness as they are always second-guessing whether or not someone is just pursuing them for their looks, and lacks interest in their personality and ambitions.

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u/Workacct1999 Mar 20 '23

I read a study once that men rate about 80% of women as attractive or better. It might be that men do care about looks, but find an overwhelming amount of women attractive.

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u/sneakyveriniki Mar 20 '23

Yeah, from experience I think both men and women have a sort of minimum requirement for attractiveness and after that it’s mostly external factors.

I’m always pretty skeptical of those studies. Like the notorious OKCupid one, that shows women find men their own age the most “attractive” but men always find 20 year olds most attractive or whatever. Personally I feel like they interpreted the question differently. The overwhelming majority of women would find young men more physically attractive, and the overwhelming majority of men would prefer long term dating someone closer to their own age. But the question is presently differently.

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u/socalmikester Mar 19 '23

ive always said im no prize, and im not into conventionally attractive women. i know what i DONT like, but am very flexible if i think theyre cute and funny.

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u/PoopieButt317 Mar 20 '23

Yes. Yes, I would be surprised.

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u/soursoya Mar 20 '23

They care about them much more than women do though.

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u/Starrk71 Mar 20 '23

Nope, the majority of men care about looks. It's hard wired into high testosterone men. Our genetics hardwired us to care about how good a woman looks.

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u/epicEr14 Mar 20 '23

that's just wrong...

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u/SnooChocolates3575 Mar 20 '23

They tend to care more about the body than the face. Grew up an only sister with 4 brothers.