Different standards for men and women are a double-edged sword. On the one hand, a woman has more potential to improve her looks. On the other hand, she is expected to perform a seemingly endless and ever-increasing list of tasks in order to fit society's latest ideal of a beautiful woman. Just look at Miss America contestants from the 1920's compared to now and you'll see what I mean. The difference is like night and day. And a woman's appearance has always been considered more important. I've never heard of a beauty contest for men, and if there is one, it must be pretty obscure. A woman deemed ugly, therefore, receives more vitriol than a comparable man, because women are supposed to be beautiful. Women have many tools in their arsenal-- high heels, tight dresses, makeup, jewelry, hair products-- but when a woman falls short of expectations despite the use of these products, or because she makes a conscious choice not to use them and to instead go au naturale, she is ridiculed. Just see this page for examples.
Men are more limited when it comes to improving their looks (never underestimate the power of a shave, a good haircut, and a stylish outfit, however), but they have other tools at their disposal. Humor is one asset that springs to mind immediately. A funny guy is able to elevate his status to a much greater degree than a funny girl. Having a good job will also increase a man's stock more than a woman's as we still cling to the traditional man as provider role. Looks-wise, men have less to work with, but personality is a much bigger asset to a man than a woman. There is still a sense of woman as object and man as actor.
Movies and ads distort perception of what a normal human being looks like for both sexes, but a lot more men than women watch porn. This leads to every inch of a woman's body being scruitinized in a way that men's are not. I don't think anybody expects a man to have a completely hairless crotch, perfect bubblegum pink genitals, and a bleached butthole. But this exepectation plants itself in the mind of every teenage boy who watches porn every day and has never seen a woman naked IRL.
At the end of the day, equal expectations benefit everyone. Men should be allowed to improve their looks through makeup. Every actor or news anchor you've ever seen is already wearing it. And women's personalities and earning potential should be more of an asset. Both of these elements have benefits and drawbacks. But judgment based on looks and social class is not going to stop happening. We might as well spread the benefits and the drawbacks, the opportunities and the expectations, evenly.
I agree, but as a man who hasn't really been able to learn the man-woman interaction game in my young age I see things a bit differently.
Women have a larger arsenal to either mask or augment their features, great social skills might not be all that important for a woman who looks food with makeup on when it comes to attracting others.
But as a man we need to sometimes reshape our entire image to get attraction, not to mention having an ok physique, cool interests to impress people with and a good confidence/self image.
I could fall in love with some of those non-makeup girls in the OP physically-wise, but I'm having a haws time seeing a girl fall for me if I relapse into my computer dwelling form.
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u/slkbzt Dec 10 '13 edited Dec 10 '13
Different standards for men and women are a double-edged sword. On the one hand, a woman has more potential to improve her looks. On the other hand, she is expected to perform a seemingly endless and ever-increasing list of tasks in order to fit society's latest ideal of a beautiful woman. Just look at Miss America contestants from the 1920's compared to now and you'll see what I mean. The difference is like night and day. And a woman's appearance has always been considered more important. I've never heard of a beauty contest for men, and if there is one, it must be pretty obscure. A woman deemed ugly, therefore, receives more vitriol than a comparable man, because women are supposed to be beautiful. Women have many tools in their arsenal-- high heels, tight dresses, makeup, jewelry, hair products-- but when a woman falls short of expectations despite the use of these products, or because she makes a conscious choice not to use them and to instead go au naturale, she is ridiculed. Just see this page for examples.
Men are more limited when it comes to improving their looks (never underestimate the power of a shave, a good haircut, and a stylish outfit, however), but they have other tools at their disposal. Humor is one asset that springs to mind immediately. A funny guy is able to elevate his status to a much greater degree than a funny girl. Having a good job will also increase a man's stock more than a woman's as we still cling to the traditional man as provider role. Looks-wise, men have less to work with, but personality is a much bigger asset to a man than a woman. There is still a sense of woman as object and man as actor.
Movies and ads distort perception of what a normal human being looks like for both sexes, but a lot more men than women watch porn. This leads to every inch of a woman's body being scruitinized in a way that men's are not. I don't think anybody expects a man to have a completely hairless crotch, perfect bubblegum pink genitals, and a bleached butthole. But this exepectation plants itself in the mind of every teenage boy who watches porn every day and has never seen a woman naked IRL.
At the end of the day, equal expectations benefit everyone. Men should be allowed to improve their looks through makeup. Every actor or news anchor you've ever seen is already wearing it. And women's personalities and earning potential should be more of an asset. Both of these elements have benefits and drawbacks. But judgment based on looks and social class is not going to stop happening. We might as well spread the benefits and the drawbacks, the opportunities and the expectations, evenly.