I'm sorta with you there on the short guys...we're pretty much screwed (or more correctly not screwed...hardly ever!).  Then again we're lucky enough that girls can sometimes be attracted to personality, brains, or money. 

Ugly girls arn't so lucky.  It's not that guys are shallow it's just that a girl has to acheive a certain level of hotness before any of that other stuff counts for anything (that level depends upon the guy and how realistic his expectations are of course). 

by alphasigmookie on 02/15/2008 03:01:04 AM EST

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Men seem to be very visually oriented when it comes to attraction.  Women seem a little more that way when younger, but are much more likely to consider the whole package and things like intelligence become very important the older a woman gets.  Again, it's probably a result of our evolutionary past, when women may have been looking for more than just brawn when it comes to a good provider. 

by desertpear on 02/15/2008 03:03:20 PM EST

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Generally speaking, men have it easier if they're considered to be less attractive (we're speaking superficially here) because they are judged in other ways as well.

Then again (still speaking superficially here) money tends to be the man's version of being super hot, i.e. a rich man is like a hot woman.  Will either attract a quality, down to earth partner rather than just a physically attractive one?  That's another story and depends on what they want and what they offer in other less superficial ways (personality, intelligence, etc.).

Although I would point out that increasingly, the gap between physical expectations between men and women is closing.  I don't think it will EVER close (women will alawys have more pressure and held to higher physical standards overal), but it's true that more and more men are portrayed as having it all (great face, tight body, sensitive yet strong and tough, lots of money, great with kids, respectful, creative but not too wacky, etc).

It goes back to tv and movies, where characters with often contradictory traits fill romantic comedies and create SuperMan Alpha-Males that probably don't exist in real life.

by Tom Hanc on 02/15/2008 04:35:27 PM EST

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