Do Looks Really Matter?

[Anyuni_Nakashima]

No!!! I believe looks do not matter...

Its the media and pop culture that tells our society on what is considered beautiful or not beautiful. However, once you get past all the media and pop culture it comes down to the "eye of the beholder" (I know that's clich?) but its true. Yes, you have to be attracted to the person. Sometimes, the attraction doesn't always have to be physical.
:note: I know this from experience...
Awhile back, I had fallen for this guy, because he just had this certain charisma and charm about him. I couldn't help myself i just found him attractive. However, if I never knew him and he's was to walk by me on the street I wouldn't have looked twice at him. To be honest physically he was average, but I was still attracted to him in the end.
:lol:

 

[Winter]

I dont really think the media completly controls individual opinion. It may sway, to an extent, to the weakminded...maybe...but for the most part, I think it just exagerrates on our more priordial instincts, and drives.

I've been pondering this for a bit. It seems that in reality *for evolutionary/health purposes* yes, looks matter. But what makes us seperate from the other animals on the planet, is that most of us can eventually look past physical appearance, and accept the internal appearance.

 

[Anyuni_Nakashima]

I guess you bring up a point in the end it is the individuals opinion. Yes, biologically our hormones are what drives us to be attracted to certain people.
Instead, of isolating the individual opinion. Let's look at the picture pertaining to society. The media and pop culture does affect us. For example, the issue about the rise in plastic surgery. (j-pop stars, k-pop stars, North Americans, etc.)

Winter--
My opinion about your question is that mammals and other species' sole purpose is to procreate. You know the whole Darwin thing about "survival of the fittest". Not to many of them spend their lives looking for a partner. At one point in time that too was our sole purpose. Through, evolution, condition, and culture mankinds purpose isn't to procreate so much anymore. We seek more than just a partner to create offspring with. Now its about finding the right person, about being in love, and spending your life with them.

I hope this doesn't sound to over rated!!!
:cute: :sorry:

 

[Winter]

I know not many animals spend lives looking for mates; another aspect that seperates us from them.

 

[Anyuni_Nakashima]

Well clarify your question a lil more. I wasn't trying to undermine you

 

[Winter]

Well clarify your question a lil more. I wasn't trying to undermine you

Uh....o..kay. I dont recall asking a question for one, and I didnt think you were trying to undermind me.

 

[digicross]

Looks, sound, smell, touch, taste, and so on. They all matters

But it should be noted that people processed things in objects, and people processed things differently.

 

[Camui]

looks matter...just not too much to me..I mostly care about personality, cuz if its not a good one then its hard to get me interested...but I guess it doesn't hurt to have good looks..but we also have to remember ppl have different opinions on what they consider to be good looks..^^

 

[Duo]

I'll just say it again. Looks sure do matter. How do you become attracted to a stranger, you don't know his/her personality, habits, history etc. He/she maybe on the other side of the room or the street, and you turn your head, or u can't help but 2 stare. What promotes that? LOOKS. You don't think, hmmmm that girl/boy over there seems to have a good personality, let me go talk to him/her. You immediatly go hmmmmm, he/she is cute. Maybe I should go talk to her. Looks, looks, and looks, it drives our society, there is nothing we can do about it. Of course there are other factors in liking someone such as their imperecibtilbe smell, your compatability etc etc etc, but looks give your first impression, looks are what you base yourself on to get the interest in pursuing someone. There can be ppl here that can tell me looks don't matter, beauty is on the inside, but I don't beleive that, just not true. Real beauty is on the inside is the most ridiccolous thing I've ever heard. Just a bunch of crap. If you are not attracted to someone phisically, that's it, there is no hope, there is no stimulus, no interest, no craving for that person. Some people will try to give u some stupid bs like no is not like bla bla bla i look for personality, and these same people base their decision on looks as well. Human nature, don't fight it, it's not evil

 

[Elizabeth]

I'll just say it again. Looks sure do matter. How do you become attracted to a stranger, you don't know his/her personality, habits, history etc. He/she maybe on the other side of the room or the street, and you turn your head, or u can't help but 2 stare. What promotes that? LOOKS. You don't think, hmmmm that girl/boy over there seems to have a good personality, let me go talk to him/her. You immediatly go hmmmmm, he/she is cute. Maybe I should go talk to her. Looks, looks, and looks, it drives our society, there is nothing we can do about it. Of course there are other factors in liking someone such as their imperecibtilbe smell, your compatability etc etc etc, but looks give your first impression, looks are what you base yourself on to get the interest in pursuing someone. There can be ppl here that can tell me looks don't matter, beauty is on the inside, but I don't beleive that, just not true. Real beauty is on the inside is the most ridiccolous thing I've ever heard. Just a bunch of crap. If you are not attracted to someone phisically, that's it, there is no hope, there is no stimulus, no interest, no craving for that person. Some people will try to give u some stupid bs like no is not like bla bla bla i look for personality, and these same people base their decision on looks as well. Human nature, don't fight it, it's not evil

The most glaring illogic load of crap here that obviously not everyone, not even most people, end up marrying strangers off the street. They meet through work, friends, family or mutual interest, become friends first which gives them a chance to evaulate the other person's personality first and, if that is positive and if there is mental/emotional compatibility, that can then contribute to a physical attraction which may not have been there to begin with. At least that is how it worked with me. That intelligent, funny, warm person suddenly start to appear a lot cuter/more handsome once all these other winning qualities come into view.
It also of course heavily depends on the searcher's own looks -- attractiveness is not going to matter nearly so much if you yourself are not particularly good-looking, and don't have many other options in the offing, in which case you may want someone to match your own level of looks instead of going for the prime physical speciman on every street corner. And I do think women are more interested in a man's money-making potential while men are more fixated on looks.

Certainly that spark of chemistry may be important at certain points in the relationship, more so for some than others, but it isn't all-determining for everyone from the beginning. Otherwise, average, odd-looking or even disfigured people would all be fools or blind at love....doomed from the start.

 

[Anyuni_Nakashima]

Hey, leave Duo a lone...

 

[Duo]

The most glaring illogic load of crap here that obviously not everyone, not even most people, end up marrying strangers off the street. They meet through work, friends, family or mutual interest, become friends first which gives them a chance to evaulate the other person's personality first and, if that is positive and if there is mental/emotional compatibility, that can then contribute to a physical attraction which may not have been there to begin with. At least that is how it worked with me. That intelligent, funny, warm person suddenly start to appear a lot cuter/more handsome once all these other winning qualities come into view.
It also of course heavily depends on the searcher's own looks -- attractiveness is not going to matter nearly so much if you yourself are not particularly good-looking, and don't have many other options in the offing, in which case you may want someone to match your own level of looks instead of going for the prime physical speciman on every street corner. And I do think women are more interested in a man's money-making potential while men are more fixated on looks.

Certainly that spark of chemistry may be important at certain points in the relationship, more so for some than others, but it isn't all-determining for everyone from the beginning. Otherwise, average, odd-looking or even disfigured people would all be fools or blind at love....doomed from the start.

OH wow, i never noticed until now, hmmmmm, i guess you have good points, but i'm not talkin about attrcactive personalities, but about looks. yeah sure friends introduce you, family, whatever, but if you dont like the way that person looks, you wont be willing to engange in knowing that person. All i'm saying is that you need something to get you interested in someone, and a big part of that is looks, i'm not saying they have to be movie stars, but agreable by everyone's subjective standard. People will like different people. I think we are all fools and blind in love, if you are gona tell me that you figured love out, plz tell the rest of us

Hey, leave Duo a lone...

:blush: thx, anyuni, you're sweet

here, :balloon:

 

[MWThomas]

Well, I value health over vanity.

Also, I don't mind a little body hair on women, but that's no excuse for poor overall hygene.

 

[Miss_apollo7]

I agree with both Duo & Elizabeth ... I think it is a mixture of these two things:

yeah sure friends introduce you, family, whatever, but if you dont like the way that person looks, you wont be willing to engange in knowing that person. All i'm saying is that you need something to get you interested in someone, and a big part of that is looks, i'm not saying they have to be movie stars, but agreable by everyone's subjective standard. People will like different people.

YES, LOOKS matters first to me, he doesn't need to look like a model, as long as he is attractive in some way or another...so I'll be interested at all.

THen:

They meet through work, friends, family or mutual interest, become friends first which gives them a chance to evaulate the other person's personality first and, if that is positive and if there is mental/emotional compatibility, that can then contribute to a physical attraction which may not have been there to begin with.

For me, after looks are ok with him , mental/emotional (and intellectual) compatibility.....

It is of course a combination of both, I agree with Duo that looks do count as first impression, but hey, we are all different and have different taste.
I am a female, and I do get attracted to men who look "nice", are well-groomed etc... :blush: ....
HOwever, the next stage is the intellectual and mental bit, which is important, and by that stage, for me it is more important than looks, as not everyone stay fresh forever.... :blush:
Basically chemistry and mutual/intellectual compatibility are most important when it comes to the next stage: if we can talk about the same things etc...

 

[babar-san]

definitly a mixture. ive found that looks matter in the long run, because even though the heart can be swayed temporarily speaking, in the end, if your partner is not atracted to you physically, it will create problems. ive never had a problem with looks, im generally considered to be attractive, but this is where the other side of the story comes into play. even if im attracted physically to someone, their personality can effect the outcome of a healthy relationship, meaning, if they are superficial about their looks, etc, or we just dont have anything in common, similar interests, etc, then their attractivness starts to fade. im cursed with being over-picky about looks. i have this thing where im normally more attracted to females with short hair, i dunno what it is, i think it looks sexy, but the hair doesnt make the woman, so i dont date a lot hahaha, its hard to find that fine ballance of sincerity and like-mindedness when you have such a strange fetish.... oh well. for instance, i dated this girl a few months ago that was very atttractive, had short hair > so cute <, but she was completely superficial, hated anime, had no cultural interests, ie: my interest in japan seemed strange to her, and in the end, she came off as being a premadona and very plastic. this made her un-attractive to me. and vise versa, even though im considered attractive, everyone has theri "type", and ive been rejected on occasion because i was simply not someones "type". hmmmmmm...............

 

[Duo]

babar-san, cool dancing cat avatar, but yeah, so many plastic girls these days :worried:

miss apollo, u would be a gread diplomat :wave:

 

[Miss_apollo7]

miss apollo, u would be a gread diplomat :wave:

Thanks!! Diplomacy was a fave subject of mine... Maybe I could become an Ambassador of my own country some day....

 

[ragedaddy]

It has been said over and over that beauty is in the eye of the beholder, but if there is no attraction between that person, then nothing will ever happen. As superficial as it may be, it goes back to instinct, and we have these set of ideals that a person must satisfy. I'm not saying the person has to be model standard, but if there is not a two-way attraction then the likelihood of anything ever physical happening is extremely minute. Personality has the potential to create physical attraction. In fact, they may be more attracted to a person's personality than their looks. However, this could have an effect on how they view a person physically, but my point is in order for a relationship to sprout there has to be some type physical attraction (like I said, it could come from someone enjoying a person's personality). Instinct is a very difficult aspect to break.

 

[Flashjeff]

Well, I'm ugly as sin, so it doesn't matter one way or the other!

 

[Martyr]

It's hard to give a general answer for such a question. However, the cliche "It's what's on the inside that counts" is just that; a cliche. Granted that it's true, it's natural for one to make judgments and other actions and reactions based on appearance. It is foolish to say looks do not matter to some extent.