Don't you just love CNN Health? They're always introducing some new duh-riffic study with lots of fanfare: "Breaking news: children need love!" or "This just in: Pope is Catholic!" And now, apparently, another crack-team of researchers has made its ground-breaking contribution to science: "Men want hot women, study confirms." You don't say.But this study is particularly absurd. First of all, it involved forty-six German speed-daters, hardly sexual exemplars for the species. Second, it used the uber-un-scientific standard known as "attractiveness level." How can this be objective? (This photo, by the way, is what Getty Images gives you when you search for "attractiveness.")
And given that hotness is a very subjective thing, how can any conclusions be made like, "Men tended to select nearly every woman above a certain minimum attractiveness threshold." How'd they calculate this, HotOrNot.com?
The sooner scientists give up on trying to quantify something as nebulous as sex appeal, the better. Besides, as any good sex researcher knows, all men and women have to do to raise their "attractiveness level" is don a baseball or cheerleader uniform. Now can we have some of that grant money?
Reader Comments ( Page 1 of 1)
1. UNIVERSITY STUDY CONFRIMS:
MEN PREFER WOMEN WITH HEADS
In a comprehensive study of male dating patterns, a study from the University of Eastern West Virginia has concluded that when given a choice between a woman without a head and a woman with a head, in the substantial majority of cases a man will go out with the non-headless woman.
Richter at 11:26AM on Sep 5th 2007
2. My son who is 23 years old told me "Mom, if I were a woman, I'd do EVERYTHING possible to look as great as I could, because men TOTALLY judge a woman by how she looks." I told him that I've always known that. And the Uglier and Fatter the guy, the more he wants a HOT GIRL friend.
Lee at 12:29PM on Sep 5th 2007
3. "And the Uglier and Fatter the guy, the more he wants a HOT GIRL friend."
So good looking men don't want to be with good looking women? I guess that explains why Brad Pitt hangs out with that dog Angelina Jolie.
In point of fact, people tend to end up with those more or less in their looks class, unless there are other factors involved, i.e. wealth or power.
Then too, "hot" to me means sexually attractive -- and that is not necessarily the same thing as being simply physically beautiful.
Richter at 1:12PM on Sep 5th 2007
4. What bothers me is that if a survey was taken where women were asked the same question, with the same response, what would the reaction be? We would be considered unbelievably shallow.
April at 1:17PM on Sep 5th 2007
5. I've dated, I've seen and been with. Typically can get very attractive women at least to go out.
I have found the beauty. She is beautiful on the inside of her mind unlike anyone I've ever met. Her beauty shines radiant in my eyes.
There is no formula to calculate one person to another. Chemistry is invisible, and with people unpredictable.
Ada Calhoun says it well with the pathetic research they do during "downtime".
Ms. Calhoun, my lovely lady sounds like you when talking, very intelligent! Aren't I the lucky guy?
Joe q at 1:38PM on Sep 5th 2007
6. You are right, Richter, about how people tend to "end up with those more or less in their looks class, unless there are other factors involved, i.e. wealth or power.good looking women." At least, it certainly explains Donald Trump. I live in an area where there are many, many attractive women...and I frequently see them in the company of short, pudgy, unattractive men. Of course, the men are usually driving Ferraris.
April at 1:41PM on Sep 5th 2007
7. Yeah, Richter, I suppose a woman, 5' 8 1/2", 100 lbs., is incredibly attractive, if you like 10 yr. old boys on heroin.
Joe q., you are the Webster's definition of 'MAN'.
rhodalee at 3:26PM on Sep 5th 2007
8. TIME TO CHANGE THE AIR IN THEIR HEADS.
IRONBLUEEYES at 4:04PM on Sep 5th 2007
9. How many couples do I know personally where the woman is MUCH better looking than the man?! The "real" studies continue to show that women are less concerned with the surface qualities of men than men are with women.
heatsand at 9:31AM on Sep 14th 2007
10. So, since socially clueless scientists are so out of touch with people, they need to conduct a STUDY to see how women and men choose mates - in hopes that it'd shed light on why they themselves never get anywhere. (Uhh... maybe because they're so "smart" that they're stupid?)
Vulpine Vixen at 12:48PM on Sep 14th 2007
11. Your comments: In point of fact, people tend to end up with those more or
less in
their looks class, unless there are other factors involved, i.e.
wealth or power.Then too, "hot" to me means sexually attractive --
and that is not necessarily the same thing as being simply physically
beautiful
I agree with this comment which Richter has made,I have however noticed that even ugly men feel absolutely positive that they
should be with the most beautiful women. The truth is, what we find
attractive as well has a lot to do with what we consider attractive.
Some men like short women some like tall. THere is no basic formula
for attractivness. Haven you ever heard a man brag about a woman who
is supposedly soooo attractive??? and then you see the woman and she
is not? there is attractiveness in the average face as well... I
think some people are attractive in their own way as well. Lets not
forget cultural difference either.For example and generally speaking
Black men and Latino men tend to find women with big behinds
attractive, white men tend to find small behinds and slender figures
more attractive. So there is no formula for beauty. I nearly hit the
floor when my white male friend said that Angelina Jolies lips were
"too big" and that J lo's behind was "too big" He found beauties like
Kate Moss more attractive and some of my other male freinds don't get
that? So it truly depends what a man finds attractive. There is no
real formula, so these scientist have no clue what they speak of. I
know men who are chubby chasers and I know men who love that heroin
look, some men hate blondes and think they look washed out. Its not
even worth doing a study over. It is true being truly physically beautiful and being "HOT" are two different things. In my opinion, I can see why men find Mariah Carey "Hot" but I wouldn't call her beautiful. Same thing goes for Beyonce Knowles, I'm not sure she is beautiful but she is certainly hot and has a great figure. Anyone can raise their level of attractivness.
----------------------------------------------
India at 11:21AM on Sep 30th 2007
12. Then there are those men who don't adhere to their own strict beauty standards or even societies strict standards and they have full lives with one woman for many, many years and over these men are healthy and enjoy all different types of beauty. because thhey also have the ability to see inner beauty. But it is true even nasty fat gross men who are drunks and drug addicts want the prettiest girls they can find. Smarten up men.
India at 11:30AM on Sep 30th 2007
13. Guys,always marry your best female friend if she is reasonably attractive,that is if she has a good sense of humour ,is calm in adversity and not a feminist.Too many blokes want what they cannot maintain and it leads to problems very quickly.
What is true is that a man falls in love through his eyes and a woman with power,didn't your mum tell you?,and she always gives the best advice.
michael savell at 1:43PM on Oct 4th 2007
14. Attractiveness is all about the kind of cultural environment an individual grew up in,i.e., big butts, skinny butts, etc. It's all about what kind of women were ingrained into your mind that are and will be attractive.
True, there are universal factors that influence attractiveness such as physical fitness and well anything physical is about it, but a lot of attractiveness comes from within, a person's own mental and emotional dispositions as well as moral character. "People tend to end up with those more or less in their looks class" but that rule not only applies to looks, but also with morals and the mentalities of the people involved. When a religiously devout person gets married or finds themselves in a good relationship, do the moral standards of their partner more or less match that of the other? Men and Women look for their equals in life, someone they can talk to, share their ambitions, share their love and passion for life through each other. That is what attractiveness is all about.
John H at 7:42PM on Nov 24th 2007