Perspective

Do Beautiful Women Have It Easier than Everyone Else?

There’s a strange contradiction when it comes to beautiful women.

Photo by Anya Juárez Tenorio from Pexels

What comes to mind when you think of beautiful women?

It could be that they have it easy, that they don’t have to work as hard as everyone else. We can definitely be quick to assume that guys are just lining up to date them.

But are there men who stop to question any of it? I’m sure there are, I just haven’t met them yet.

They might ask for advice on where to meet women, and it’s quite natural for them to be attracted to someone pretty. Then there are guys who are happy with just that.

Never mind getting to know her, as long as she’s a catch. As long as she makes great arm candy. She’s the perfect trophy wife!

Wait, compatibility? What’s that?

Unfortunately, some women also use their beauty to manipulate men into getting what they want. That’s why we’ll never run out of people who say things like, “get to know the person first before locking in.”

But we’re not here to patronize or blame anyone for being attracted to beauty. We’re here to talk about the common misconceptions behind it.

Stereotypes Surrounding Beautiful Women

A woman who meets the conventional standards of attractiveness may have strangers thinking that she’s all that. She’s confident, has many suitors, and could easily get a job if she wanted to. But none of these things are true for every beautiful woman out there. Yet it’s easy to assume otherwise.

A 2023 study published in Current Psychology offers a clear look at how this works. Researchers associated with the Psychological Science Accelerator examined the “attractiveness halo effect” across 45 countries spanning 11 world regions. Participants rated different faces on a range of personality traits. And guess what? The results were consistent across all regions.

Male and female faces rated as more attractive were also rated as more confident, emotionally stable, intelligent, responsible, sociable, and trustworthy, with no evidence to back any of those judgments.

They simply projected positive qualities onto good-looking faces.

As a result, women deemed “beautiful” face a certain kind of pressure that not many people care to admit. Having strangers assume that you have it easy makes it somewhat challenging to open up about your personal struggles, and expressing any feelings of loneliness might be dismissed.

On the other hand, women who feel like they don’t meet the conventional standards of attractiveness may feel resentful about their apparent disadvantage. Not being physically appealing can mean that they will have to work harder to be taken seriously and seen as desirable partners.

It’s like whatever respect “beautiful women” receive has to be earned by everyone else.

So here’s what it looks like in practice:

• When you’re approached because of how “attractive” you are, you start to wonder if anyone would still be interested if your appearance changed.
• You worry about being judged for complaining because being “beautiful” gives you more advantages compared to the general population.
• When attractive women are confident, they might be seen as arrogant too.
• You discover later on that you were only pursued for your “looks” once relationships get complicated or you have to deal with real life.
• Women who are not considered “physically attractive” end up having to work twice as hard to receive the same type of recognition “beautiful women” are given.

This is especially disappointing for couples who only date for looks. Their relationships can quickly crumble when complications arise because they didn’t bother getting to know their partners.

So when men learn how to treat a woman as a complete human being, they have a better chance of working things out. In other words, being able to connect with someone and maintain that connection requires **looking beyond one’s physical appearance**.

Making Decisions Based on Looks

If beautiful women are perceived as nice people, it’s just as possible that they get taken for granted. If you’re pretty, you might need to work hard to prove that you’re smart and capable as well. That you’re not just some “dumb blonde.”

It’s not like they’re asking for special treatment either. But why do we treat them like they are?

As for the men chasing them, know that real connection can’t be found on the surface. It’s in the conversations you have and the moments when someone’s personality far outshines their looks.

Word of advice? Don’t be that guy.

References

Batres, Carlota, and Victor Shiramizu. 2023. “Examining the “attractiveness halo effect” across cultures.” Current Psychology 42 (29): 25515–25519. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12144-022-03575-0.

Other related reads

[embed]Would You Date a Ukrainian Woman? Would You Date a Ukrainian Woman? Ukrainian dating culture is almost that of any other country. But when it comes to…angelsofpassion.medium.com

[embed]Clear-Coding: Is Radical Transparency Killing Romance? Is clear-coding the same as intentional dating? Learn how being transparent with your date helps build real connection…angelsofpassion.medium.com