Why women don't find the guys they are looking for.
As some of you know, I spend a lot of time reading Best-Of-Craigslist while I'm stuck on the Metro. It's a hilarious and occasionally poignant way to kill time.
One of my favorite best-of posts of all time is this one. It's pertinent to the rest of the post, so please read it.
Go on. Take your time. I'll wait.
Okay then. That rant is the impetus for this one. Despite all the neuroses women give themselves and blame men for causing when it comes to ideals of feminine beauty, many women are just as bad as men are. You know how? With height. And there's another best-of post that perfectly illustrates this dilemma from the male perspective.
Even though I'm a tall guy, I still think the stereotypical female height ideal is completely hypocritical. The average American male is under 6 feet tall. Yet many women want 'tall' guys...and by 'tall', they mean at least 5'11" or taller. This eliminates about 70% of the male population, on a basis that no man can control.
Most men go for women with fit bodies and pretty faces. Women have some degree of control over both of these things. They can use cremes and makeup on their faces, get special treatments - even surgery in extreme cases. For their bodies, they can get in shape, work out, get lipo, you name it. But for short men? Nothing can be done if a guy is too short. He's screwed. How fair is that?
I suppose the lesson is that when you set up any sort of physical preference for your prospective romantic partners, you should understand how realistic it is to expect -- and how difficult it could be to find. One major preference could dramatically reduce your pool of eligible significant others, and you might not even realize it. This is why I generally don't use uncontrollable physical characteristics to weed our prospects. It's just too arbitrary and limiting. That's not to say I'm attracted to everyone - it just means that it takes a combination of traits, not any single one, to determine whether or not I'd date someone. In my mind, that's pretty reasonable.
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since: 18 Oct 2004