Posted on 02/08/2007 6:02:58 PM PST by blam
Women shun 'the man who has it all'
By Roger Highfield, Science Editor
Last Updated: 1:23am GMT 09/02/2007
Some men are just too good to be true, according to a study published today by psychologists.
Men who are good-looking, single, and earn a fortune are not as attractive as good-looking men who have an average kind of job, according to the research.
Simon Chu of the University of Central Lancashire and colleagues studied how women weigh up male physical attractiveness and socio-economic status when considering a long-term relationship.
They collected data from 186 female university students in the UK, with an average age of 23, asking them to look at personal ads of various men and rank them in terms of attractiveness as a long-term partner. Each advertisement showed a "mug shot" and provided basic information about his age, occupation and what he is seeking in a partner.
Images of the men ranged from those who were previously measured to be highly attractive, attractive and unattractive. Eighteen different occupations were also randomly assigned, from architect and company director to waiter, postman and gardener.
Surprisingly, researchers found that highly attractive men of medium status scored better than highly attractive men of high status.
The team, whose work is published in the journal Personality and Individual Differences, speculates that women perceive highly attractive men of increasing status to be less faithful and "too good to be true".
I am not the woman you, and others on this thread, describe.
I know there are other good women,too.
OTOH, I have known women like the ones you describe...very scary...so they are out there and, yeah, I would be fleet-of-foot-fast staying away from them.
I like you Owen.
Good humor might even get you some exta credit...
Oh crikey, Owen, I just looked at your profile page.
Are you in Japan?!
I'll look for ya...;)
I'll look for ya...;)
That's correct and you have to judge someone so they don't drag you down.
Where it falls apart is I don't spend more than I make. I had a lot of chances to replace my old car but for some reason I love it. It could use a paint job but that won't happen until springtime. When I date these women for the first time, they choose the restaurant and I pick up the bill. I was in love with a woman for a year and she wanted an answer to when we would marry. The problem was I didn't want to saddle myself with paying someone's bills off or being a daddy to her ten year old. Quite frankly, I spent my time paying someone's bills off for thirty years. It's not going to happen again.
Join FreeRepublic and "See The World!" LOL
I'm hard to miss...
I'm off to dream about it~~~
Nite gentlemen and ladies.
p.s., Jacksonville is where I got my tattoo when I was in the Navy.
No better advice could be given that of Lord Chesterfield to his son Philip in 1747 (Letters to His Son: On the Fine Art of Becoming a Man of the World and a Gentleman):
As to running after women, the consequences of that vice are only the loss of one's nose, the total destruction of health, and, not unfrequently, the being run through the body.
Women have, in general, but one object, which is their beauty; upon which, scarce any flattery is too gross for them to swallow. Nature has hardly formed a woman ugly enough to be insensible to flattery upon her person; if her face is so shocking, that she must in some degree, be conscious of it, her figure and her air, she trusts, make ample amends for it. If her figure is deformed, her face, she thinks, counterbalances it. If they are both bad, she comforts herself that she has graces; a certain manner; a 'je ne sais quoi,' still more engaging than beauty. This truth is evident, from the studied and elaborate dress of the ugliest women in the world. An undoubted, uncontested, conscious beauty, is of all women, the least sensible of flattery upon that head; she knows that it is her due, and is therefore obliged to nobody for giving it her.
... though I would not recommend to you, to go into women's company in search of solid knowledge, or judgment, yet it has its use in other respects; for it certainly polishes the manners, and gives 'une certaine tournure', which is very necessary in the course of the world; and which Englishmen have generally less of than any people in the world.
http://www.gutenberg.org/files/3361/3361.txt
Personally, I'd agree with the study results, but not for any of the reasons stated here. I honestly wouldn't want the lifestyle that goes with a marriage to an architect or a doctor. I'm a country girl and I'm attracted to corn-fed country boys.
My husband was offered a job in DC right after we'd decided to move to Texas. I was sick about it, but I was supportive. (Didn't say a negative word. I swear.) This would've been a career-making move for him and I didn't want to stand in his way. Without consulting me, he turned down the job because he knew I'd be uncomfortable in a city environment. (God, I *love* that man!!)
So, instead of living in a *very* nice townhouse with lots more money (for life) in DC I'm living in a double-wide on 8.5 acres of land in the middle of Texas. And I know I'm *so* much happier this way! (He is too!)
Girls have a lot more depth than we're being given credit for. We look at much more than the body and the money. Trust me. We look for a potential father for our children. (Ever have a girlfriend pass you some stranger's baby at a party? It's a test.) We're looking for someone who wants to be where we want to be in 10 years. We're looking for someone we're comfortable with who shares our values.
And yes, just like guys, we're attracted to the body first. Provider second. Without *some* physical attraction and security, there's just not much to build on. (Like guys don't blow off girls they find unattractive.)
I hate to say it, but the well-off guys I've known go for high-maintenance girls. I'm sorry, but you don't see rich men with short, stocky, cute farm girls who're all about family and housework. Men *typically* go for the most attractive wife they can afford.
Now smart, older men (who've been burned a few times) may go more for quality than who looks best in a dress.
Who isn't? But there has to be a reason why we so seldom find them. A lot of it has to do with the fact that we don't know WHERE we're going to be in 10 years. Things happen. Today's plans can fade in an instant. And values can change too. The worldview of an indestructible 25-year-old isn't the worldview of a creaky 55-year-old, or a menopausal 45-year-old.
I have no idea what makes a good relationship. I am the world's worst judge of character, and I've believed way, way too many women. I won't do it again.
Or maybe they don't want to marry a workaholic.
Ken prefers Barbie. They deserve each other.
My wedding set has the smallest diamond imaginable. I just bought myself a replacement that I can wear for every day without snagging. Cost me $50 at Walmart.
And I'm in love. Fancy that.
(FYI, my daughter is hoping her future husband buys her set off Ebay. "You can get a good ring at a great deal. Anything else is a waste.")
No, they just don't want a husband who is going to be able to afford to trade them in for a trophy wife in ten or twenty years.
Notice the one constant, though: good looking.
I guess if you're average, it doesn't matter whether you are rich or poor.
Tom Lykess tells his listeners of limited means to carry around other people's ATM receipts that show large balances, and write their phone numbers on them. Listeners call in saying it almost always works - the chicks call them.
And if they find out you don't have money? Well, you've already gotten laid and moving on to the next one.
Not saying I approve, but I do find that believable.
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