Objective preferences?


Roger Bissell

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This was posted today on America Online:

In a recent poll of 4,000 adults conducted by British weekly magazine Grazia to find out the ultimate attractive man and woman, men overwhelmingly said they are most attracted to women who have curves, rather than skinny women, and prefer brunettes with "long, wavy hair." And 78 percent said a woman's most attractive feature is her smile. Men are a practical lot. Three-quarters said the hobby they find most attractive in the opposite sex is cooking.

So what do women want in a man? A stunning 93 percent are looking for someone who makes them laugh, while 73 percent want someone who will "automatically" pay for a meal. Men who own their own home are five times more attractive than a man who does not. OK, so women are practical, too.

Question(s): are the men (by and large) being objective? Perhaps they reflect what Rand (in "What is Capitalism?") called "socially objective." Yes/no?

What about the ladies? Are they (largely) objective about their preferences in men?

Discuss!

REB

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"Men who own their own home are five times more attractive than a man who does not."

Shoots a big hole in the 'living with your Mom at 40 is OK" argument doesn't it?

Bob

Proper hips on a woman are perfect....I presume that the women find a proper spread of shoulder length to be sexy.

Some find breast shape or size to be appealing. Obviously there's a listing of what desireable traits are. Opinions are rampant everywhere but the calm conclusion is that..............

I don't . For me it's all about the hips. :-P

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This was posted today on America Online:

In a recent poll of 4,000 adults conducted by British weekly magazine Grazia to find out the ultimate attractive man and woman, men overwhelmingly said they are most attracted to women who have curves, rather than skinny women, and prefer brunettes with "long, wavy hair." And 78 percent said a woman's most attractive feature is her smile. Men are a practical lot. Three-quarters said the hobby they find most attractive in the opposite sex is cooking.

So what do women want in a man? A stunning 93 percent are looking for someone who makes them laugh, while 73 percent want someone who will "automatically" pay for a meal. Men who own their own home are five times more attractive than a man who does not. OK, so women are practical, too.

Question(s): are the men (by and large) being objective? Perhaps they reflect what Rand (in "What is Capitalism?") called "socially objective." Yes/no?

What about the ladies? Are they (largely) objective about their preferences in men?

Discuss!

REB

humor=== There's no other way. I'm a decent looking man(i think) and reallly funny. In my experience a woman's view of a man goes way up when she gets to laugh for an hour...or even 2 minutes. The true test is when she touches you arm if she laughs.

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The true test is when she touches you arm if she laughs.

Wowsers! That is direct. My signal level is if she plays with her bra while talking to you. I saw that on a Seinfeld, actually, but it is true. You know how they play with the shoulder strap? It means they like you.

What do guys do? What are our unconscious signals?

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"Men who own their own home are five times more attractive than a man who does not."

Shoots a big hole in the 'living with your Mom at 40 is OK" argument doesn't it?

Bob

Proper hips on a woman are perfect....I presume that the women find a proper spread of shoulder length to be sexy.

Some find breast shape or size to be appealing. Obviously there's a listing of what desireable traits are. Opinions are rampant everywhere but the calm conclusion is that..............

I don't . For me it's all about the hips. :-P

Agreed. Hips and eyes. Also the almost subtle use of the toungue and lips, sometimes in combination.

And then there is the comedian's line that basically the "...woman knows within ten minutes..." whether she is going to have you!

I have a client in Missouri whose graduate buddies came up with a theory that if a boy was breast fed that he is an "ass/hips" man and if he was not breast fed, he was a "tit" man.

It seems to have the potential of being valid, I would love to run a double blind study of that hypothesis.

Adam

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"Men who own their own home are five times more attractive than a man who does not."

Shoots a big hole in the 'living with your Mom at 40 is OK" argument doesn't it?

Bob

Proper hips on a woman are perfect....I presume that the women find a proper spread of shoulder length to be sexy.

Some find breast shape or size to be appealing. Obviously there's a listing of what desireable traits are. Opinions are rampant everywhere but the calm conclusion is that..............

I don't . For me it's all about the hips. :-P

Agreed. Hips and eyes. Also the almost subtle use of the toungue and lips, sometimes in combination.

And then there is the comedian's line that basically the "...woman knows within ten minutes..." whether she is going to have you!

I have a client in Missouri whose graduate buddies came up with a theory that if a boy was breast fed that he is an "ass/hips" man and if he was not breast fed, he was a "tit" man.

It seems to have the potential of being valid, I would love to run a double blind study of that hypothesis.

Adam

Nah....I don't think that's it. But who cares anyway why we love femininity. It doesn't mean we're emotionalist or irrational. Hell, we just love them. The hips swaying in walk does it for me....others may like the top of the anatomy. I like curvy shoulders too.....and hair.

Women are too shy to post in this thread what it is they like I'm sure. And one thing is for certain; they pay more attention or value to personal attributes of character or humor or intelligence. We all know that men initiatally focus on looks or body shape and later make up the mind if she's suitable. Women do the opposite. They focus secondarily on the more abstract aspects. They look at a man and see or think..."Hmm. ok. he's good enough...let me find out more about him....and then the exploration of personality comes. (better be ready for that. hehe). If she's sharp and rational she'll find a man decent. If she's silly and irrational she'll check with her friends in order that they make the decision for her.

That's my experience anyway.

As long as a woman is sharp and decently attractive I find that to be so sexy. Sexy eyeglasses are a plus. hehee.

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Question(s): are the men (by and large) being objective?

No, the British read their Dawkins and Ruse, so know that it is funny and ironic to ape evolutionary psychology in a consumer mag filled with pictures of, well, big houses, and feminine curves.

No, they are unveiling their inner homo sapiens.

No, Grazia is one step above Boobalicious -- though not a weekly.

No, marketing analysis of the Grazia target audience tastes weighted the questionnaire (it cost 20 thousand pounds).

No, the answer key was mailed out in advance with a 10 pound coupon for "Find a Provider/Slut" -- Grazia's sister publication.

Perhaps they reflect what Rand (in "What is Capitalism?") called "socially objective." Yes/no?

The market value of The Ladees is objectively determined by the marketplace, yes.

Rand hasn't sold a book in the UK since last February, no.

What about the ladies? Are they (largely) objective about their preferences in men?

Yes. The ladees are the ones who (largely) have to sit on the egg.

No, there is nothing objective about about gonads being wired to values or advertising campaigns. See Damasio's In Search of Spinoza. See the current covers of Maxim [uK] and Bloke's Guide to Buying a Russian Bride (the special "You DON'T Need a Big Wallet issue"). See the Ayn Rand Lexicon entry on "Tabula Rasa."

Seriously, Roger, this is post of week. Thanks for the merriment. Intellectual yet satisfying of our deepest prejudices yearnings.

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