You know, I've noticed the past few years that I dont really see any 'ugly' people so much anymore. I used to really look at that, and be like "oh I want to be pretty like her, and omg glad I am not him or her." But as the years go by, I somehow came to the conclusion that as to the appearance of prettiness or ugly-ness there's only just 2 factors:
1. Does a person look healthy, clean and like he she has attention for their looks in a positive manner, meaning:
- Not the clothes from 30 years ago that state "I don't care what y'all think about me, Im gonna do my own thing, but actually.. I am super insecure and thinking I am ugly"
- No horribly bad looking teeth (more about clean than about if they are aligned perfect)
- No big frown or scowl constantly but an open look
2. The way a person carries him/herself is detrimental to the appearance of pretty/ugly.
I BELIEVE that anybody can look pretty. The people I judge as 'ugly' usually just are either hiding themselves in this big wave of "Ha! I don't care" or have no clue what to do with themselves. They choose the shirts that their friends wear while it doesn't suit them or they cut their hair convienently instead of what works for their face. It is rather shocking how many people just have no clue what works for them though. Looking so much at what others do.
I think, more often than not, people PROJECT their own opinions/beliefs/drathers onto others without having any clue what others are actually thinking/hoping/wishing/etc.
Oh, and "different strokes for different folks" and all that.
I feel that a pretty face and over-weight trumps thin with an unattractive face.
However, my husband feels the opposite. He would rather be with a woman with an attractive body and unattractive face than a woman with an attractive face but unattractive body.
A long time ago we were once watching a show and he said "She's hot" about a woman who I thought was very unattractive. I said "Really?!?!" as she was not what I would traditionally think of as pretty. So he expanded "Well her body is hot". So basically, he said that a girl has to be pretty to be pretty but just has to have a good body to be hot.
Oh and I totally agree that BOTH GENDERS treat you differently based on your appaerance. When I am dressed to the 9's with my makeup perfectly applied Men and WOMEN treat me better and are friendlier towards me then when I barely have makeup on.
I've also noticed that people are more polite to me when I wear skirts and dresses even though I have very nice dressy pants/shirts. So weird!!!
Like way more people of both genders will hold the door for me.
There are too many factors for me to say, personally.
I just asked my husband and he said he'd take a pretty face, attached to any body, hands down. Then he said "I have to look at your face all day long, not your ***!" Ohhhh this man, he has a way with words. LOL.
I think a lot of people view excess weight as a character flaw, especially if they've either never struggled with their own weight or if they're oblivious to the real issues behind weight problems.
Notice that so many are quick to say, "Such a shame about her weight, she has such a pretty face." That explains so much right there. Fat people are lazy, greedy, mentally weak, and are completely responsible for making themselves "ugly." Someone that was not blessed with what society would deem a beautiful face, well . . . it's not her fault, if she has a nice figure at least she takes care of herself, right?
Obviously not my mentality but I'll be damned if I don't see it everywhere.
Hmm I think that I would consider the more appealing face more beautiful, but who is overall more attractive? That might be different, because that to me is a culmination of various factors (body/face/dress etc).
I guess that there is a movement towards pro-skinny-IDK, I think that it depends on the culture itself too. I know that where my fam is from (Hong Kong) even the older generation prefers very thin.
I visited the met costume exhibit and saw all these upper class old fashioned clothes from centuries before. Tiny waists, even if (judging from portraits) the women were otherwise rounder everywhere else but more tight corsets. Well I guess the waist was never a popular area to gain! BOO.
Anyways, I heard somewhere that it was tied to wealth. That in the past, you were rich and you could eat a lot and the beauty standard was geared towards a larger figure. But in the modern era, there are increasingly more poor neighborhoods where people are very overweight and wealthy neighborhoods where people are very slender, so that may have influenced the beauty standard a bit-or the other way around, or a bit of both.
Either way I've been bigger than any of the "beautiful" figures in any era in most cultures-its fine w/ me lol, I just notice that it either ranges from being slightly larger to slender, but only in a few examples have I seen very large figures be the beauty standard.
I think a lot of people view excess weight as a character flaw, especially if they've either never struggled with their own weight or if they're oblivious to the real issues behind weight problems.
Notice that so many are quick to say, "Such a shame about her weight, she has such a pretty face." That explains so much right there. Fat people are lazy, greedy, mentally weak, and are completely responsible for making themselves "ugly." Someone that was not blessed with what society would deem a beautiful face, well . . . it's not her fault, if she has a nice figure at least she takes care of herself, right?
Obviously not my mentality but I'll be damned if I don't see it everywhere.
If I had a dollar for every time I heard "such a pretty face" ....well ok I wouldn't have that much but I've heard it enough in my 20's and 30's that it made me a little mad. Why wasn't it enough? I used to go all out making sure my makeup was perfect and making sure my clothes looked nice but no matter, no one could see past my weight. I've even had men (even a few handsome ones) tell me I had nice eyes but it wouldn't go beyond that. I don't know....I guess I shouldn't think about it too much, it's ancient history now.
If I had a dollar for every time I heard "such a pretty face" ....well ok I wouldn't have that much but I've heard it enough in my 20's and 30's that it made me a little mad. Why wasn't it enough? I used to go all out making sure my makeup was perfect and making sure my clothes looked nice but no matter, no one could see past my weight. I've even had men (even a few handsome ones) tell me I had nice eyes but it wouldn't go beyond that. I don't know....I guess I shouldn't think about it too much, it's ancient history now.
Lynn
I've heard it enough too, that I have pretty eyes, a pretty face, a "unique" face, even an "interesting" face. And no matter what, it's all been secondary to my weight.
If I had a dollar for every time I heard "such a pretty face" ....well ok I wouldn't have that much but I've heard it enough in my 20's and 30's that it made me a little mad. Why wasn't it enough? I used to go all out making sure my makeup was perfect and making sure my clothes looked nice but no matter, no one could see past my weight. I've even had men (even a few handsome ones) tell me I had nice eyes but it wouldn't go beyond that. I don't know....I guess I shouldn't think about it too much, it's ancient history now.
Lynn
Oh yah, same here. I actually quit caring about my face because I am quite sure its at least decent looking. But then again, I guess with someone like Sarah Jessica Parker, she gets the opposite comments-at least from my friends, and not really in a congratulatory sense-more like a "butterface" sense. That must suck too for some people =/
Oh yah, same here. I actually quit caring about my face because I am quite sure its at least decent looking. But then again, I guess with someone like Sarah Jessica Parker, she gets the opposite comments-at least from my friends, and not really in a congratulatory sense-more like a "butterface" sense. That must suck too for some people =/
That is a really good example because she is SUPER TINY! ! Like soooo tiny! Her belly is itty, bitty!!! I do find her pretty but not in a traditional sense and not from every angle lol. My husband thinks she's hot but I've heard many TV personalities imply that she's ugly or call her horse face and stuff like that (Poor Jessica, that's so mean ).
Apparently Kristen Davis (Charlotte) originally auditioned to play Carrie on SATC but was told she was too big for the role! Can you imagine?!?! She's soooo pretty!!!!
Not only are there people who will make their choice of friends, employees, lovers, and spouses based on superficial criteria, those criteria can vary and there are people who judge on deeper criteria.
For some facial beauty will trump physical beauty.
For others, physical shape/condition will trump facial beauty.
For others, wealth may trump all else.
I've always sought the attention (whether for friendship or dating) of people for whom intelligence, social skills, and other deeper attributes are trump.
My hubby is a perfect example. I found him as a result of my placing a personal ad. Physically neither of us would have chosen the other as our ideal, but we were both open to giving friendship (if not romance) a chance. We fell in love with the deeper stuff, and it sort of transformed our interpretation of the physical. The more we learned about each other, the more we liked, and the more we liked each other, the more physically appealing we found each other.
If I had to pick a man out of a catalog, by looks alone, I wouldn't have picked my husband (and he wouldn't have picked me, either). Luckily, we both were open to dating physically imperfect partners who had more important (to us) qualities.
I think looks are always part of the equation, but how much of the equation really depends on the individual. For some people it will be 98%, while for others it will be 2%.
That is a really good example because she is SUPER TINY! ! Like soooo tiny! Her belly is itty, bitty!!! I do find her pretty but not in a traditional sense and not from every angle lol. My husband thinks she's hot but I've heard many TV personalities imply that she's ugly or call her horse face and stuff like that (Poor Jessica, that's so mean ).
Apparently Kristen Davis (Charlotte) originally auditioned to play Carrie on SATC but was told she was too big for the role! Can you imagine?!?! She's soooo pretty!!!!
I'm not sure if she toned up for the 1st movie but that shower scene in Mexico-Charlotte looked AMAZING. Her stomach-wow.
Funny thing is that while I thought that it was great that SJP worked out, I was never amazed by her figure until I looked up on Youtube Sarah jessica parker bra (its a scene in Sex and the City). Seriously worth checking out!
but I've heard it enough in my 20's and 30's that it made me a little mad. Why wasn't it enough? I used to go all out making sure my makeup was perfect and making sure my clothes looked nice but no matter, no one could see past my weight. I've even had men (even a few handsome ones) tell me I had nice eyes but it wouldn't go beyond that. I don't know....I guess I shouldn't think about it too much, it's ancient history now. 
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