Newsflash

I was talking to my college friend, Purple Jeans* the other day, when the age-old question popped up: Do looks matter?

They do for men, certainly. And most men make no qualms about it. Sure, there’s a healthy percentage out there who don’t care if their partners look less Ms. America, more America Ferrera (and guys, you rock, by the way). But by and large, most men I’ve come across do want their date, girlfriend, fiance, wife, to be a looker.

The weird part is a lot of these guys seem to think that women don’t care quite that much about looks. They believe we are less superficial, more likely to value a guy’s intelligence, manners, sense of humour, personality – you know, his “inner beauty” (a tiny part of me is giggling hysterically at this point). Which a lot of us do, yes, especially if you add annual cost-to-company to that list.

But seriously, come on, you don’t actually believe that looks feature last on our check-list, right? There’s quite a number of us out here for whom a man’s looks are important. The argument being that if I look good and take efforts to stay that way, don’t I deseve someone who is easy on the eyes too? Also, more importantly, how long can you keep your eyes shut through the physical parts of a relationship anyway? I’m not saying we want Brad Pitt (well, yes, we want him, but you know). Just don’t expect us to date Jabba the Hutt.

Superficial? Maybe. Practical? Definitely so.

* Because she had a grungy-looking pair that she famously wore through five years of college and probably two years of university after that. She’s quite the thing.