I was going to post this in the BBQ Pit, but then decided that it wasn’t deserving of genuine wrath & scorn. It deserves merely to be mocked and jeered.
Check out this web-site - hotenough. The site’s stated operating policy is that -
Membership is screened as follows -
When I first stumbled upon if, I thought it was a joke. But apparently it’s for real. The ONLY prerequisite for membership is that you must be this pretty to get to be on the site. Personality traits, employment, habits - who gives a shite? Submit three photos, to be judged by an un-named panel of self-designated pretty people.
Personally, if I were to submit myself to such a humiliating grovelling experience, I would at least want to see the folks who were judging me. I’d like to know how attractive they were before I let them size me up.
From the photos I could see (you have to register before you can see any profiles - and I won’t be registering!), the ‘attractive people’ tend to be the same bland, generic whitebread models you might see in a “J. Crew” catalog. There are noticeably no pictures of any non-caucasian folks.
Don’t get me wrong, I do like looking at ‘attractive people’ as much as anyone else. But I’ve a hunch that my definition of attractive is a bit broader than the folks running this site.
I guess I’m a loser, 'cause I don’t really see anything wrong with that: it’s not that personality and intelligence don’t matter, it’s just that the first screening criteria is looks. It’s my first screening criteria, too, and I’m neither beautiful nor fit. If I had the ability to go to a site where only men who I will find physically attractive have profiles, I’d be all over it!*
IMO, anyone who participates in online dating and denies using photos to decide which profiles to read is either lying or desperate.
*I’m attracted to a wide variety of men, so such a site could never exist. Dammit.
But that is my main source of contention with the site. It is not a site where only men I find attractive have profiles. It is a site where some un-named folks whose photos I can’t see judge who is worthy to be on the site. Who are these people making the call as to who is attractive, and what criteria do they use?
I’m not even bothered so much at the thought of whether or not they find ME attractive. I’m bugged by the presumption that someone can tell me who I should or should not find attractive.
I will freely admit to checking out the photograph. Yes, looks are a factor. But a whole lot of the folks I’m attracted to don’t look like supermodels - and this site seems to cater to folks who demand that. And the photo is definitely not the only thing I look at. Someone who can answer some of the inane ‘internet dating’ questions with some wit, originality and show signs of having a personality.
I’m on Nerve personals, and have stopped to look at numerous pretty looking guys. Then I look at their answers to some of the questions and think “no thank you.” Alternately, I’ve seen a few folks who I wouldn’t initially think much of, then read some of their answers and gave them a second glance. So, yes looks matter. But Personality does matter too.
Spam it hard! Send in photos of your extra-hot neighbor, get a bunch of interest from self-obsessed losers and have them make fools of themself.
For example: See how many you can get to show up at a bar on a specific night all wearing Hawaiian shirts or something. Go there yourself and enjoy the specticle!
Oh god, this sounds like those LiveJournal “nonugly” communities, where all the 15-year-olds go around posting pictures and trying to get accepted as one of the nonugly people. Ye gods.
I think that is the whole point. They are not looking for people like you to join their website, they are catering to people who are looking to date those who have “traditional” types of beauty (looking like a model, a movie star, or at least like a local news person!) and that is top priority for them. I say it is OK, they are all kinds of people out there and I am not going to put them down for going out and looking for what they want (even if it does seem silly to me).
For example, I have always been attractived to smart women. If I was single and looking, it would be great to have a website where the participants had to take a battery of tests and had to make past a panel of judges to become members. Since I value intelligence so much, it would be worthwhile to me to start with this pool of people, then start looking for looks, compatability, sense of humor, etc. This website might not be for everyone, others might think that it is short sighted and stupid, but it would work for me.
My guess is that it is expensive to join, and pretty much anyone who can come up with the fee gets “accepted”.
A friend of mine worked as a “closer” for a dating service back in the pre-internet dark ages. Their pitch was that they were really exclusive, no losers, etc. So they’d string the losers along, have them practically begging to be allowed in, and then after hemming and hawing, sign them up “just this once.”
Maybe they wouldn’t sign up the elephant man, but I’m guessing thier standard is NOT movie star good looks.
Honestly, who is going to pay a fee to a “lowered expectations” dating agency?
