# How happy are you with your appearance? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [September 4, 2011, 1:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-happy-are-you-with-your-appearance/595125 "2011-09-04T01:44:54Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Arien](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/e0b2c6/32.png) [@Arien](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Arien)\ **Post date:** [September 4, 2011, 1:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-happy-are-you-with-your-appearance/595125/1 "2011-09-04T01:44:54Z")
I always avidly read any thread on weight or obesity on this boards and I was just wondering how happy posters are with their body or appearance in general. At first I just wanted to discuss body as in physical condition but I decided to make it more general. I doubt my options are fully inclusive but I’m sure everyone can elaborate if they feel the need. Poll is anonymous. ---
**Author:** ![Tess\_Trueheart](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/779978/32.png) [@Tess\_Trueheart](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tess_Trueheart)\ **Post date:** [September 4, 2011, 2:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-happy-are-you-with-your-appearance/595125/2 "2011-09-04T02:33:56Z")
2: young but born with health issues that seriously disrupt life (in short or long term ways). I am 10-20 pounds over where I feel best, and (shallow time) I have difficult skin, crooked nose and a short haircut that makes me feel sort of unfeminine on bad days. Sometimes I feel cute or strong or healthy but not often. Depends on how far into a depressive cycle I might be, but I get annoyed even in the up times. ---
**Author:** ![Rushgeekgirl](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rushgeekgirl/32/3715_2.png) [@Rushgeekgirl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rushgeekgirl)\ **Post date:** [September 4, 2011, 2:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-happy-are-you-with-your-appearance/595125/3 "2011-09-04T02:41:10Z")
If you had one even lower than just unhappy I’d pick that. I have one acceptable feature. My hair. The rest of me is so ugly I hate looking in the mirror. ---
**Author:** ![NinetyWt](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/cc9497/32.png) [@NinetyWt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/NinetyWt)\ **Post date:** [September 4, 2011, 2:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-happy-are-you-with-your-appearance/595125/4 "2011-09-04T02:42:12Z")
I try to dress neatly and keep my self well groomed, but I’ve never considered myself attractive at all. ---
**Author:** ![Leaffan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/leaffan/32/299_2.png) [@Leaffan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Leaffan)\ **Post date:** [September 4, 2011, 2:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-happy-are-you-with-your-appearance/595125/5 "2011-09-04T02:42:16Z")
I’m 49 years old and pretty much the same weight as I’ve been for the last 20 years. I have a full head of hair. My teeth are good. My skin is good. Yeah, I’m totally cool with my appearance. ---
**Author:** ![Namkcalb](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/c89c15/32.png) [@Namkcalb](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Namkcalb)\ **Post date:** [September 4, 2011, 2:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-happy-are-you-with-your-appearance/595125/6 "2011-09-04T02:50:45Z")
Somewhat happy. I’m not particularly good looking, but I’m tall, so I don’t think my physical apperance will hinder me finding at least one woman to love and marry me. Workwise. I look 'presentable’ and surely that’s enough ---
**Author:** ![JohnT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnt/32/15048_2.png) [@JohnT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JohnT)\ **Post date:** [September 4, 2011, 3:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-happy-are-you-with-your-appearance/595125/7 "2011-09-04T03:00:05Z")
I chose 5. Lost 20 pounds over the past 2 months, have a full head of black hair at the age of 44, and am good-looking enough to land a beautiful wife. ---
**Author:** ![Ludy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/d6d6ee/32.png) [@Ludy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ludy)\ **Post date:** [September 4, 2011, 3:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-happy-are-you-with-your-appearance/595125/8 "2011-09-04T03:06:32Z")
The only part I am unhappy with is my weight. I just gave birth so I have that baby weight on top of the extra I was carrying before I was pregnant. The worst part about having a kid is that everyone wants to take a picture of the new family, and here I am all fat and bloated. Take as many shots of the kid as you like, but leave me out of it. ---
**Author:** ![lavenderviolet](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/cdc98d/32.png) [@lavenderviolet](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lavenderviolet)\ **Post date:** [September 4, 2011, 3:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-happy-are-you-with-your-appearance/595125/9 "2011-09-04T03:06:36Z")
> [@Rushgeekgirl](#): > > If you had one even lower than just unhappy I’d pick that. I have one acceptable feature. My hair. The rest of me is so ugly I hate looking in the mirror. I remember seeing your pic in the Doper portrait gallery. You looked like a completely normal person to me. Did something happen that gave you the idea that you were especially ugly? ☹ I think a lot of us tend to be our own harshest critics. ---
**Author:** ![fifty-six](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/5daacb/32.png) [@fifty-six](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/fifty-six)\ **Post date:** [September 4, 2011, 3:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-happy-are-you-with-your-appearance/595125/10 "2011-09-04T03:28:11Z")
I like my looks. Unsure of how others think. But I assume they would rate me lower on a 1-10 scale than I would. Fuck em. ---
**Author:** ![flatlined](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/eb9ed0/32.png) [@flatlined](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/flatlined)\ **Post date:** [September 4, 2011, 3:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-happy-are-you-with-your-appearance/595125/11 "2011-09-04T03:43:20Z")
I voted very unhappy. People look at me and think that I’m herion chic because I have an eating disorder. Yes, I do have a physical problem, but its not because I purge. I’m 33 years old. I’m really tired of lookling like a pre-pub kid. I’m tired of people thinking that my ID isn’t valid. LOOK AT MY FACE, NOT MY LACK OF OF BODY MASS!!! Sorry for yelling. This is a bit of a sore subject for me. ---
**Author:** ![John\_DiFool](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_difool/32/19543_2.png) [@John\_DiFool](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_DiFool)\ **Post date:** [September 4, 2011, 3:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-happy-are-you-with-your-appearance/595125/12 "2011-09-04T03:56:20Z")
> [@Rushgeekgirl](#): > > If you had one even lower than just unhappy I’d pick that. I have one acceptable feature. My hair. The rest of me is so ugly I hate looking in the mirror. Man, talk about your own worst critic-I got [your pic from the gallery](http://www.nouilles.info/illustrations/sdmb_portraits/8488.jpg), and I can’t find much of anything to complain about, and specifically you have some pretty intense green eyes. **lavenderviolet** beat me to it, but post remains as originally written. ---
**Author:** ![Der\_Trihs](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/der_trihs/32/233_2.png) [@Der\_Trihs](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Der_Trihs)\ **Post date:** [September 4, 2011, 4:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-happy-are-you-with-your-appearance/595125/13 "2011-09-04T04:53:59Z")
2, somewhat unhappy. Getting balder, grayer and out of shape and I was never all that good looking. On the other hand, I’m pretty indifferent to my own physical appearance, so I don’t really care enough to call it “unhappy”. ---
**Author:** ![Student\_Driver](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/3da27b/32.png) [@Student\_Driver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Student_Driver)\ **Post date:** [September 4, 2011, 6:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-happy-are-you-with-your-appearance/595125/14 "2011-09-04T06:31:01Z")
Somewhat happy. I like my height and weight. I like my thin frame, like my posture, like my eyes, etc. The only things I’m disappointed with: my hair and teeth. For the hair, I opt for a basic “gentlemen’s cut” which looks okay when dry and tousled or wind-blown, but looks dorky if I’ve been working or sweating. For the teeth, I actually like their odd alignment (kinda like Steve Buscemi’s teeth, eye teeth turned and fang-like), but I had a short period of homelessness and much longer period of poverty as a teen (thanks, stepdad!) which precluded proper dental care. A lot of cavities, a lot of fillings, and I’m always in “catch up” mode at the dentist to deal with staining on the fillings and such. Given my family history, I’ll probably need dentures eventually, and I’m afraid that they’ll not be able to reproduce the cool, natural snaggliness going on in my mouth, and I’ll suddenly have a Gary Busey mouth. ☹ ---
**Author:** ![jabiru](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/bbce88/32.png) [@jabiru](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jabiru)\ **Post date:** [September 4, 2011, 7:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-happy-are-you-with-your-appearance/595125/15 "2011-09-04T07:22:46Z")
Unhappy. 57 years old. Overweight. Face showing age spots and wrinkles. Thin, fine, greying hair. What else? Oh yeah, dark circles which make me look as if I haven’t slept for about six months. Nope, not a lot to like in all that. ---
**Author:** ![Becky2844](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/91b2a8/32.png) [@Becky2844](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Becky2844)\ **Post date:** [September 4, 2011, 10:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-happy-are-you-with-your-appearance/595125/16 "2011-09-04T10:34:51Z")
“She was tall, fair-skinned and freckled. Some days she felt like a gazelle—and some days she felt like a giraffe.” A line I wrote. As long as you bathe and cover your nakedness, don’t worry about it. What’s going on inside? People are more attracted to a purposeful mind than any Paris Hilton type (who stormed off an interview because it was pointed out that she was “no longer hot.”) In any given period of time, judged in seasons or decades, different types have been considered “pretty.” We are what we are, and it’s all just a vehicle to get us around. And there’s always somebody out there who has been looking for somebody just like you. ---
**Author:** ![GuanoLad](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guanolad/32/42_2.png) [@GuanoLad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GuanoLad)\ **Post date:** [September 4, 2011, 11:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-happy-are-you-with-your-appearance/595125/17 "2011-09-04T11:19:15Z")
I don’t think of myself as attractive, and so far neither does anybody else. Seems a clear conclusion must be drawn. ---
**Author:** ![scareyfaerie](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/scareyfaerie/32/3135_2.png) [@scareyfaerie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/scareyfaerie)\ **Post date:** [September 4, 2011, 11:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-happy-are-you-with-your-appearance/595125/18 "2011-09-04T11:19:48Z")
I fell off the top of the ugly tree and hit every branch on the way down, by now I should have learned to just live with it! ---
**Author:** ![dogbutler](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dogbutler/32/428_2.png) [@dogbutler](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dogbutler)\ **Post date:** [September 4, 2011, 11:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-happy-are-you-with-your-appearance/595125/19 "2011-09-04T11:34:43Z")
I’m mostly happy, except for the irregular receding hairline. The irregular bit bothers my OCD. ---
**Author:** ![carlotta](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/898d66/32.png) [@carlotta](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carlotta)\ **Post date:** [September 4, 2011, 12:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-happy-are-you-with-your-appearance/595125/20 "2011-09-04T12:32:12Z")
I voted somewhat happy. I’m 42 and I feel better about my looks than I did when I was 22. It’s not that I look better than I did then, I just feel better. I look at pictures of me then and wish I could shake that girl for letting minor flaws bother her. I wouldn’t say no to a 20 pound weight loss, which is why I only voted “somewhat happy” but even at this weight I generally like what I see. It helps when I compare myself to the beauties of old paintings, like that Bathsheba painting Skald posted over in his painting thread. I really like my face. I’ll catch a glimpse of myself in the mirror and think “Oh pretty!” before I even really register that it’s me. I love my tits! I never dreamed they’d look this good at this age, and after nursing four babies. Don’t know how I got so lucky there! I even like my gray hairs. I think they look good! [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-happy-are-you-with-your-appearance/595125.md?page=2)