Actually I once read a study which stated that this was only true for women, and that for men attractiveness was in general negatively correlated with income (other than for the very top 10% of attractive men). ETA: I don’t recall if that study was “for the same job”.
OK, thanks, my last word is that as I’ve said before I agree that the rule is clear and I’m discussing the rationale for the rule rather than the rule itself. (And this is obviously not about anyone violating it, which I’m not aware has even happened.)
OK, yes, almost everyone wants to look sexy… to certain people. Most people, for instance, want to look sexy to their spouses or other partners, and people not in a committed relationship want to look sexy to their prospective partners.
But we’re not the spouses, partners, nor (let’s be realistic here) prospective partners of the people who would be named in that thread. We’re random schlubs on the Internet. And not everyone wants to be sexy to every random schlub on the Internet. In fact, a lot of people find it creepy.
Now, granted, there are in fact some people in non-appearance-related professions who do, in fact, want to be sexy to everyone, random schlubs included. Some, but not all. And realistically, we don’t know that for most of those people. So let’s err on the side of not being creepy.
Let’s not be creepy is a great companion to Don’t be a jerk.
I agree with TriPolar.
If there’s a thread on politics, and someone throws in that “so-and-so is hot”, that’s inappropriate, absolutely.
But personally I don’t see the harm in people just listing who they find attractive, in a thread for that, and I don’t think generally celebs / public figures would find it creepy as long as we’re not straying into descriptions.
Alternatively, if consistency is the goal, then let’s just ban any thread discussing attractiveness of any famous people of whatever profession.
There is a bit of difference between the thread being discussed which is "sexiest people in their 40’s’ and saying a politician as good looking or attractive. Saying JFK won over Nixon because JFK was more attractive isnt creepy. Saying such and such is “hawt” and “'I’d do her/him is a second” is creepy.
So yeah, if you wanna say "He/she got more votes due to being more attractive’ i am pretty sure that wont get moderated. But in a thread about ‘sexiness’ it could get to creepy.
Of course it is different with actors, models etc, Mila Kunis tried very hard one year to win a magazines “sexiest woman” rating and did so. So clearly that isnt something they shy from, they often pursue it.
If it’s creepy for a politician it’s creepy for an actor. ‘Creepy’ was already excluded by other rules anyway.
Sure, some actors cultivate a sexy image, but others do not. Meanwhile we can of course name athletes, vloggers, musicians, and yes even politicians who are happy to embrace a sexy image. (Going shirtless again, Mr Putin?)
So it seems a bit artificial to me.
And what does it gain anyway? As long as people are on board with the other rules, and therefore are not objectifying people, I don’t personally see the harm.
ETA: What TriPolar said. Again.
This would get my vote.
And it would certainly get mine.
Its really disgusting when a woman who is known for her accomplishments outside of beauty gets tagged with any version of “I’d hit that.” And equal opportunity “I’d hit that” doesn’t address the systemic effects of past history.
And yes, I’d just ban discussions of people’s attractiveness. Really, does anyone care to know if I think Ryan Gosling is attractive or not?
I have to admit I’ve found these discussions kind of fascinating at the edges. Not so much when people come in and gush about obviously attractive people- that sort of thing is pretty obvious and understandable.
I’m much more intrigued when someone’s tastes run counter to mine- when men describe women who are usually not models or actresses who they find attractive, and who I find to be unremarkable. Or when women choose men who don’t seem to trip any of the “traditional” male attractive buttons. I’m usually curious about what it is that makes them find those people attractive.
This is the interesting part to me also. Problem is, it seems hard for people to describe what they like about someone without using generalities that apply to many people. Things like “I like their smile” are pretty useless for figuring out what people are actually talking about. I would guess I like the smiles of 99% of the people I meet. What I want to know is what tips this person over the line from the 99% to the 1%.
Suppose the question was “West well-known person could be successful in a legitimate field that required sexiness?” As some people have actually done on the side. What is inherently so “creepy” about such a question that special “rules” have to be formulated? If someone phrases an answer creepily, mod them for it.
Although that’s a different thread than “list sexy people.” And I’m not sure if fascinating at the edges is worth objectifying.
Human attraction is a big part of who we are, and discussions of besuty and aesthetics sre totally normal.
But, like a lot of subjects some people are going to be pigs about it, and some are going to be crass, sexist, whatever. That’s just life. Don’t ban topics just because some people don’t play well with others.
I’m just saying that it’s not surprising to find out that people find say… Chris Hemsworth attractive. He checks all the boxes- tall, muscular, handsome, Aussie, etc…
But it is interesting to find out that someone finds say… Adrien Brody to be attractive and sexy. I wouldn’t have guessed that at all, being a straight man.
And the same thing goes for women, even doubly so. I’m always surprised at how many women I’d consider plain, are considered quite attractive by other men. And vice-versa- women that I think are incandescently hot have other men going “Meh.”