I came across this article on CNN this morning. Two men have founded an exclusive on-line dating site for "fit, good looking people". If you want to join, you submit ONLY your photo to the site and members rate your looks (the article specifically says that members rating you have no other info about you, other than your pics to base their rating on). If you get a high enough score, you are allowed to join. At $9.95 a month hotenough.org is considerably less expensive than match.com and the uber-expensive Eharmony.com, and it" saves time and it does the searching for you, narrows it down to the people that you are interested in meeting" according to one member.
Browse the NY Craigslist Men seeking Women personals and you will be inundated with posts seeking "skinny, attractive" mates, a large number of the ads go so far as to call those who may not fit the required measurements "fatsos" and specify themselves as "not a chubby chaser". Throughout our entire lives we are faced with images of "the ideal body type" and are taught that "pretty people are better". Disney princesses are slender and attractive, the overwhelming majority of celebrities are stick thin, magazines are full of models with bodies unattainable to most of us with even the strictest of diets and exercise regimes. The message isn't only "attractiveness is ideal", it's that "unattractiveness (by societal standards) means you are worth LESS than others are".
Dating is enough of a self-esteem buster as it is, add in elitist clubs and men with weight restrictions and it's a wonder any of us less than ideal people have successful relationships at all.
Maybe I should start my own site "(not)hotenough.org". In order to join you must wear tapered jeans, eat pizza at least three times a week, and not be a member of a gym.
7 comments:
I saw this article!!! I thought it was a joke at first.
I love your idea of (not)hotenough.com!
Jenn - I only WISH it was a joke, but sadly it's not. I saw a pic of one of the guys who started it....he's not all that hot.
Maybe I should ask him to join my site. :-)
I know...I saw him. Didn't raise my pulse one bit.
Oh, it would be funny if it weren't so sad.
But those men who consider themselves "not chubby chasers?" It's good they do that, because they self-identify as the guys you'd never, ever want. Ugh.
You should invite him to join your site. Yuck.
He definitely gets an invite to the club. Perhaps I should change the site to closemindedjerks.org. LOL
I think your idea is great! Photo is not the only tool to valuate a person. Just like not all users in Millionairematch.com are millionaires as the site stated that "You don't have to be rich or famous to enjoy the site." on its homepage. All of us should have the same right to date and make friends, regardless of appearance, money, height and so on.
Definitely anonymous! We all should have a level playing field...if only the dating world worked like that!
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