In the cases where the woman pictured was less physically attractive (at least by worldly standards), the men would treat her less favorably on the phone.
The woman in turn would respond sharply, creating a self-fulfilling prophecy of circular expectations.
In the case where the pictured woman was “attractive,” the man went all-out in getting to know her. The response was just as eager.
That experiment always makes me a little sick to my stomach because I’m sure I’ve frequently done the same thing.
It’s so easy, and even understandable. The world culture hasn’t helped in all this: The global market has made a market out of people, instilling an instant reflex of “hot or not” that rips the the human out of human beings.
There’s a lot of money to be made in it.
I grew up most of my school years being called ugly or “rated a zero,” and there was always a crushing sense of being treated as a subhuman, second-class citizen like you are worth less than other people.
When people spoke to me, I could see it in their eyes too: People would talk to me but not really talk to me, their eyes darting for someone else more important in the room. There was always a hesitant rush, like people had better places to be than being caught with one of “those” guys.
As stereotypical as it is, I’ve found people who never grow out of the “appearance” phase end up in the garbage dump of history because they relied on their looks to carry them through life, when by the time they’re 40, they get the same face as everyone else: wrinkled, worn and done.
It’s just age, but many of us don’t know how to grow up with dignity. You can only post so many half-naked pictures of yourself on Facebook before it becomes a very sad endeavor.
Some of us never catch on that God cares less about what we do or how we look, but about the kind of people we are becoming.
