Would you rather be beautiful or highly intelligent? Lighthearted

[Anon778833]

I’ve always been considered good looking but I think my life would have been better if I was an intellectual. How about you? Or are you lucky enough to have both??

No you wouldn't. It causes hostility and if you laugh and smile with a man he thinks it's a come on . If you don't smile and laugh your a miserable bitch with no personality. I prefer to be average looking but clever .

Yes combined with youth that's what men want . Most women can go up a notch or two with make up and clothes . Sadly in my experience they put visuals over smarts

Highly Intelligent - pays the bills and gives you a decent standard of living.

I'm really sorry to say, but this is not an experience particular to being beautiful. It's just what happens to women.

Bit of both, pretty and smart.
So not beautiful and not a genius…but a Goldilocks zone of pretty enough and smart enough.

Money, beauty, intelligence is the order of power IMO.

Um ... you kinda did here, right?

Yes brains every time as a lot of so called beauty is an illusion. It's a good figure posture and packaging . Take that away and Most people are average looking .

Sarah and quack

If a plain woman smiles and laughs with a man she's bubbly and outgoing . If a good looking woman does it she's coming on to him - a flirt . Sad but true

Honestly probably beautiful. Assuming that I'd still have average intelligence

Ultimately probably highly motivated would be the dream. But the problem with high intelligence is yes you can do great things but they still take a hell of a lot of work and that takes a large percentage of your life. Plus the more you know the more there is to worry about.

I'd just prefer to be beautiful, with average intelligence. I would be able to hold down an average job, marry someone wealthy.

Maybe - sadly, I think it's equally likely that if a plain woman smiles, she's desperate, clearly wanted it and deserved it.

The sad fact is that men who want to be shits, will be shits. It's got nothing to do with women and how they look.

Intelligent

Also presumably as this is a hypothetical scenario I am truelly beautiful. Not just good posture and fading when I'm 30.

I would say I was reasonably attractive in my early 20s. And I am reasonably intelligent. Honestly everything is 1000x easier when I look better. It's sad but no one has ever really treated me well for my intelligence but they have for my looks

100% I would prefer to be highly intelligent.

I am intelligent, and would choose brains over beauty every time. The power of intelligence gets stronger (to a point quite late in life) whereas beauty fades.

I like people who always have something to say, or a niche interest, or a witty comment. I like it when people are clever enough to challenge me and actually find that really attractive even if the person is average looking.

I fancy a go at being really beautiful. Highly intelligent people need to mix with other highly intelligent people to avoid being bored and that pool of people is smaller. I think you could have a very charmed life if you were exceptionally beautiful (I'm aiming high here) but quite dull because there are lots of other dull people.

I literally don’t know!
I am highly intelligent (Phd and MLitt in a very academic subject). I absolutely loved studying the subject but it didn’t lead to an academic job. I’m actually grateful for that.
But it also didn’t lead to a well paid job.
At any rate my career plummeted after the death of my first DD (stillborn at full term) and my only living DD being profoundly disabled.
I most likely will never work again.
So, I’m a frustrated smart woman.
I was also- not Instagram type - attractive. Was told a lot that I looked like Kate Beckinsale (I did, sometimes).
I’m not tall or slim (anymore) and worn out a lot and have PTSD from an SA by my daughter’s doctor a few years ago..
Honestly, I’d chose being either young (to make different choices) or be happy (like my DD).

I tend to think youth outweighs beauty, so for example an average looking 25 year old will be more “attractive” than a good looking 50 year old.
I would favour intelligence over beauty in any case and youth over beauty too. I’ve always been academically clever but not beautiful and when I was younger men did seem to find my wit and intellect intriguing. But was it just that I was young? Now, much older but still successful careerwise in an area which needs intelligence, i am practically invisible.
Not sure if any of that makes sense, maybe I’m not as clever as I think I am 😂

I'm known for being intelligent (sailed through uni with first class honors in every subject every year and now in a senior STEM role).
I was averagely pretty, slim, blonde in a "girl next door" way. As a teen I used to think I'd give up my brains to look like someone like Cindy Crawford/Christy Turlington /Helena Christiansen (showing my age here!).
As an adult, I'd choose brains (ideally both!). But having said that, I think life can be kinder to those who are pretty.

Just to clarify my earlier post, if the options were between being highly intelligent but average to ugly looks, or very beautiful but average to below average intelligence, then I'd go for intelligence.
If it was between being highly intelligent but incredibly ugly, or very beautiful but extremely low iq (which I know can be problematic, but just as a proxy), then I may go for being beautiful.

I am highly intelligent and pretty enough. It's far better to have brain than looks, my brains scare off a lot of creeps but attract nice smart men. I'd also far rather have dinner with an ugly but intelligent man than a beautiful but dull man. I don't recognise the 'intelligent but can't manage life' stereotype, the many smart people I know are all capable and successful.

I had a flatmate who looked like Jerry Hall. She had so many (very good looking) creeps after her and all the nice men were intimidated by her looks and didn't think they were good enough. I got better offers from nicer men because I was vivacious. Beauty is not the only way to be attractive to men.

Intelligence. So much of beauty is actually boring vanity: nails, hair, gym, blah blah. I can't think of anything more dull.

Intelligent.
(I'm not sure I've ever seen anyone I'd call beautiful who wasn't bright though)

Intelligent. It's a better defence mechanism and I'd like to be super smart so I could really add something good to the world.

Beauty fades, brains fade slower.

But, that said, I'd much rather be both

This is very true. I don't know any really stunning women who aren't also at least fairly sharp.

I'd rather be clever, but with the proviso that my level of education matches my level of intelligence.
I think some of the most beautiful women I've seen don't conform to the beauty standards so many aspire to.