AIBU to think men prefer fake looking women?

[Bumpitybumper]

I can't help but feel suspicious everytime I read the results from a survey where it is suggested that men prefer the "natural" look. This just doesn't seem to reflect my experience in real life and also what I see on social media or on TV.

We have Kylie Jenner and Kim Kardashian who have both obviously had a LOT of work being viewed as the pinnacle of female attractiveness whilst Meghan from Love Island who has apparently been completely remodeled by surgeon seems to have attracted the most men in Love Island.

AIBU to suggest despite their protestations that men actually don't favour the natural look at all?

show signs of that healthiness, youth, fertility and femininity by having visible breast outlines, a waist, hips,

None of those characteristics have anything to do with "healthiness, youth, fertility and femininity".

It happens to men too, thinking all women want Hugh Grant, the bloke from Poldark.

But.... lots and lots of women DO want 'the bloke from Poldark' (his name is Aidan Turner) and Hugh Grant, or they did some time in the last century.

That's not to say that all men should aspire to look like them - pretty much impossible unless you're somehow naturally similar to them - or that men who aren't so obviously handsome can't also be attractive.

But it is the case that some people are going to be more attractive to the opposite sex than others.

I visit a couple of football forums where they have side topics like this. It's usually a very eclectic mix.
It's all very subjective but the range is incredibly varied and opinions vastly different just like real life

But that's a totally different type of discussion!

They're talking about what women they find hot, not getting into lengthy discussions about what type of men women find hot. I cant' imagine too many threads of that nature on a footie board.

We have Kylie Jenner and Kim Kardashian who have both obviously had a LOT of work being viewed as the pinnacle of female attractiveness whilst Meghan from Love Island who has apparently been completely remodeled by surgeon seems to have attracted the most men in Love Island.

its all a bit of bollocks OP...with respect.

Those two have never been "viewed as the pinnacle of female attractiveness"....just well marketed. (The pinnacle in terms of media is Ursula Andress...fyi)

I think the plastic doll types as such portrayed are mild fantasy figures - blemish free, immediately available yet unavailable, uninhibited etc - whereas IRL the sexiest woman is the one with a devilish smile, a non-symmetrical face and someone who has her own demands. You know, an actual woman.

I think it changes the same as for women.

At certain points in your life you want the sexy eye candy but you don’t trust them/see a proper future with them they are your young fun/midlife crisis years.

Normally for both men and women they go for the more natural types to settle down with, low maintenance and homely.

I just find those that insist that fake looking women aren't widely held sex symbols for men a bit puzzling to be honest. Marilyn Monroe, Bridget Bardot, Pamela Anderson .... all of these women pretty much epitomised the "fake" look for their era. The list is pretty long and seems to span many generations. Then obviously you have the fact that most women in mainstream porn or lads mags have the fake look too. The evidence just seems overwhelming, yet most women in this thread are adamant that their partners aren't attracted to this kind of look....

Well, yes, its all a fantasy look'...it's all unproblematic and perfect. They are not the woman you are going to exchange secretions with, and you know that.

Though MM def wasn't the fake thing at all.

@MrPan
But lots of posters seem adamant that their partners are positively repulsed by the fake look. I accept nothing is universally attractive but the proportion of posters claiming this just doesn't seem in line with what I would expect....

whereas IRL the sexiest woman is the one with a devilish smile, a non-symmetrical face and someone who has her own demands. You know, an actual woman

A wonderful way to put things, and I suspect a strong element of truth.

Bridget Bardot was a natural beauty. Marilyn Monroe more artifice involved but not to the extent you see today. Its a real "cakeface" look. I find it odd, but try to think of it as just a passing fashion....

oh, and as a woman, I am not attracted to the "I've been down the gym man" in any way whatsoever - though apparently plenty of women are. When I hear about abs and six packs and tight arses and male strippers at hen dos I just think what a total crock. Gym muscles are fake muscles to me and always look really cheesy. It also usually means the biggest, heaviest and highest gas-guzzler muscle balancing just on top of the neck is poorly developed by contrast .

Yeah, maybe lots of males say the thing that is best to say in the circs.

But I'm totally loved up with that devilish smile and non-symmetrical face woman who has her own demands. So what do I know.

Bridget Bardot was a natural beauty.

Was Bardot beautiful when she woke up in the morning?

I'm sure she was. However, the Bardot the public saw had bleached, elaborately styled hair, wore a ton of make up, high heels and probably corsets and other heavy-duty undergarments. Monroe had all of the above, plus a nose job.

True, these women weren't Kardashian levels of fake, but they were hardly 'natural' in the sense that they would look the same without a lot of artifice.

*But that's a totally different type of discussion!

They're talking about what women they find hot, not getting into lengthy discussions about what type of men women find hot. I cant' imagine too many threads of that nature on a footie board*

The point wasn't that it's a comparable conversation, it was that it was a source of information about what men find attractive, and contrary to popular opinion the fake looks I'm not necessarily all that popular. The range of views about who is pretty or attractive is very wide. There are definitely some women who tend to gather larger numbers of admirers but there is no consistent or distinct type that Ghana's popular appeal.

The point wasn't that it's a comparable conversation

You obviously didn't read the post you quoted the, because it was exactly my point.

Women discuss at length the type of women most likely to appeal to men, but you'll never find men getting into a long conversation about what sort of men women find hot.

However, the Bardot the public saw had bleached, elaborately styled hair, wore a ton of make up ...

Early pictures of Bardot and she's a natural beauty even after she's discovered. Inevitably, I guess, there's a certain artifice, I didn't deny that. But it isn't quite the flat "cakeface" look we see now, is all I was trying to say.

maybe lots of males say the thing that is best to say in the circs not understanding that Pan - care to elaborate?

you'll never find men getting into a long conversation about what sort of men women find hot

Could be true IcedPurple But all the beefcake gym look - which I hate by the way - is that for women - or other men?! We need to know !

I think you'll find you originally took my post and misinterpreted. The point wasn't trying to illustrate men having a parallel conversation. It was demonstrating the wide range of opinions about what men find attractive. you proclaimed that this was an entirely different conversation ergo missing the point.

What you're saying sounds so dry and inpenetrable, thats probably why.

Early pictures of Bardot and she's a natural beauty even after she's discovered

Yes, but those early pictures will also show a young woman unrecognisable from the famous sex bomb - a pretty girl yes, but with mousy brown hair and slightly buck teeth.

If men loved the 'natural look' so much, why was it felt necessary for Bardot to bleach her hair, correct her teeth and wear a ton of make up, false eyelashes, push up bras etc?

I think you'll find you originally took my post and misinterpreted.

Yes, you did.

totally disagree IcedPurple. She is absolutely beautiful before, I've seen the photos. Maybe the bleached blonde hair added something for cinematic reasons, I don't know, but doesn't change my original point..

Men do also discuss with other men about what women find attractive in them. I don't think it's quite as intense or frequent but we are less conditioned by advertising to be constantly appraising ourselves. there are far more adverts targeted at female beauty than male beauty. This is either caused by advertisers targeting female insecurities about looks or advertisers creating those insecurities.

I'm not saying she wasn't beautiful.

But clearly, film directors, casting agents etc did not think her beauty was of the type to appeal to men or they would not have insisted on all the artifice described above.

I can't think of a single sex symbol who was 'natural'. If the 'natural' look appeals to men so much, it's strange that it's so absent in the women men fancy in their millions.

For every male magazine based on health and beauty there are probably twenty targeting females. It's inevitable that causes discussions about what men find attractive because women are told they need to be attractive particularly to men

There is a big difference though between the sex pot that sells papers/mags and porn which is all about the perfect image that we have been made to believe is perfect to what men/women on a day to day basis find loveable and attractive.

If your say masterbating your not going to use the image of random John/Joanne down the road your going to use the airbrushed perfect fantasy whoever image because it’s never going to be real it’s just a fake fantasy world. Doesn’t mean you don’t find John/Joanne attractive though and that they are actually your ideal and perfect to you person.

I can't think of a single sex symbol who was 'natural

Helen Mirren
Jodie Foster
Grace Kelly