Several years ago, I read a blog or post from a woman who was upset that a male friend could not tell her if a guy she was being set up on a blind date was good looking or not. The man said he could not tell if he was good looking or not, and she thought he was being dishonest. I thought this was awfully insensitive of the woman. Women can tell if men are good looking, but men could not tell if other men are good-looking... or can they? I cannot, but can other men?
So I got curious about this. Was I lacking in this aspect of interpreting the world? My mind went back to a few occasions where I heard a man say another man was good-looking. I thought they were just talking nonsense, empty flattery or something. Sometimes this happened when I was in Asia. A lot of men in the US won't say stuff like that. I guess I would have thought homosexual men had a sense of this if I had thought about it.
So I took a few straw polls, discussions with a few guys after a Bible study, discussions at the lunch table at work. One co-worker said he could tell if a man was good looking. The other said that was something women could tell. He could not. Some men just did not answer or changed the subject. My guess is somewhere around 20% of men are like me. I would not know that Brad Pitt is good-looking if no one had ever told me. Clark Gable, Carey Grant, Mel Gibson, Ryan Gosling-- I presume are good-looking because people say they are and because of women's reactions.
I think I can have a slight sense of it. If a man is very odd-looking, I can tell if he is not good-looking. I could always do that. But sometimes I can kind of guess at it-- facial symmetry, large jaw. I might ask my wife if a man in a movie is good-looking. It helps me figure out the story line, if he is going to be a love interest of a female character.
For women, I don't have to think about it. I know in a milisecond if a woman is good-looking according to my own particular tastes and opinions. I also notice other people might think a woman is good looking but I don't if she has a trait I associate with masculinity, like a large jaw or something along those lines. Maybe I associate masculinity with not being good looking or something like that. Beauty is subjective. Some women will disagree over whether a certain man is good-looking. Women used to rave over Clark Gable. My wife did not think he was good looking when she saw an old movie. My mom used to think the bar tender from Cheers was odd looking.
I thought I would bring my straw poll here. To what extent can men on this forum tell if a man is good-looking? How many of you have little to no sense of it?
So I got curious about this. Was I lacking in this aspect of interpreting the world? My mind went back to a few occasions where I heard a man say another man was good-looking. I thought they were just talking nonsense, empty flattery or something. Sometimes this happened when I was in Asia. A lot of men in the US won't say stuff like that. I guess I would have thought homosexual men had a sense of this if I had thought about it.
So I took a few straw polls, discussions with a few guys after a Bible study, discussions at the lunch table at work. One co-worker said he could tell if a man was good looking. The other said that was something women could tell. He could not. Some men just did not answer or changed the subject. My guess is somewhere around 20% of men are like me. I would not know that Brad Pitt is good-looking if no one had ever told me. Clark Gable, Carey Grant, Mel Gibson, Ryan Gosling-- I presume are good-looking because people say they are and because of women's reactions.
I think I can have a slight sense of it. If a man is very odd-looking, I can tell if he is not good-looking. I could always do that. But sometimes I can kind of guess at it-- facial symmetry, large jaw. I might ask my wife if a man in a movie is good-looking. It helps me figure out the story line, if he is going to be a love interest of a female character.
For women, I don't have to think about it. I know in a milisecond if a woman is good-looking according to my own particular tastes and opinions. I also notice other people might think a woman is good looking but I don't if she has a trait I associate with masculinity, like a large jaw or something along those lines. Maybe I associate masculinity with not being good looking or something like that. Beauty is subjective. Some women will disagree over whether a certain man is good-looking. Women used to rave over Clark Gable. My wife did not think he was good looking when she saw an old movie. My mom used to think the bar tender from Cheers was odd looking.
I thought I would bring my straw poll here. To what extent can men on this forum tell if a man is good-looking? How many of you have little to no sense of it?
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