i think that liking a person can make you physically attracted to them. i didnt look at either of my partners the first time and drop jaw on the floor… but once i became friends and developed a crush they started to look cute! my current partner is very attractive to me now :)
That is quite literally not how attraction works.
As someone already mentioned, the more you get to know a person, the more attractive (or less attractive) they objectively become to you. I firmly believed that my wife was beautiful, and as our relationship soured and she started cheating on me, she quite literally became physically uglier in my eyes.
It’s just how the brain works. If you love someone, they’re beautiful. End of story.
Throughout life, the things you find important change. This is true for more than just physical attraction and what you look for in a partner. I think a lot of people, attractive or not, pair up with people that don’t fit their ideas about what is gorgeous. Everybody who doesn’t die young is going to get old and wrinkly, so if you want a good life partner, you’re going to have to prioritize personality traits and common interests over physical attractiveness, otherwise you’re going to end up paired up with somebody who doesn’t do it for you.
Everybody who doesn’t die young is going to get old and wrinkly
I’m certainly not disagreeing with you, but let’s not overlook how protecting your skin from sun exposure can help as the years pile on.
they say looks are the first things to go. not great long term criteria.
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Not planning to. I asked to try to gauge whether this was widespread behaviour.
I understand wanting to get a read on how other relationships work, but I’d also like to say wayyy to many relationships are not good examples, and even the ones that do look like good examples can look very different from the inside.
Getting more information is almost always good, but be careful to take it with a grain of salt, and above all do what feels right by you and your partner over advice you got from people who’s relationships you don’t know too much about.
Well, what about people that aren’t attractive. Are they supposed to never have partners?
They’re not attractive to you. Everyone is attractive to someone.
Mentally, definitely. But we’re talking about physically here. Physical attractiveness is pretty much the same across all humans, or rather what isn’t attractive. Extreme mutilations and similar for example.
‘Normal’ isn’t the most useful word for describing human interactions. It’s always going to be biased by your culture, upbringing and life experience.
A lot of people here are saying that people become more attractive as you get close to them, and I’m sure that’s true–for them. Just to offer an alternative perspective, I find people less physically attractive the better I know them. I still love them and enjoy their company, and I wouldn’t trade them for anything, but I just don’t really want to be physically intimate with them past a certain point. I’m very independent and probably just not cut out for that kind of long-term relationship, but I’m also very open about it when talking to potential romantic partners. I don’t want them putting all their eggs in one basket, especially when that basket is full of holes.
I didn’t think people who stay in stable long term relationships look at it that way. The first thing to realize is that our brains are wonderful things. For instance I know my wife isn’t going to model on the front page of Sports Illustrated any time soon. But to me she really is more attractive.
The more we find out about how our brains work in relationships, the less the idea of having to be perfect makes sense. Both with beauty and personality. If you have the best body and personality according to society then you’re not unique. Millions of people are trying to make themselves into that image. Being yourself and being healthy are far more likely to land someone who actually cares about you.
Being attractive is mainly helpful in getting dates and having casual sex. Beyond that there needs to be actual compatibility of some kind, solid relationship skills, and a willingness to work at the relationship. Those are far more important over the long term than classic beauty because when you’re older that’s what’s going to be there.
That all said, I’m not aware of anyone “settling” in the modern era. We seem to be far more content with our friend groups unless there’s really something there.
Of all the things you love about someone, looks shouldn’t even make the list.
For me (a woman - averagely good looking not beautiful or ugly) physical attraction is a yes/no immediate screening by my scumbag subconscious brain and no guy has ever moved from the no bucket into the yes bucket, because to land in the “No” means looks bad enough I can’t get past it.
But no guy has ever been attractive to me based only on looks either. Looking better than ok really means nothing.
So not physically attractive? Sure, maybe. Literally physically unattractive to me? No.
Women usually do that for social status, I mean, for women usually if there is money(specifically what money involves not exactly money as it) they don’t care about beauty.
As a man at least for me you need to learn to appreciate women beyond their beauty, you need to experience going out with ugly women as part of knowing about women. The 98% of women function exactly the same way if you get used to go out with ugly women you will learn to go out with beautiful women.
Think of beauty like something what will not last forever, the main point in women isn’t their beauty but other characteristics like support and followship
Beauty isn’t everything what matters in a relationship, there are other things what each role do which compliment each other.
Edit: I’m getting downvoted and maybe to oblivion because evidently there are people who know I’m saying the truth but they don’t like someone to do that.
Some women do it for social status, absolutely - some men do too. Others do it for money, or fame, or because they have a nice house…
That is certainly not the norm and your suggestion that it is the norm and it is specifically for women is why you’re being downvoted (at least, IMO).
I actually agree with a portion of the rest of your comment that beauty isn’t that important… physical attraction is one facet of attraction and I’d argue it isn’t even a particularly major one.
I think you’re right, it may sound a bit strange from that point of view, I forgot to mention that 98% of men also function the same, although I must clarify that I am referring to a generality and not to a totality, meaning that there are exceptions.
