Poll: how important are your looks to you

[indigoskies]

i

This is a very interesting thread

no doubt.
we are considering that this IS a fashion forum.

 

[joie]

Part 1- somewhat important, because as much as I would hate my face or body to be significantly disfigured, I would learn to live with it. I can be a bit vain though.

Part 2- I've been told more than I can remember from when I was a child and I would consider myself to be quite physically attractive. Most of the time, anyway. There are things about myself I really dislike- some I can change, some will take time to change, and some I am stuck with. But beauty is really subjective. My self-esteem doesn't hinge on what a random stranger (or, for that matter, a friend) thinks of my looks. I'd be more upset if my personality was called into question more than what I look like. I have no doubt most of my friends would feel the same way.

 

[Eurasian Mélange]

I voted that my looks are somewhat important to me and that I am somewhat good-looking.

I voted for them being somewhat important because although I do want to make myself as beautiful as I can (I honestly cannot explain why when I seem to have had bad experiences because of my attractiveness), it is not something that consumes every second of every day in my life. Most of the time there are more important things I am thinking about and I would still be happy with what I have even if I did not achieve my idea of 'perfection.' Though I still put in an effort to dress nicely and keep myself groomed (though I admit I know nothing about styling hair, so I just leave it loose most of the time).

I voted for somewhat good-looking because most of the time I consider myself to be kind of cute and sometimes beautiful, though everyone has their ugly days. The feeling that I am somewhat good-looking is never constant, but I think it is the most common feeling I've had. That I think, 'Hey, I am actually kind of pretty! I'm definitely no film star or model, but I have been lucky to get what I have.'

I agree with everyone about beauty being in the eye of the beholder. There have been plenty of people (mostly nasty kids and teenagers) who've called me ugly, but there have also been plenty of people who've done everything from complimenting me to staring at me with their mouths open (which is scary and uncomfortable even though I try to take it as being positive). Everyone has different tastes and no matter how beautiful you are, you cannot be beautiful to everyone. A great example of that would be Angelina Jolie. Most people think she is gorgeous, but there are still people out there who consider her average or ugly.

 

[Alejandro]

I dont know what to answer, because honestly, looks are not so important to me. I have my personal complexes and I dont find myself attractive looking at all, although I get the opposite comments. Im not the kind of person that goes after someone with looks, and I most certainly dont judge my friends and choose them because of how they look.

As for my perception, I find myself very neutral.

 

[Bella_Lass334]

For me, it's really hard not to care about looks, being a teenager and all. I don't mean to sound shallow or conceited in any way, but people always tell me that I'm pretty. I think I have my good features, but I DETEST my nose and my teeth. My nose is so crooked and wide and has a hump. As for my teeth, they're just a combo of crookedness + braces. I'm hoping that I'm just going through an awkward stage and that I'll grow out of it and be more confident. In fact, there's this quote by Liv Tyler that I think is so powerful, and I hope that one day I can realize this for myself: "I don't want to waste so much time obsessing over myself."

 

[Zen]

...I guess I'm ok looking. But what I look like really isn't that important to me. What's more important is how I feel emotionally. I want to feel truely happy inside than to be beautiful and unhappy.

 

[thorkat]

Part 1 - very important, I can not deny it. Mainly though, I just hope that I look clean, fresh and healthy.

Part 2 - I think I'm okay, I've been staring at the same face for many years, so I see the flaws and have issues with self-esteem. If I go by what other people say, well basically I get a lot of guys after me and a lot of girls jealous, and people tell me I'm extremely good looking, which I feel kind of silly saying, because, how can I think of myself that way?

 

[kalli]

Very important,I`m obsessed with the way I look,I`m very self-conscious.The weird thing is that I don`t judge people by their looks.It isn`t important to me if other people look good or not,but I`m very critical with myself.

 

[Couture_Tribe]

For me, my look/appearance is extremely important for me, but I honest don't know how I look (look/bad). I sometimes feel hot, sometimes feel ugly, sometimes just myself, sometimes average.

 

[kissablekae]

1 somewhat important
what can i say? im happier when i feel that i look good. i would be very mad at myself if i 'let myself go', i think its important to try and take care of your looks no whatever what you look like. i think i can be quite sensitive about my looks because i dont normally talk about it. i dont bring it up in conversations but sometimes other people do and i cant stand it! the only people who ever say anything negative is my mom and my older sister. i dont like to be seen as a body(or face whatever) part. i hate it when they sit there and compare all of us and put me down to make someone else feel better. thats why i never take their(my mom & my older sister) compliments about my looks seriously because coming from them, it is so shallow and i feel that its not genuine. i do however appreciate compliments from everyone else because i think its nice that people go out of their way to express something nice.

2 somewhat good looking/average looks
people have told me im pretty but i dont think of myself as a great beauty or anything. ive turned heads but then again, sometimes my people gush over girls who i consider average or plain.

 

[SomethingElse]

Part 1: how important are your looks? I answered 'somewhat important' because an appropriate appearance is crucial in my work. I don't have to look at myself but my clients and associates do. I want to focus on the work, not personal images so dressing appropriately helps keep everything comfortable.

Part 2: Are you good-looking? I am told that I am. However... "Beautiful young people are accidents of nature, but beautiful old people are works of art." Eleanor Roosevelt

 

[litchickuk]

i'm vain. I admit that - its no secret.
I'm not the most stunning of women but I want to be the best I can be! What's wrong with that?

Looks are very important. Its the first thing that speaks to you when you meet someone new. You'd be surprised just how much influence a persons looks have on you - i'm a psychology student and even I was shocked to the extent to which they affect our daily lives!

 

[The_Ida]

It's important for me to not look like a homeless person I feel good when I have clear skin, clean hair and when my thighs are behaving (I could be hallucinating, but sometimes they are HUGE and sometimes they are not). I don't have to hide under layers of makeup to keep people from seeing my flaws, I am not insecure.

Some find me good-looking, some don't. I don't give a sh**, honestly. It's all about preferences, of course, so I would never feel bad if someone didn't think I was pretty. I have noticed that many men at my age (20) don't find me attractive. I don't think that I am attractive in an obvious way, it has a lot to do with the way I dress and my lack of noticable makeup. And I really don't want to be attractive in an obvious way, I have no need for that kind of attention.

 

[The_Ida]

I'm content, really. I don't even hate my nose (used to think it was too big, now I think it's quite unique) and my teeth anymore. My teeth are slightly crooked, but now I just think that it's cute. I guess I got over myself

 

[kalli]

i'm vain. I admit that - its no secret.
I'm not the most stunning of women but I want to be the best I can be! What's wrong with that?

That`s exactly what I think,I want to look the best that I can look and take advantage of every single thing I have.I need to feel beautiful and I need to be told I`m beautiful

 

[Priestess]

I don't consider myself attractive and my appearance is important to me. And unfortunately I had several incidents when I was younger than have enforced my beliefs.

I remember being 13 years old and flipping through a teenage magazine outside of class. I flipped past a page for a teen model competition. The guy next to me goes "You could never win one of those."

Follow that with many years of bullying. I was overweight, I wear glasses, I had braces and was smart. I was the first girl in my school to get breasts. That made me quite the target.

I have keratosis pilaris, a skin condition that results in inflamed follicles. So I have red dots all up my legs. Cue a friend's younger brother saying I had scabies.

At 18, going for an interview at a business traineeship place, a friend went as well. He told her that people would much rather look at a pretty female face at the end of the day. He never said anything like that to me.

Going to a job interview as a waitress, and the interviewer, a woman, suddenly saying to me, "We take photos of all our interviewees", taking out a digital camera and taking a photo of me, while I sit there with tears in my eyes thinking about how the people are going to make fun of me when they look at my photo. I didn't get the job, so I felt really awful.

Years worth of comments on how pale my skin is. I live in a country with the highest rate of skin cancer in the world. I'm not getting a tan and risking my life to be brown.

Add to that a whole bunch of other nasty stuff and yes, my appearance is very important to me. However I think I'm very unattractive. No matter how many times people tell me I'm cute or pretty, it doesn't change how I view myself.

However when I look at other people, I think they're all gorgeous. Our flaws and differences are what make us so beautiful.

Not being good looking has held me back. I find it hard to go to job interviews or participate in anything that's has a large group of people. I feel self-concious at places like nightclubs and I don't like to get dressed up because I feel like people will look at me and see an ugly girl trying too hard.

And I know some people are probably thinking, get over yourself, and to be honest, I wish it were that easy.

 

[shes_in_parties]

For the younger people.. Well, most of us go through an awkward (sp)stage growing up, thus looking "odd". We even out, I say either late teen or mid to early 20s for most people and some later. For example,Elizabeth Hurley quoted herself as goodlooking only when she was in her late 20s. You grow into your own when you get older, accepting flaws and finding your style, which in turns helps your self esteem, possibly making you feel beautiful. Even if society sees it or not!

For me, I thought of myself as average at times or above average-all depending on who I was around. Others would say i am above average. Though, always paid more attention to "brains over beauty".

 

[PinkVanilla.]

Part 1. I vote : Very Important.
I think it must be important 4 everybody, looking good not for idk who but looking good for yourself, it supports your own confidence & it sure makes you feel good. & i will never neglect myself. looking good = feeling good

Part 2. I vote : I am somewhat good looking
I mean i don't see myself ugly & stuff & ppl seem to see me as looking cute & ok ... & i guess i'm a pretty girl. & I don't wanna sound stuck up or something, i just have a good opinion about myself & ppl who know me do too.

 

[Virginielle]

In high school I was very blonde, very thin, with a very large chest, and very popular with the gentlemen. Since that time (and it hasn't been all that long), my hair has grown out into its natural light brown (it's healthier now), I've gained a bit of weight (actually slightly more than I'm comfortable with), and I've had my breasts reduced (I absolutely hated them). I'll admit I do not get as much attention and as blatantly I used to, but I feel like so much more the knockout now. I think more highly of the guys that go for me now that I do not look like I've got a recurring role on Baywatch... and yes, I was a lifeguard at the time. You can imagine how that went over.

And I agree with kalli in that my own looks are important to me, but the looks of others don't seem to matter as much, for which I am thankful. I think I'd be pretty miserable if things were the other way around.

 

[kalli]

Not being good looking has held me back. I find it hard to go to job interviews or participate in anything that's has a large group of people. I feel self-concious at places like nightclubs and I don't like to get dressed up because I feel like people will look at me and see an ugly girl trying too hard.

I felt the same way when I was in school,I was affraid to change anything about me because people might say to me that it`s useless but I was wrong you should try to improve your looks no matter what others think.

Going to a job interview as a waitress, and the interviewer, a woman, suddenly saying to me, "We take photos of all our interviewees", taking out a digital camera and taking a photo of me, while I sit there with tears in my eyes thinking about how the people are going to make fun of me when they look at my photo. I didn't get the job, so I felt really awful.

That totally sux,they had no right to take your picture without your consent.

At 18, going for an interview at a business traineeship place, a friend went as well. He told her that people would much rather look at a pretty female face at the end of the day. He never said anything like that to me.

WTF if I were your friend I would have left the room,they should judge competence not looks.Why would you wanna be hired just to be looked at.They might as well buy a nice piece of furniture.