“The more men disagree about a woman’s looks, the more they like her.”
After taking natural portraits of regular people over the past three years, I’ve noticed something: nearly everyone has a feature or two that they aren’t totally happy with. Maybe it’s a larger nose, an overbite or a little extra weight. For me, it’s that my chin is too small, and my smile gets way too toothy 🙂 Most of these insecurities are in our own heads and actually are the very traits that make us most attractive to others. I’ve felt this for a while now, but after I read this article called The Mathematics of Beauty, my previous suspicions were confirmed (at least when it comes to women).
OKCupid ran study that shows the profile pictures of the women who look the most “normal” actually get less messages from men then the women who have a more unique look. The article goes pretty far into the mathematical analysis, (a section for algebra lovers and everything), but in the end, it advises people to play up their flaws to actually get more attention, messages and ultimately, dates.
“Browsing OkCupid, I see so many photos that are clearly designed to minimize some supposedly unattractive trait—the close-cropped picture of a person who’s probably overweight is the classic example. We now have mathematical evidence that minimizing your “flaws” is the opposite of what you should do. If you’re a little chubby, play it up. If you have a big nose, play it up. If you have a weird snaggletooth, play it up: statistically, the guys who don’t like it can only help you, and the ones who do like it will be all the more excited.”
Not only will one get more attention online, but when actually going out on dates it will be with people who are attracted to your so-called “flaws” rather than surprised by them. If you are searching for the perfect match for the very unique you, wouldn’t you want your online dating photos to reflect that uniqueness? The study shows that if you try really hard to just look “normal” it can actually backfire.
So as it turns out, it’s good to create a little debate with your dating profile pic. Take a chance and show the real you!
“Be yourself; everyone else is already taken.”
~Oscar Wilde
