this post bothers me...I dont know why, it just does. My Bf and I were out a while ago (we were at a bar, and we were drunk..and so was everyone around us) We walked past a table of guys and one of the guys at the table started shouting at us something along the lines of "why are you with that loser, you are so beautiful you could do so much better than that guy, why dont you come over and sit with us honey" I was infuriated and had to stop myself (and my BF) from turning around and punching the guy in the face. I think its really unimportant in a real relationship whos better looking than who. Until that moment the thought had never crossed my mind, and it still doesnt. That guy was just jealous that I would never go for a guy like him.

if a guy is too good looking hes more of a jerk than ur average guy. and average guys r jerk enuff

i sound like a man hater but im really not

I think the problem with "model type" men is that THEY want to attract people and most are usually insecure when they're attractive girlfriend brings attention from other men.

They usually can't handle the woman getting attention. Average Joes are usually laid-back and understanding. However, beauty is still in the eye of the beholder.

Also DearSugar, you need to include Beayonce and Jay-Z in this mix... Dear Lord that man is ugly!

Oops Beayonce*

Beyonce! LOL

money and power have made many a man appear more attractive

I'd say my husband and I are on par with each other on the attractiveness-scale (if there is such a thing). I don't like "studies" like this either -- especially since it's self-reported which means that all of these "beautiful" women say they're married to average guys... it just makes me wonder how beautiful they really are and how average their husbands really are... you know? Plus, I hate the Michael Douglass/Catherine reference. Not a great picture of him, granted, but I think he's a handsome fellow, just a bit older than CZJ.

I agree Sugarsister!

Funny that some women are like that.
However, to me it's ironic that most wealthy men are usually the ugly ones...

I just think it's so superficial to ever assume a couple isn't a good match b/c one might not look as good as the other to an outsider. Especially when we've never met either person in our lives! Let's say the man is less attractive & the woman is beautiful. The less attractive man could have the most charismatic personality ever. Witty, intelligent, successful... you get the picture. The woman could be insecure, possibly b*tchy and who knows what.

I just think it's a little naive for anyone to judge anyone else (especially celebrities) just b/c we think they should be matched up with beautiful people. They could have the best, OR the worst, personalities ever that cause people to be attracted to them or not!

I think my man is the hottest guy on planet Earth

Do really people find it "shocking" that women date men that are less attractive than them? How bizarre.

I think evolutionary biology has registered its opinion on this. Women factor in ability to take care of them/the kids and thus, as sugarsister already said, money and power are considerations.

My boyfriend isn't drop dead gorgeous, but I'm attracted to him regardless. Looks are only important to a point anyway. Who cares if you are dating a super hot guy now. What will they look like in 20 years? I'd much rather be with someone who I can have a ton of fun with, and great conversations. That's much less likely to die over time.

i just dont know what to say about this. i did not know there was a
"fuss over beautiful women being with so-called unattractive men" so i guess thats it.

I think there was a similar post like this before, like dating down and whatnot.
Who cares if CZJ is attracted to Michael Douglas, if you love him, you love him. Just cause your thought to be better looking, it does'nt make you a better lover.

I don't think it's shocking.

Not to sound arrogant, but I personally relate to this. My husband is average-looking, and I'm not. In the past, I've been chastised by my girlfriends for dating "below my league." Whatever. It's been over ten years, and I'm happily married, and they're not.

Whenever I hear remarks like that, I say,"He's really good in bed. Plus, he's really funny, and I love to laugh. Someone who could make me giggle and laugh is sexy to me." All this is true.

I don't like this, I was teased all the time by some of my girlfriends for my "unattractive" boyfriends. sometimes you have to look beyond all of that. by the way, they were attractive to me!

Why would it surprise us, women in general are supposed to be better looking than men anyway, that whole femininity and natural beauty of women. It's just when the girl is very unattractive that the good looking guy would be considered extra hot. Most women are more beautiful than their men, that's just nature.

Michel Douglas is not unattractive. He is just old.

Average guys are less superficial. I find it hard to deal with hotties because they are so spoiled by women and just get anything they want and are very narcissistic. They often expect you to tell them how perfect they are, yawn! Very cliché

when we where younger most of my friends only would date the "hot" guy. Now the we are settling down, they all have gone with average looking guys and they are MUCH happier. But really it doesn't matter what anyone else thinks, both people in the couple should feel like "wow! I am so lucky to have him/her"

I agree with Dana18 - that is an age-related observation

Personally, for me attractiveness is subjective and in the eye of the beholder.

They say most people are with people who are as attractive as they are. So I think people overestimate how attractive they are. If your husband or bf is ugly you probably are too.

lol shopper!!

i don't get why everything has to be analysed, i think its sad if people might go for someone because they feel inferior to others, dont get me wrong i think brad pitt is gorgeous but i hope its not all about looks for people, how are u suposed to be kept on your toes with a beautiful statue?

the truth is or at least where I am from (Rochester Hills, Michigan) most better looking guys are full of themselves and less faithful. They think they can get any girl they want

Michael Douglas may be old, but he's still hot... at least compared to men his age.

This post makes me laugh. As someone who's in her 40s, let me tell you, the reality is this: there just aren't as many hot men as there are hot women!!!

Men - if they are straight - work on their looks while in their 20s. After that, they stop trying. Women, on the other hand, are more likely to keep working at it.

Don't believe me? Look around and start counting how many 10's you see, men vs women. Doesn't count if you are in a gay bar, a healthclub, or a nightclub for the 20-something crowd. Go to a grocery store or busy street or restaurant at lunchtime.

And hills - I may be odd, but I could just never understand why people think Brad Pitt is hot. He doesn't do a thing for me!

Since when is Michael Douglas considered 'average?' That isn't the best picture of him, but I don't think 'average' is a correct description. Older than her? Yes? Less attractive than her? That can be debated.

Michael Douglas is hardly an average joe! Have you seen him in "Streets of San Francisco"? Yowza. Wouldn't mind running into him at the BART station.

It sucks but you rarely see a hot guy with a not so hot woman.

I've definitely dated men that my peers didn't appreciate the way I did, either for their looks, income, or some other superficial reason. I guess I was just looking for other things.

Yes, and Michael Douglas is hot. And as the girlfriend of a sexy older man, I definitely don't think age is a bad thing.

I think dating a not so cute (or not as cute as you) guy can be humbling. There are guys I've dated that weren't great looking but I came to love their personality, or the great way they treated me (I've never been into "bad" guys), or a feature that I fall in love with.

IMO "hot" looking guys never turned me on. Their egos are frigging huge! I have to get passed their artificial persona to get to someone who is lame. And they never like to be "official". Hot guys are terrible kissers btw. Hehehe.

First Dana, you took the words right out of my mouth. When he was younger he was HOTTT!!!!!! Moving on. This article does not surprise me at all for two reason. First when men get or are born with money , they believe they can pull whatever woman they want.(In their mind) Society kinda of socializes people to think that way. Men are condition to go for style over substances. That's why good looking men sometimes looked down on less attractive women. Second I think women don't view looks as much as men. We look past facial features more than men for varies reasons.

I also think that more people look at why a good looking man is with a less attractive women than vis versa. I think we're trained to look at beautiful women with how ever looking man. Feel free to disagree.

P.S. I like to date guys who are rich in culture and knowledge. If a man is educated, well-groomed, well-bread, well-reared , and refined, then he's my kind of guy no matter his facial features.

Can't say I relate. I find my guy utterly hot and many of my family and friends are quick to say we 'match'. Other people may view us differently. Everyone has their own standards of what attractiveness is.

I so agree with Kristin, I have yet to see an attractive man with a not so attractive woman ... me and my girl friends talk about this all the time.

However, my boy boyfriend is always commenting on how he never see attractive women with poor/unsuccessful men. And he is always saying that men don't really care about looks (this is where I think he is just lying to himself lol)

Anyway, IMHO, when looking for a partner, we women want someone who can care for us, love us completely, make us feel special and safe. So the physical attribute sort of come second place.

Where as men, well, it seems to me they look at the physical attributes first and foremost before looking at anything else.

michael douglas is sexy as hell. sometime people do not need to be drop dead gorgeous to be hot or sexy. everyone's opinion of beauty is different thankfully. what some think is unattractive, others think attractive etc etc. as far as this article goes, my husband is waaay hotter then I am. thankfully all of my kids look just like him!!

I'm glad to see all the posts agreeing with my take that Michael Douglas is NOT an average Joe. Hello!

I think people have chemistry and that's that.

For Women, Beauty = value/power. For Men, Money = value/power. This is generally how our society is. When you switch something up problems tend to arise - Insecurities. (I'M NOT SAYING THIS IS TRUE FOR EVERYONE IN THE WORLD BUT IT IS TRUE FOR 99%) I would also like to say that I've met a lot of male models and have yet to meet one with a great personality or who's not insecure. Not even one.

Hmmm... seems like Michael Douglas and Catherine Zeta-Jones weren't the best example the author could have picked. Regardless though, I do see the point of the article.

For the girls who want to know what the big deal is and think it's so shallow of people to be pointing out these discrepancies, I want to know if you've ever noticed that while it's not at all uncommon to see ugly dudes with knockout women, you almost NEVER see a drop dead gorgeous guy with a homely girl.

Clearly there's something going on there, and I think popgoestheworld hit the nail on the head. It's true, guys without good looks can prove their genetic fitness in other ways - by showing their ability to amass resources (wealth), by proving their intelligence (being in a position of authority, or being very funny), by proving their willingness to take risks and face danger (playing extreme sports or other bad-boy behavior), etc.

Women, on the other hand, were valued first and foremost for their fertility and unfortunately, studies show that physical appearance is a pretty darn terrific indicator of fertility. Youth is a huge factor in fertility, and a pretty face is often one that projects youth - thick hair, big eyes, small nose and narrow chin, etc. Also check out all the studies regarding waist-to-hip ratios - it's no coincidence that the ratio favored by men from all different cultures and eras in time is also the ratio possessed by women who are least likely to succumb to a variety of diseases and cancers.

This also explains why many men are so intimidated by powerful women. Men like to feel needed, it's reassuring to them to know that a woman relies on him and is less likely to stray.

Before anyone jumps on me for enforcing horribly outdated gender stereotypes, let me point out that I realize that we're no longer living in caves and beating each other with sticks, but it hasn't been very long since those times in the evolutionary scheme. We haven't completely evolved past being drawn by those primal, instinctual urges - and so while they're not exactly ideal in this day and age, we should at least understand why we have them. If we're aware of these subconscious tendencies, then we can begin to work around them.

Btw, I tease my boyfriend for being prettier than me. He is VERY pretty, imo.

if it's true love, looks don't matter! it's cliche because it's true...

I would prefer an average guy but very intelligent and smart. A man does not have to be beautiful.

I dont think someones hotness can be judged by looks...the smile, the voice(my fiance has the sexiest voice and laugh), the energy, personality,...a great sense of humor really does it for me.

Id pick an average joe over a pretty boy anyday.

this is not shocking. i've always noticed that the girl in the relationship is USUALLY the better looking one. and i think it's because we do factor in pretty much everything about the guy when it comes to be attracted to him. it's not just looks that make the guy attractive to us. and i do think guys put more, not all, but more importance on the looks factor.

well, it just because the girl is more beautiful, doesn't mean that the guy will be faithful or that the relationship will work. look at halle berry and her ex, eric bennet (sp?) - she's drop dead gorgeous, but he still cheated on her multiple times.

There are two more explanations for this. ANY guy, no matter how average looking he is, seems to want THE most beautiful girl in the world. I remember some of my guy friends in high school and college, they would go after THE most beautiful girls in the school, but they would be really, really ordinary guys. I never said it out loud but I was like, ahem, she is not going to go for you dear. But they were just determined, not willing to hear it. Every guy feels he deserves a beautiful girl. Having a beauty on their arm makes a guy feel proud of themselves and her. It will make people wonder, wow, if that chick digs him he must have something special! all of them want pretti(er) women.

The other reason lies with women themselves. All women want to FEEL beautiful too. Even if it's on a subconscious level, being with an average guy will make them look MORE beautiful in comparison, rather than competing with him in the beauty department.

So much shallow people beauty comes from within, Everyone is beautiful in a way or another.