Physical attractiveness has been found to be one of the most importance influences in forming love relationships for both gay and straight men and women (Sangrador & Yela, 2000). Physically attractive people are assumed by others to have more socially desirable personalities and to be happier and more successful (Zebrowitz et al.,
1998) . As we talked about in Chapter 6, men have traditionally rated physical attraction as the single most important feature in potential mates (Buss, 1989b). However, over the last few years, both men and women have increased the importance they attach to physical attractiveness in an intimate partner (Lacey et al., 2004; Buss et al., 2001). The “matching hypothesis” claims that people are drawn to others with similar traits and attractiveness to themselves. However, it may be that both men and women would really prefer highly attractive partners, but they go through a mental probability calculation (i. e., thinking that they don’t have a chance with the most attractive partner so they choose the next attractive partner and so on; Takeuchi, 2000).
Physical appearance is usually the first thing we perceive about a potential lover, though it tends to fade in importance over the life of the relationship. When considering a romantic partner, both men and women may be willing to compromise on some qualities they are looking for in a partner, but not on physical attractiveness (Sprecher & Regan, 2002). As we discussed in Chapter 6, the media have put such a premium on physical appearance that the majority of people in the United States report they are unhappy with their appearance and would change it if they could.