Research Shows That Women Partnered With Less Attractive Males Are Happier

Romantic relationships should not be based on looks. That is given. But then, somehow, we have this biological instinct that makes us attracted to certain kinds of looks. Strangely enough, our future happiness also lies on the appearances of our partner. Especially if you are a woman, this must have troubled you. Research shows how the physical attractiveness of a partner might affect the happiness of a woman. Unusually enough, the studies show something completely different from what we knew to be true.

It was found out that women who were partnered with men who looked less attractive than them were in fact much happier than other women. This was a kind of groundbreaking finding, but it was backed by surveys done by Florida State University. Experts tried to find out what made a relationship successful and strong, and on the basis of the surveys they could find out a pattern.

Experts from the Florida State University and the Southern Methodist University asked several couples to fill out a questionnaire. The questions had been designed in such a way that they had to delve deep within themselves to understand what they desired from a partner. The survey was done on about 113 newlywed couples who were in their 20s and were married for about four months. While the findings might have been different for other demographics, the researchers suggest that the conclusion has major implications.

It seems that when a woman is partnered with a very attractive man, their happiness quotient decreases and they acquire several psychological conditions related to distress, forced weight loss, substance abuse etc. This was not found in couples where the man was less attractive than the woman. It is no surprise that women all over the planet are subconsciously being encouraged to use extreme methods of weight loss. Due to the presence of unhealthy body standards, there is a desire among many young women to achieve a certain impossible body shape for which they engage in harmful behavior. But what is different in couples who are actually happy?

According to the researchers, the women, who are partnered with less attractive men, do not feel the pressure to stick to a specific body image. They are already good-looking and so they do not have to be sad about their body and are much freer. Similarly, the men were happy with their partners as they were already attractive. So, they tried their best to keep their partner happy. So, all in all, it’s a kind of bonus which adds to their overall happiness.

This is a major issue if we consider that about 70 million people all over the world are suffering from some eating disorder. Now that the data is out, we need to find a way to get out of this obsession. Both men and women deal with impossible body ideals, but women are clearly suffering more. For couples where the man is attractive, this could be countered by complimenting the woman and mentioning how beautiful she is or by acknowledging something other than her looks.

The final solution is to go beyond looks and connect with a person on a deeper level. However, the media continues to push the images of these body standards to us. Maybe it is time for them to assume some kind of responsibility and for us to shun these illusions.