Cue angry feminist rage: http://skepchick.org/2011/08/too-pretty-to-do-homework/
For the record, one of the most attractive traits a human female can have is her intelligence. If I want to spend more than a single night with her, she better be able to say something to me that challenges me and that I find engaging. Which isn't to say that the only measure of a female's worth is her attractiveness (whether mental or physical) or how romantically compatible she is with me personally; it's simply to respond to the message on the shirt in the link (i.e. that intelligence is somehow antithetical to attractiveness.)
It's also worth mentioning that, in non-Jerry Springerish families, batting one's eyelashes at one's brother should not inspire them to do homework for you.
Personally, I think this particular meme -- that attractive girls need to be unintelligent, unmotivated skanks -- is one of the most damaging memes in our society. I really hope that this sort of nonsense dies a quick death.
Unfortunately, I think this is encouraged by guys who won't date a girl smarter than them. The truth of the matter is that girls outnumber men in college and generally perform better on tests, but when it comes to relationships they play the role of a ditsy bimbo because they correctly assume guys only think about sex. Here is a study that corroborates this, and explains why women don't go into science, for fear of becoming less attractive to men:
ReplyDeletehttp://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2011-08/uab-wqf081511.php
Yes, I agree, fonzo. I think there might be other sociological factors as well, but I agree that the attitudes of men play a big role. Personally, I dislike the kind of men that you describe just as much as I dislike girls who act dumber than they actually are.
ReplyDeleteI heavily disagree that men think only about sex. As a man myself, I know that I don't solely think about sex. It might be true that some men (maybe even most men) think solely, or mostly, about sex, but there are those of us who want more out of a relationship. It's an empirical question as to how many men think solely about sex, but one which is likely difficult to answer.
Nonetheless, I think this is a societal attitude that we should work hard towards changing.