On the Girls Next Door
Why do so many women choose to manufacture their appearance in this particular way (bleach blonde hair, tan, big boobs, tiny hips)? And why is a look that almost no one (save a few Scandinavians) has naturally the primary ideal of “hotness” in Western society?
Scarcity increases value. The perception of beauty is often based on its perceived rareness or exotic-ness. A century ago, slightly overweight pasty women were the height of beauty. That had mostly to do with the fact, though, that most women were poor, malnourished and frequently worked in jobs that required them to labor out of doors in the sun. It was a sign of luxury, wealth, privilege and health if you could be fair-skinned and heavy, just as today it is a sign of luxury, wealth, privilege and health if you can afford fake boobs, a personal trainer, hours spent tanning (rather than laboring in front of a computer screen) and dyeing your hair to unnatural shades…Sign of wealth I’ll give you (almost any white girl can achieve it with sufficient funds and effort), but scarcity not so much. Women like this are a dime a dozen in Sydney, where I live, and in many other parts of the world. It’s just something they have to work at, rather than something they came out of the womb looking like.
And kwestie, I take your point about the Playboy fantasy, but why is this particular look our Playboy fantasy?
I think part of the look’s appeal is that it’s relatively accessible (lots of people can achieve it, if they’re willing to put in the money and effort) and also that it operates as a shorthand. It’s a “hotness” you don’t really need to think about or translate. Follow a few simple formulae, et voila - instant sex symbol.
And because it’s such a manufactured look it also communicates that the person adopting it has made a conscious choice to look like that; to play the sex symbol.
I only have one thing to say, because I do agree with most everything that has been said but not everyone who dyes their hair blonde or is big on top is making a conscious choice to be a sex symbol and only a sex symbol. Not always the case at all, my goal is to look like me and I have natural large breasts and natural dark blonde hair that I highlight and yet no desire to look like a Playboy bunny. These features have their downsides though: freckles and quick to burn when you’re fairhaired and fairskinned, clothes don’t fit natural big tits. I really just want to look like the best version of me though, which means being fit, getting highlights and a nice cut, dressing to enhance my curves, wearing heels because I’m so short and if I have to be in a formal dress in the winter: getting a very light a spray-on tan. I also like makeup and nice clothes, all of this does not mean my goal is to be thought of only an image or a one-dimensional sex being. Nor does it mean I’m vapid. Wanting to look good and wanting to be sexy is not wrong, it is best to work with what god gave you though I guess…
