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Tuesday, 03 April 2007 15:35 |
| John North
Editor & Publisher |
I thought I had seen everything until I read about an Internet dating service that is called HotEnough.org.
The site aims to match hot-looking people. To that end, prospective members must pass a physical attractiveness test, meaning their pictures must be rated 8.0 or higher (on a scale of 1 to 10) by current club members.
Site co-creator Jason Pelligrino (an 8.2) told The Associated Press recently that he launched it because he had concluded that other Internet dating sites attract a lot of brave and desperate people, but not particularly attractive ones.
Pelligrino
of Nutley, N.J., and his business partner Sean Cohen (no rating
released) of Fort Lauderdale, Fla., launched HotEnough.org a few months
ago ó and slightly fewer than 1,000 people have made the grade so far.
On the bright
side for those hoping to join, the percentage of success seem to be
rising rapidly, as eight percent of applicants were accepted in the
beginning, while now about 25 percent are let into the club.
Perhaps the
applicants have learned better how to doctor their photos to their best
advantage. Or, maybe, as with grade inflation in schools, the
still-hot-but-weary judges are dropping their standards. (One would
imagine that thatís not the only thing theyíre dropping.)
 Interestingly,
candidates must submit three pictures, including a full-body shot.
Active members then vote on the prospects, based solely on the
pictures. This leads me to suspect that a good photographer who is
savvy about angles could concoct a flattering picture that would
constitute an unfair advantage. As experienced shoppers know, a shiny
label can disguise a shoddy product.
In response to
concerns expressed about the siteís apparent shallowness, Pelligrino
waxed philosophical to The AP, saying, ìThey can say itís superficial,
but I think weíre all a bit superficial when it comes to dating.î
One ìhottieî
accepted into the club, Jimmy Ziomek, 29, of New York City (rated 8.2),
said HotEnough.org ìsaves time and it does the searching for you,
narrows it down to the people that you are interested in meeting.î
Meanwhile,
failing to make the cut was Jeanette Ponder, 28, from East Orange,
N.J., who scored an unsightly 5.7. Ponder, who (like most of us) sees
herself as an 8 or 9, said she applied because she thought it would
make a good story. Perhaps, I wonder, ìThe Ugly Duckling?î
Perhaps just a tad defensively, Ponder asserted, ìYou cannot make a relationship by being arm candy.î
To the contrary,
Margaret Clark (unrated in The AP story), a professor of psychology at
Yale University, said, ìPeople tend to end up with partners who match
them in physical attractiveness.î
However, I must
say from my travels domestically and abroad, I have not seen a
uniformity of attractiveness in many couples, as Clark stated. I have
seen cases where both partners are sizzlers and others where one is a
knockout and the other is as plain as a hockey puck.
I must say that
I didnít notice that either kind of pairing resulted in greater overall
happiness in the relationship. As strange as it may seem, perhaps the
ultimate determinant of bliss among couples is something more than skin
deep.
ï
John North, publisher and editor of the Daily Planet, may be contacted at publisher-at-ashevilledailyplanet.com.
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