Recently, there has been an influx of posts on r/sex, where posters have complained that men are too sensitive about their physical characteristics. Their justification for their complaints is that women have it harder in the context of being judged on physical characteristics, and there is no reason to shame anyone for having their own preference. While I agree that it is wrong to shame someone for expressing his or her preference, I have to disagree that women have a harder time being attractive than men do. I believe this is a common misconception held by the general population. I am not saying that women are facing less discrimination than men do, which is an unfortunate problem in our society. But what I am saying is that women definitely have an easier time being attractive than men do.

Women are judged on a myriad of physical characteristics, certainly more than men are. But what many people fail to see is that many of these characteristics are not immutable, meaning they can be changed. Let’s think of the physical characteristics that come to mind when we are discussing a woman’s attractiveness. Weight definitely plays a factor. Breast and butt size and shape are important. Facial characteristics are paramount. Weight, though a deal breaker for many, is certainly something that can be changed without surgery. Exercise and a clean diet play a big role, although genetics are important as well. There are conditions where it is much harder to lose weight, but with the right medication and therapy, a healthy weight can be achieved. I think it is safe to assume that nine times out of ten weight can be changed. Breast and Butt size are a little more difficult to deal with but they can be changed with surgery and in the case of the butt, it can be changed through weightlifting. Take a look at pictures of breast and butt augmentation and you can see that an attractive and natural looking figure can be achieved. There are instances where breast implants can look like they are bolted on but these cases are few and far between. As far as facial characteristics are concerned, the jaw line and nose can be manipulated, resulting in a more attractive look for both sexes, male and female. Makeup can make a huge difference, giving women an advantage over men.

Although men are not judged on as many characteristics as women are, they are judged on several important physical factors, especially height and penis size, which are not changeable. There is a penis enlargement surgery available, but it is definitely unsafe and certainly not recommend. “’It is fraught with complications and distraught men,’ says Dr. Aldea. You can add an extra inch or so with an incision by the base of the penis to cut the penile suspensory ligament. However, ‘the downside is that, upon erection, the penis does not ‘rise’ but elongates while pointing at the floor,’ notes Dr. Aldea. While there have been numerous attempts to add girth to the penis, Dr. Chad Prather warns us that ‘As long as fillers have been around (from the early days of silicone), humans have attempted to inject them into their genitals -- usually with disastrous results...Yes. It is theoretically possible to use [fillers] to add penis girth. BUT YOU SHOULDN'T. You're asking for trouble. In fact, you're opening your front door and demanding that trouble come right into the house and stay for a while.’” Many of you have also heard of the leg lengthening procedure, but it involves many dangerous side effects, including losing your limbs for the mere gain of 2-3inches, hardly enough to take a man from short to tall. Height and penis size are very important to women, according to a recent study involving a sample of 105 Australian women who were asked to view 53 of these life-sized robot-like pictures, which rotated so they were visible at different angles. The women -- all heterosexual -- were not told they were participating in a study about penis size. They were simply asked to rate the figures according to sexual attractiveness. Their answers were collected anonymously. Researchers found that women rated tall men with long penises as the most attractive. It’s no wonder so many men are sensitive about these qualities, they are unchangeable yet very important. So let’s assume, for arguments sake, that anyone who has a small penis or is short is unattractive. Fifty percent of American men are under the United States average of 5’9.3” found in the most recent study conducted by the CDC. Fifty percent of men have a penis smaller than the average size, whatever it may be. So statistically speaking, 25% of men are short and have a small penis. Imagine how hard it must be for these men who can’t do anything about it? With a few probability calculations we can see that only 25% of men are of average or above average height and have an average or above average penis. So only 25% of men fit the bill of what is attractive in the eyes of women, facial aesthetics not withstanding. Although I have made a lot of assumptions, I just want to show how important these factors are.

Many will argue that the equalizer is money, that an unattractive man can make himself more attractive with financial success. What these people fail to consider is that many of these men who are financially successful are also physically attractive. According to leadership book Management by Chuck Williams, although only 14.5% of American men are six feet tall, 58% of male CEOs running the 500 largest U.S. companies stand six feet or taller—four times the average. Real estate executive Tim Melville-Ross told the CTI researchers that being 6’6” has been “a huge advantage” in his career.. So while being financially successful may play a role, financial success is greatly influenced by physical attractiveness.

Anyhow, I didn’t intend to make inflammatory comments in this post, I just wanted to bring awareness to male issues. Men have it just as hard as women do in many cases concerning attractiveness, if not harder because many of the masculine characteristics are hard to change. Feel free to disagree with me and my assertions but please cite sources before attacking my claims.