The subject of attractiveness has been an area of research interest for many years now. Couples have always been involved in their looks and how they appear to one another. As time passes, the idea of appearance becomes more prominent than it used to be in past times. This is because people are becoming more conscious of how they look and want to ensure that they stand out among others. People believe that if you are not well dressed or groomed, then your partner may see you as unattractive and thus lack interest in you (Davies & Sprecher, 2014). In fact, some studies have shown that couples often judge each other based on physical attributes such as height, weight, skin color, body shape, and hair type.
A study conducted by Cheryan et al. (2015) showed that black men and women tend to date outside their race more when they perceive themselves as being physically attractive. In addition, individuals who feel less attractive are likely to date people from different races or backgrounds than those who think they are good looking (Wenner et al., 2017).
It is essential to note that couples do buffer each other from cultural pressures about attractiveness; however, this depends on various factors including relationship length, age, gender identity, socioeconomic status, and marital status. If we take into consideration relationship length, a couple might find it easy to stay together without paying much attention to appearance because they know what they have gone through overtime. They are aware of all the challenges associated with maintaining a stable relationship. Therefore, they will focus on compatibility rather than attractiveness. On the other hand, younger couples are always judged based on looks due to the influence of social media and other forms of mass media, which promote images of idealized beauty. Such couples, therefore, work hard to match these ideals despite knowing that their relationships might not be healthy enough.
In terms of gender identity, men and women tend to view attractiveness differently. Women place higher values on physical attraction compared to men (Olson & Sprecher, 2018). This means that men may feel comfortable dating someone who does not meet certain standards of attractiveness while women prefer to be with an individual whose looks match what society considers appealing.
Many women would like to be with a guy with muscular bodies, chiseled features, and dark complexion. In fact, studies show that black women have fewer options in the dating market than any other race or ethnicity group (Gonzaga et al., 2017). Thus, they often end up being more selective when choosing partners.
For most men, they do not care about such attributes as long as they can satisfy them sexually.
Socioeconomic status also plays a significant role in determining how people perceive attractiveness. People from high socioeconomic backgrounds are likely to date individuals who look like them because they believe it is easy to maintain a relationship if there is no major class difference between them. Besides, such persons are less affected by cultural pressure regarding appearances since they already possess everything they need including money, power, and social connections. Individuals from low socio-economic groups, on the other hand, will find it challenging to find partners who fit into their worldview, which often results in interracial couples due to lack of choices within one's community. Similarly, marital status has been shown to influence partner selection as married individuals tend to look for partners similar to themselves whereas singles seek those different from them (Norton & Ariely, 2016). This is because single people want something new while married people want someone stable, secure, and reliable to share life experiences with.
Couples buffer each other from cultural pressures about attractiveness depending on several factors such as age, gender identity, socioeconomic status, and marital status.
Younger couples focus more on looks compared to older ones; women place higher value on appearance than men; individuals from lower socioeconomic groups are more likely to be with someone from another race or ethnicity; singles prefer dating outside their group while married people stick with what they know best.
Culture still influences partner selection significantly despite all these differences. Thus, it would be prudent to accept each other's imperfections rather than focusing too much on external attributes that may not matter in the long run.
To what extent do couples buffer each other from cultural pressures about attractiveness?
Couples may not always be able to completely buffer each other from cultural pressures around attractiveness as these can influence both individuals within the relationship. Cultural messages about beauty standards are often ubiquitous, and couples may have different experiences of them depending on their individual backgrounds and upbringings.