Most of us are guilty of playing this supposedly harmless game with our friends; I like to call the game “Rate.” It’s simply when you go through the people you know and rate their looks on a scale from 1-10.
I don’t know why people find this entertaining, but we do. It’s interesting to see what others find attractive and unattractive, but why? Can’t people see that this game, even if the victims of your ratings never ever know what you said about them, is morally wrong? It ingrains a mindset that attraction can be measured with numbers, it disregards the whole concept of inner beauty, and most of all, it leaves us wondering where we would place on that constricted scale of one to 10.I believe that the main issue here is a crumbling self-esteem. If one were truly happy with himself, he wouldn’t have to comment on the looks of other people. If somebody felt and knew that they are wonderful and attractive, they wouldn’t care about other people. They simply wouldn’t care. I’ve often been asked by my friends, male and female, where they would place on the scale. Of course, my opinion is neither popular nor does it matter. I often tell them, “I’m not going to rate you. You look absolutely fine.” I truly mean it when I say that. It’s hard to rate the people you’re close to, because you’re so influenced by their inner awesomeness that you no longer even see them as just a body. After further pushing, I settle with a 7 or 8 (not so high that they do not believe me, but not so low that they’re crushed). They’re satisfied, and then go along their day.Honestly, physical attraction is so much more complicated than what meets the eye; I’ve found myself falling for 5s and not batting an eye for the 9s. I realize this now that I’m a bit older, and I try to restrict myself from rating other people. I make exceptions if I’m rating people highly, or rating celebrities, but it really is destructive to everybody, especially to those struggling with their own self-image and acceptance. Personally, as long as somebody is healthy, they will look perfect just the way they are.
Who is a perfect 10 anyway? Is he tall? Is he blonde, dark, muscular, lean? Is she bodacious or is she slim? The fact of the matter is, there is NO SUCH THING as the perfect 10, just as there is no such thing as a 1, 3, 5, or 7. People are different, and when us teens come to terms with the fact that everybody is different and wonderful and beautiful in their own ways. It sounds preachy and cheesy, but I tell you it’s true.
You’re all dimes, my friends, you and I alike. Thank you for reading!
Great post! We’re all just made of muscle and bone at the end of day? 🙂
Oh exactly. 🙂
Exactly! “Beauty” is all based on perspective and personal experiences. Perhaps every girl you’ve had a crush on has had brown hair, so girls with brown hair are automatically more attractive. Maybe there was this one time a short guy treated you really badly so now you want to date tall guys. Everything that makes up “attractiveness” is purely trivial and at the end of the day, looks can get you a first impression, but it’s your personality that makes it count. To one person, you may be a 10 and a negative 1203 to someone else. At the end of the day, other people’s opinions don’t matter if they’re just trying to get you down or falsely boost your confidence. Love yourself for who you are and other people will too!