The Finch Formerly Known As Gold

11 December 2006

The G. is for "Glacier"

Beauty, like every other form of currency on the planet, is unequally distributed, and being a fan of going for what you really want, and not being a fan of what passes for egalitarianism these days, I find myself sort of endorsing this manifestly unfair enterprise:

Especially in online dating's early days, "It wasn't always the most attractive people — it was the boldest, the bravest, and the most desperate," says [Jason] Pellegrino, who believes that less than 15 percent of traditional Internet daters are great lookers. "Let's face it — when you go online, you look at photos and the profiles second. I wanted to create a site for a demographic that was being overlooked on the online market."

And that demographic, he says, is comprised of the guys and girls gorgeous enough to cause whiplash.

Here's how HotEnough.org works: Potential members submit three photos, including a full-body shot. If Pellegrino and his silent business partner deem the person "hot enough," they are moved into the voting arena where the 150 current members check them out. In order to win membership, a prospective hottie needs to be rated at least an "8" on the Hot-O-Meter scale of 10 by at least 25 people.

Inasmuch as it would take plastic surgery, or metallurgy, or cosmic radiation, or something, to bring me up to a 3, I'm obviously not a candidate for this service. On the other hand, it won't have any effect on my own activities, or lack thereof — those who do qualify are not likely to have been looking my way otherwise — and I persist in believing that if you're looking for a trophy, the most logical approach is to go to, well, a trophy shop.

(Via Fark.com.)

Addendum, 12 December: Rachel notes that this isn't exactly a new concept.

Posted at 2:29 PM to Table for One


I too endorse this idea. Had there been good market differentiation when I was on the market -- with all the insufferably shallow jerks trolling their own damn pond well away from the persons-of-character, it might not have taken me nearly as long to find a good match whose head had not been preemptively turned by some Bowflexed airhead who could never have appreciated her depth and her wit.

By my calculations, I could have saved almost a week.

Posted by: McGehee at 9:04 AM on 12 December 2006