CHAT: Did the Beauty Gap make John Edwards cheat?
...And other totally mean thoughts that we had over IM this morning. Don't hate us, please.
EM: Did you hear that one of Edwards's responses to the affair was "My wife was in remission at the time"?!!
LO: Yes, so lame.
EM: That obviously didn't make the poll below: "Well, she wasn't dying of cancer at the time, so what's the biggie?"
LO: Although, I must admit I was tempted to add the option "That's what happens when you don't marry within your beauty bracket." Not that I believe that, but you know some people are thinking it! So wrong.
EM: It's like Clive Owen and his missus.
LO: I have a guy friend who's pretty good looking--in good shape, tall, chiseled features--who gets upset when he sees really good-looking women with guys who aren't so easy on the eyes because he thinks it upsets the equilibrium of the dating pool.
EM: Like Cate Blanchett and hubby. I think it's kind of sweet, though--I always assume it's true love when the beauty gap is so wide.
LO: I think the assumption is it works better when the dude is lower on the beauty scale, if you buy into the whole men are more visual and women are more aesthetically forgiving if there's a decent personality there.
EM: Also, funny looking dudes sometimes age very well. Remember what Patrick Dempsey used to look like?!
LO: It's like that line in Knocked Up about aging: "I get worse-looking and he [my husband] gets better-looking. It's so unfair." But I personally don't buy that women aren't interested in looks. Remember that study we mentioned a while back? And I'll admit, I'm constantly appreciating the hotness of my man.
EM: Aw. I also like other people appreciating the hotness of my man.
LO: Sometimes I make mine do jumpy ballet moves in his black boxer briefs because I think he looks so cute and good in them! So, any other thoughts about dating and mating outside your attractiveness bracket?
EM: I always assume, when I see a man with a much less attractive wife, that she mothers him and he likes it. Like, that's he a little boy who likes being taken care of and she's the grownup in the relationship.
LO: That's very Freudian of you.
EM: Actually, I once dated a guy who was kind of funny looking ("butt ugly" according to most of my friends) and I kind of liked it. I mean, I kind of liked the fact that people would look at us and wonder--and assume that we had amazing chemistry or something. How about you?
LO: I think chemistry and attraction happen on so many levels, and outward appearance is only one of them, and it's certainly not the most important level, so it's kinda lame to judge a couple by their cover, to look at them and say "WTF happened there?" Even though I'm guilty of doing it myself.
EM: Me too. It's a guilty pleasure, like seeing pics of celebs without makeup.
LO: It's the same way people automatically decide someone, especially a guy, is gay by the way they dress, or talk or their mannerisms. There are plenty of sweet, emotive, non-macho guys who are straight--I hate it when people say, "Oh, he's gay, fer sure." Lame.
EM: I guess I always just assume that Hollywood is more superficial than the rest of the universe, so it seems particularly striking when you see a beauty gap in a Hollywood couple. It makes me think I'd like to double-date them.
LO: You mean, if a star in Hollywood like Cate Blanchett or HughJackman can marry down lookswise, that makes them extra cool and confident?
EM: Yep, it means they care about more than just how they'll look together on the cover of Us Weekly.
LO: Like Tom Cruise and Katie Holmes do?
EM: Yeah, Tom I-stand-on-a-box Cruise. Or a step.
LO: Will people hate us if we publish this chat?
EM: Well, at least they won't hate us because we're beautiful.
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