“She’s hot.”
“Princeton hot or actually hot?”
“Actually hot.”
“Nah, she’s not that great…”
It’s become ingrained into the Princeton consciousness that our female students are, to put it plainly, just not that attractive. “Public school hot,” “actually hot” and “hot for Princeton” have become recognized categories and adjectives. Even my own boyfriend — after first frantically reassuring me that, of course, I alone break the mold — admitted that he believes that the general caliber of female appearance is somewhat lower here than at big public universities. Follow-up conversations with my male friends have confirmed the widespread nature of this belief.
OK, fine. Putting aside my own personal indignation, let’s look at it objectively. Let’s even, God forbid, assume that this idea isn’t just flat out wrong and that, for whatever reason, Princeton girls at least appear less hot (purely for academic inquiry). Why is this, and what does it say about us as a school?
The obvious question — why physical appearance is prized so highly in the list of attributes for a potential partner — is crucial but essentially irrelevant. We’ve all heard of the importance of inner beauty, we’ve all agreed, and then we’ve all also ignored the platitude in painful fits of lust and the blind hope that perhaps, just perhaps, the deep dimples of our beloved also mean that he or she is kind, caring, intelligent, secure etc. As my friend put it, “Let’s be honest. People are shallow.”
There are several factors at work here, but I point to two main ones: our size and the definition of “hot” being used. School size, I believe, is a cause much overlooked in despairing wails about Princeton girls — we just have fewer girls than the vast majority of state schools because we have (though this may surprise some) fewer students. Therefore the raw number of attractive girls also decreases (see ORF 245 for how to derive this relationship). Since the human mind works off immediate visual perception, the lower number of attractive girls may falsely translate, in the ever-probing male mind, to seem like a lower percentage.
OK, that’s possible. But another important question: What makes someone attractive? Thick hair? Big boobs? Athletic body? Clear skin? Nice smile? As far as I know, there’s no research proving that the genes behind these things are more common in girls in state schools. In other words, scientifically speaking, our girls aren’t less likely to be attractive than those at state schools.
Maybe it’s self-determined, then. Do pretty girls just not come to Princeton? Another friend offered the hypothesis that prettier girls are given less incentive to distinguish themselves academically in high school and are “siphoned off” that way. Entirely possible. One boy, when asked what made state school girls more attractive, replied bluntly, “They’re dumber.” Leaving aside elitism (and the irony), perhaps the perception of girls being “dumb” at state schools makes them more attractive, or, equivalently, makes “smart” girls less attractive because they’re intimidating.
Others I spoke to believe that Princeton girls are less attractive because they have less time to primp or have less incentive to. When you’re writing a senior thesis, I’m guessing straightening your hair, neatening your eyebrows, getting highlights done and actually using lipliner and eyelash curlers don’t fall high on your list of priorities. After all, at the end of the day, what will count more — your thesis or your hair?
My biggest grievance, personally, is that no one considers the flip side. While I have occasionally heard a stray Princeton girl or guy complain about a perceived lack of handsome men, I think I can count the number of times on one hand — while I’d need all the hands of the students in my Developmental Psych lecture (hint: it’s held in Friend 101, and people sit on the floor) to tally up the opposite grievance. What makes the boys think they’re any better than we are? Somehow — maybe not surprisingly — female attractiveness has been put under the microscope far more. Is the fairer sex more forgiving, or are boys here more attractive than girls? Or does it just not matter as much?
Think about it, guys. And next time you’re tempted to bemoan the state of Ivy League ladies’ appearances, take a good hard look not only in the mirror, but at the stereotypes involved.
Neha Goel is a sophomore from San Francisco. She can be reached at ngoel@princeton.edu.
Read More
Why can’t lecturers win the President’s Award for Distinguished Teaching?
Jerry ZhuLet’s acknowledge those who make “boutique teaching” possible, those who work tirelessly to make our rigorous curricula more accessible, and those who dedicate their time to advising and guiding us through all the challenges we face at this University. Lecturers should be eligible for the President’s Award for Distinguished Teaching.
Let’s acknowledge those who make “boutique teaching” possible, those who work tirelessly to make our rigorous curricula more accessible, and those who dedicate their time to advising and guiding us through all the challenges we face at this University. Lecturers should be eligible for the President’s Award for Distinguished Teaching.
Princeton’s administration of justice is Trumpian
Frances BroganThe disparity between the University’s approach to Giberson and its approach to pro-Palestinian protestors reflects a concerning trend of appeasing an increasingly emboldened right rather than resisting the threat it poses to academic freedom and the wellbeing of Princeton students.
Secular Opening Exercises? Don’t throw out the baby with the bath water
Frank StrasburgerThe secular makes no room for the spiritual. What Opening Exercises are meant to convey is the spirit of the institution so that it may be kept alive from generation to generation.
The secular makes no room for the spiritual. What Opening Exercises are meant to convey is the spirit of the institution so that it may be kept alive from generation to generation.
