This might be kinda out of the blue, but...
whom do you find extremely attractive? If you're married I'll pretend it's your spouse
Seriously though, I'd like to know what people find attractive in others. I'm not a sociologist, but what can I say, such studies fascinate me, so do indulge. Also, I don't know if such a question has ever been asked in STC... well perhaps it has, but never hurts to ask again! I'll give my answer later. Also, please refrain from juvenile posts (fortunately most people here are fairly mature... I did say most!)

cheers,

-avatar!

May I ask what brought this on?

I've actually been curious for a long time about attractiveness and what causes it.  I mean, why do some people find some things attractive and others not?  This applies to people, art, music, etc..  I kind of find it fascinating wondering why to me someone might be absolutely drop-dead gorgeous but someone else would be totally turned off.  I guess it's part of what makes humans kooky and mysterious!

I have a theory on physical attractiveness.

It seems to me that physical attractiveness in a woman is a case of getting everything in the right place - symmetrical, not too big or too small. In short, plain. Some of the most attractive women are like blank canvases.

And if women have features that stand out, like bug eyes, big chin or whatever, they can still be attractive but the rest needs to be really balanced and not stand out in any way. The more stand-out features they have, the less likely they are to be considered to be attractive.

So my theory is that, ultimately, men want women with weak generic genes so that their own genes will dominate when they breed. Somewhere instinctively, men want as close to a clone as possible and weak genes can give them that.

Conversely, women often seem to want a man with strong features. I haven't thought about that long enough to theorise how that works.

That's simple, dude - per usual, it's just women wanting the exact opposite of what men want.

Anyway, here are my two cents on the original question. I'm not saying that I have a formula or a list of things I look for in a woman, but here are things that attract me:

- cute face (more girl next door than magazine model)
- sense of humor
- height/weight proportional
- pleasant singing voice (c'mon - that's wicked important!)
- respect/courtesy

Things that repel me:

- expensive purses
- girls with big, ugly feet wearing tiny little sandals
- orange skin
- being loud and obnoxious
- promiscuity
- anyone who thinks that singing "I Touch Myself" at karaoke is a good idea

Needless to say, I'm still single, live at home and haven't had sex in so long that if I were in that situation again I would probably just squint at the girl like I was trying to read tiny directions to something complicated in low light. But, overall I am attracted to kind, cute girls with a sense of humor and I am totally appalled by girls that "know" that they're "hot" that take dozens of pictures like this at different angles for Facebook and hang out with dudes that look like this guy.

PS: I wear pink shirts, but I'm a man, dammit.

I'm married.   Physical appearance is only one part of the attractiveness equation.  On physical appearance alone, I tend towards "cute" over "sexy." Personality (charisma) adds to the attractiveness factor.

So, answer your own question.  Share! :-)

Jay:
Generally men are attracted to qualities in women that indicate health and fertility. What you call "plainness" is, I think, an absence of any noticeable defects. Asymmetry and unusual proportions are often caused by prenatal or childhood illness or malnutrition. Smooth, unblemished skin suggests resistance to the infections that cause acne, pox, and boils. Long, thick hair suggests that a woman has been healthy for at least several years. A small waist coupled with larger hips and breasts indicate high estrogen levels (and the small waist, I guess, also indicates that she isn't in the later stages of pregnancy).

Your clone theory doesn't sound quite right to me--if cloning were really the ideal, we'd never have stopped reproducing asexually, or at the very least we'd be more attracted to our sisters.

LOL, those girls look like they are from Jersey (= not hot).

Attractive =
-cute face
-sexy shape
-eats healthy
-sweet, wholesome
-works out
-likes my writings
-not bitchy
-doesn't drink all the time
-has a career
-gets sarcasm

Not attractive =
-eats crap
-closed-minded
-doesn't work out
-goes to tanning beds and lays out
-drinks all the time
-catty
-resists my charms
-doesn't understand my writings
-gold-diggers
-content with working in a dead end job

As I'm asexual and probably a host of other things, this is a tough question.

If I had to sum it up, I guess I could do so in one word - "pretty."

Delicate, effeminate, quiet (but razor sharp, mentally)

Pretty.

Mostly limited to my imagination, I suppose.

http://heise.deviantart.com/gallery/

A girl who can appreciate you and love you for what and who you are simply has no equal. I don't care what anyone says.

Looks are always a part of the equation, but they only carry one so far.

I like that...good post.

Last I heard, I thought you were married, so I thought you would have more to add to this topic.

I LIKE BIG BUTTS AND I CANNOT LIE...

ok, jk, that's ridiculous.

I have nothing constructive to add to this thread. I like my wife.

Nah, you're right, Ramza. Seriously, who doesn't want to get sprung?

I am in favor of large posteriors, and I am unable to utter a falsity.

Really now? I like women who are professional. I guess you could say I'm interested in "Moderately Physically Attractive Office Chicks." I go for pretty conservative women, the kind who're opposite of the MTV ideal. I want a woman who IS NOT loud, rude, obnoxious, promiscuous, gold-digging, etc. A good voice is nice, though.

Hookers.

That's not what I meant. You're disgusting.

What, you're an amoeba? (Joking)

Yeeeaaahhh, I'd like to think that I've pretty much freed myself of all sexual thoughts and behavior, but every so often...

"I'm reminded of what it's like to love a woman." (Queue song)

In retrospect, I was attracted the most to the fact that I could live vicariously through him.
I was my happiest when he was dating a guy for a while, after we'd been married.

The divorce will be officially on the books in about 7 weeks.  We were together almost two years, but he left in pursuit of a family and someone who would pay him more attention.  I don't regret any of it; it was all a great learning experience.

Also... asexual, yeah, no sex drive.  Haven't ever had one.  That's not very conducive to a healthy married life either, though we were pretty clear on that from the getgo.  It wasn't ever an issue.

To conclude, as this is not a post about Amber, but a post about what people think is attractive, lately I've been looking at guys strictly as "look-but-don't-touch" objects, and that seems good enough for now.  I have a hard time explaining what attracts me to guys other than what I posted above.

Short skirt, looooooooooooooooong jacket.

I so wish I knew what that meant...

Cake song, I think.

I lol'd.
In the very literal sense of the word.

As for me, I wish I knew what attracted me, but it seems I'm not able to find any common characteristic in the gf's I've had so far...

I'm definitely NOT a fan of Large Posteriors, in fact the rear-end doesn't interest me in the least for some reason, but I like sizeable chests. A LOT. They have to be proportionate though.
I prefer girls with a physique ranging from normal to slightly chubby, but shun really skinny and sporty ones. Defiinitely don't wanna see any bones.
I also prefer 'cute' to 'beautiful', and especially HATE it when a girl knows she's good-looking and (ab)uses it.

As for personality, I tend to fall for women who are funny, clever (not book-smart, but experienced in life), mature, not too soft, in fact kinda strong (dated several Chinese), straightforward, loyal and as laid-back as possible.
Also, they have to be able to stand some alcohol.

I have always said that looks are not important and that a relationship should be built solely on mutual love and respect, but I have grown to understand that physical attraction and a healthy love-life are VERY important in a relationship as well.

Ah, I didn't mean to ask for that much information.  A "will no longer married, because it didn't work out" will suffice.  ^^;;;  Sorry to hear that the marriage didn't work out.

I think that being attracted to someone in ways that are not sexual in nature is a valid position.

I'm hot for Judy Greer, star of ABC's "Miss Guided". When I recently read that she played the secretary on "Arrested Development" I realized that I've been fond of her longer than I realized. Such a sweet smile.

I'm not jumping into the topic in part because I can't quite arrange my answer into words, but I wanted to thank you for putting a name to that face. I've seen her and been smitten with her but never quite caught or name or realized she was in a TV show, let alone the star of one. Her name plus Google reveals to me she's done something on film I never would have guessed she would. :x

Tell me about it! 27 Dresses?!!! I might have to check it out when it comes out on DVD, though She's also in that new Mac ad. So hot!!!

Things I find attractive in women: intelligence, open-mindedness, thoughtfulness/sweetness (genuine, not affected), loyalty, good sense of humor, good taste/sense of style (but not pretentious), comfort level with her own skin, a thick enough skin to handle my personality and give it back to me, and a certain minimum level of physical attractiveness... I don't think a woman needs to be gorgeous or even pretty to be attractive, but she should not be unattractive and should look and act healthy (I realize that's all very vague, but I hope you can grasp at what I'm reaching for here).