NY Mag Article: 'I Love Watching Men Worry About Balding'

[kingdomforhair]

I agree with Fred. Those of you disagreeing do indeed make the valid point that aesthetically, baldness is a negative; what you are missing is that it is not that big of an aesthetic negative. In addition, there are other much larger factors at play which determine whether a man is "attractive" to women or not. Remember, women are not like men. Whether a man finds a woman attractive is almost exclusively determined by her appearance, it doesn't matter if she has no friends, or is an introvert, or if she living with her parents, or if she is poor, if she has no career ambitions, and so on. Not so for attractiveness of men to women.

The cherry on top: it is allowed, even expected of leading men, to wear clothes which suit them. But not a wig (which is essentially a kind of clothing).

It depends on the man.

If we're talking about the average man, if he loses his hair then it will be a big drop in his attractiveness. Average men don't have millions of dollars or fancy cars to compensate.

There is a only a small percentage of men who look good bald. IF you're skinny, or pale, or with the wrong skull shape then you'll look very bad bald. While women have more attributes they care about than men they still place a premium on genetic health in their partners.

It's easy to test out, go to a bar dress and act affluent/powerful as a bald man and see how women react. Why worry about these theories where women care little about looks, go out and test your theory in the real world.

I would say allot of what men feel about balding comes from real world experience, no doubt they first try and digest the positive messages people have on balding ("Don't worry women don't care") then the real world kicks in.

If women and society truly aligned with your theory then this forum would not exist, sure there might be a few eccentrics who no matter the evidence available won't listen to reality but mainstream forums like this would have no purpose.

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I think baldness isn't as aesthetically damaging as some would make out but then again its entirely dependent on the person. I'm sure Michael Jordan didnt lose much sleep when he starting going bald, Brendan Fraser on the other hand...

In your example, Michael Jordan is an athlete, his appearance does not matter. But for sure being athletic, tall and black helps if you're bald.

Brendan Fraser is an actor, his career is built largely on his looks. He was always the likable strongman. Not that he's balding it's no longer possible for him to elicit a leading man vibe. His career is essentially over in mainstream, high budget movies. Same for Jude Law.

It's strange these celebrity examples are always used. Why not think about the average man who has no millions, is not a famous athlete and maybe already had marginal confidence in himself?

I typed in "average young man" and this is what I got:

On a slightly above average guy like this would probably just lose a point if he shaved, but he could forget about looking attractive. No hair just makes his face plain as can be.

If you look like this (short, bald, skinny, pale) it's game over, even if you fixed the pale, skinny part. A narrow face is a death sentence.



Being short and having narrow shoulders seals the deal. If you're bald you have to be masculine.

If anyone thinks i'm being shallow go as see for yourself, it's coming up to the weekend, go talk to women instead of seeking false boosts of self esteem from well meaning but deluded strangers on the internet.

 

[Wolf Pack]

I agree with Fred. Those of you disagreeing do indeed make the valid point that aesthetically, baldness is a negative; what you are missing is that it is not that big of an aesthetic negative. In addition, there are other much larger factors at play which determine whether a man is "attractive" to women or not. Remember, women are not like men. Whether a man finds a woman attractive is almost exclusively determined by her appearance, it doesn't matter if she has no friends, or is an introvert, or if she living with her parents, or if she is poor, if she has no career ambitions, and so on. Not so for attractiveness of men to women.

The cherry on top: it is allowed, even expected of leading men, to wear clothes which suit them. But not a wig (which is essentially a kind of clothing).

It's a very big one I feel but depends on how you previously looked and the kind of hot girls you went for. I've mentioned that I have done modelling before in my early 20's and as an under 5, again nothing major, but good enough looking to highlight the validity of the point I will make. Just to add I have a lean physique with a bit of muscle, nothing great like some of the guys on here.

When I meet attractive girls, I usually know in a few seconds that they like my look, from there on it's for me to lose. Even saying stupid things they will find "endearing." Obviously I am not every girls type before someone gives an aggressive reply but I am making this point to say that women, like men, ARE superficial as well, probably more!

Men are nice enough to give most girls a chance, anyone who is 5/10, bit of a body, friendly, already has so much choice - same is not true for most men. Now think an 8/10 or more girl, she will judge in that split second your attractiveness level and this is where a bald head usually will screw you up. Even if you got a good career, money, these are compensating factors but will still not change "real attraction." Not to mention you will have to persist with her and show your worth.

So yes, I would not appear attractive to these pretty girls for sure if the hair went completely. Just to add, as a Norwood 2-3 I haven't noticed a changed yet. I think if you have a a black type face, balding will not be a death sentence. But how many of us have that on here?

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Pretty girls can see past scars, health conditions but baldness is something which drastically changes your look. So even if they say balding is nothing and mean it, subconsciously they will think otherwise - the initial attraction simply won't be there which would hurt me. I bet if I go in with a shaven/buzzed hair, game over with these kind of girls. For me, hair is crucial.

 

[swingline747]

Yes, if redhead girls don't disgust you, then yes, it's just hating. You have no reason not to have a redhead girlfriend.

That's what I mean, bald men are not disgusting, they do not repulse women. But women just hate them because society told them to do so.

Yes bald men are less attractive, of course it's evolutionary, but my point is that baldness is not a deal-breaker.

Women decided it was a deal-breaker under the pressure of society and Hollywood culture. That's why you see the "No bald men sorry" on dating websites.

What's with those preferences anyway? Like us men are allowed to be picky.

I maintain that baldness hate is nothing but a social construct, even if I know that Wolf Pack and swingline disagree with me on that.

Im going to disagree with you on 2 points here.

1) not wanting to date a ginger doesnt mean you hate gingers. You could have a ginger friend. I like red heads, other guys dont. They dont HATE them they just dont find them attractive, doesnt mean they disgust you. Thats like white guys who dont find black girls attractive. They dont hate black people, they just arent sexually turned on to them. Or fat women. Its just not arousing. I could honestly care less about them. Im not going out of my way to hate them. They dont "hate" bald men. They just dont find them attractive. Its genetics. Some people will make comments but that comes from re evaluating themselves at the expense of someone else, not genuine hate. 99% of the time when the encounter is over they forget about you, not spend the day grip fisted and seething.

2) you see things like "no bald men" on sites because they "Can". Its a different time where women can say whatever they want now unscathed. But god for bit I wear a no fat chicks t shirt then Im a jerk. They can so they will. They have the backing of liberals left winger finger pointers and the anonymity of the internet behind them. Society didnt breed the disgust it just made it okay for women to be vocal about it now.

 

[swingline747]

1) I see your point, but once again, it's not that they're not attracted to bald men. Like it's not that I'm not attracted to black women, I'm strongly repulsed by them.

Therefore I do not hate them, if I chose not to date black women because I thought there was something wrong with them or I was simply racist, then it would be hate.

Now maybe a very small percentage of women will be truly repulsed by a bald head for some reason. But then again, the vast majority of women can be attracted to a bald man.

The fact that they want nothing to do with bald men is due to hate. Bald men are evil right? You remember the villains in the movies? And bald men look like creepy paedophile! Hate.

I don't know if I can get my point across here. Most superficial women (that means almost all women) just decide they don't want to be with a bald man and it has nothing to do with attraction.

I think a lot of those movies though women dont watch. In most chic fliks even the bad guys is a hot debonair jerk.

I think it has everything to do with attraction. There are guys who are REALLY good looking with shaved heads. None of use unfortunately. Im sure they dont have as many issues. There will be girls who dont like the shaved head and hes screwed but overall he will have a different experience than us.
MOST guys dont look good bald. I mean I would get flirted with by some girls shaved but NOTHING in the way of what I Would get with good hair. Women didnt hate me here at work, they told me I didnt look good though.

 

[CaptainForehead]

I just want to say that after the recent flood of nonsense posts here, it is a pleasure to read well argued points of view from you all in this thread

 

[Nadester]

The only thing that goes along with bald men is that they make good husbands IMO.Greedy like a wolf for sex and working their *** off to prevent a divorce from their wives.
Honestly going bald before 50 is just so damn wrong

 

[shookwun]

It depends on the man.

If we're talking about the average man, if he loses his hair then it will be a big drop in his attractiveness. Average men don't have millions of dollars or fancy cars to compensate.

There is a only a small percentage of men who look good bald. IF you're skinny, or pale, or with the wrong skull shape then you'll look very bad bald. While women have more attributes they care about than men they still place a premium on genetic health in their partners.

It's easy to test out, go to a bar dress and act affluent/powerful as a bald man and see how women react. Why worry about these theories where women care little about looks, go out and test your theory in the real world.

I would say allot of what men feel about balding comes from real world experience, no doubt they first try and digest the positive messages people have on balding ("Don't worry women don't care") then the real world kicks in.

If women and society truly aligned with your theory then this forum would not exist, sure there might be a few eccentrics who no matter the evidence available won't listen to reality but mainstream forums like this would have no purpose.

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In your example, Michael Jordan is an athlete, his appearance does not matter. But for sure being athletic, tall and black helps if you're bald.

Brendan Fraser is an actor, his career is built largely on his looks. He was always the likable strongman. Not that he's balding it's no longer possible for him to elicit a leading man vibe. His career is essentially over in mainstream, high budget movies. Same for Jude Law.

It's strange these celebrity examples are always used. Why not think about the average man who has no millions, is not a famous athlete and maybe already had marginal confidence in himself?

I typed in "average young man" and this is what I got:

On a slightly above average guy like this would probably just lose a point if he shaved, but he could forget about looking attractive. No hair just makes his face plain as can be.

If you look like this (short, bald, skinny, pale) it's game over, even if you fixed the pale, skinny part. A narrow face is a death sentence.

View attachment 31019

Being short and having narrow shoulders seals the deal. If you're bald you have to be masculine.

If anyone thinks i'm being shallow go as see for yourself, it's coming up to the weekend, go talk to women instead of seeking false boosts of self esteem from well meaning but deluded strangers on the internet.

U can tell by just looking at the average young man that without hair he would be just another bald man. But seemingly enough with hair, and the right style, and product he could make himself appear attractive in the eyes of women.

narrow skinny fat guys requires hair to look remotely average, without it he'd be invisible. Hair for soft featured men is a must to even look average