What Guys Are Looking For-Image

“I need to look like the models and actresses because that’s what guys are looking for.”  There is a lot of pressure on girls when it comes to their image.  The statement above is one that a lot of girls feel and it is often an argument used to criticize the media.  But I want to tell you something: the statement is false.  I’m not talking just about the pressure the girl feels.  I’m talking about this statement: “that’s what guys are looking for.”

Premise #1: You must find your true value and beauty in how God sees you.  The Psalms say that you are fearfully and wonderfully made.  The story of creation says that God made people in his image, male AND female.  Nothing else in the whole galaxy is that way besides people.  The Grand Canyon is awesome, but let’s be honest: it’s a big hole in the ground.  YOU are an image bearer of the God of the universe; the Grand Canyon is not.

The above must be your starting point.  But, let’s be honest, you want to be beautiful in the eyes of a guy too.  If you believe in premise #1, your life does not need to begin and end on some boy’s opinion.  But, still, you want to be found attractive. 

As a man, and one who has known many men, I want to take the pressure off.  We don’t expect a girl to look like models.  We’re smart too and we all know that those women are made up by pricey makeup artists and fashion designers and that images of them are adjusted in Photoshop and video editing programs.  Now, are we attracted?  Yes!  But “attracted” doesn’t mean we want to marry them or anything. 

Real men don’t care (I use that word intentionally) about that smoking hot model.  Real men care about real women.  So, does it not matter how you look?  Yes, it does.  Men, by God’s design and wisdom, are very visual.  They are attracted by sight, but they’re not thinking, I don’t like her because she doesn’t look like Anne Hathaway.  A guy wants a girl to look as attractive as she can make herself.  And each girl is different in how that looks.  Some girls are fancy girls.  They look great with that style.  Some girls are more ‘chill’ types.  Whatever.  Guys are attracted to different types of girls too.  Some love dresses, some love jeans. 

It becomes a question of: how do I want to let my femininity show?  There are different answers to that.  There are also times (in general and/or in times of life) where you may not be interested in trying to attract someone.  That’s okay.  It’s unfortunate that girls feel like they have to look attractive, when quite honestly, they’re not looking to attract anyone at a certain point in their lives. 

So, the point: don’t misunderstand men to the point where you feel imagined pressure from them.  Yes, they’ll oo and ah over popular celebrity women, but they will date, propose to, and marry real-life women that they are attracted to and, even more, that they find to be a woman with a real life, spiritual depth, and character.