The Innocent Smiley: Do We Favor Attractive Characters?

Thursday, August 18, 2016

Do We Favor Attractive Characters?

I originally was going to include this discussion (more like my neverending questions) in my review of Metaltown, but I don't plan on publishing that review until September. But if you do read my review at that time, you'll see what sparked this!

Recently, I've discovered how rare unattractive main characters, mainly girls really, are in YA novels. It's come to the point where I've noticed myself imagining characters as extremely attractive, beautiful, gorgeous, etc., especially when no description is provided.

Just a couple of days ago, I caught myself not liking one of the characters because of what happened to her face, caused by an accident. (More specifically, my first thoughts for her were "Not her face!")

And now that I'm conscious of this fact, I'm wondering why I thought that way. Is it because I just expect attractive characters in all books, because they pretty much are already? Is it because media is filled with attractive girls (and attractive everyone in general)? And as much as YA now is more representative to LGBTQIA+ and other types of diversity, does it ever touch upon beauty standards?

Maybe it's because I've been reading way too many fantasy novels. Everyone seems to be gorgeous in those haha.

But honestly, has anyone else noticed this? Can you remember any main characters, protagonists, or I guess any character really, that wasn't described as physically attractive? If you did, did you end up liking them?

I've found myself subconsciously imagining the characters to be pretty good looking, and I'm not sure what to think of it. Though I really think this stemmed from the fact that everywhere I look, I'm met with high standards of what society deems as "beauty". And as much as I don't care for it, it's definitely affecting how I think (and visualize). Yet, constant reminders of beauty in novels don't cut it for me. I recently DNFed The Thousandth Floor for this very reason. Two out of the five POVs were of genetically enhanced, drop dead gorgeous girls. So the bottom line is, I don't necessarily always favor the beautiful. But if I were to be truthful, I think looks play a part in whether I like a character or not.

Or at least initially. Turns out, after reading Metaltown, I very much favored the character from above over everyone else :)

How about you? How do you feel about attractive characters?

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shannonmiz 83p · 461 weeks ago

First of all, you can't say you don't make pretty graphics and then go ahead and MAKE PRETTY GRAPHICS. That isn't how this works.

Second, yes. I think we DO favor them, which is why authors write them. I mean, it's proven, scientifically, that if you abhor the way someone looks you like them less- even if they're awesome at humaning. BUT overly attractive characters aren't always good either- a lot of times, we hate them too, just as much (or more!) because they're "too perfect".

Third... this whole thing breaks my heart. Because you are not at all the only person who says/thinks "not her face!" and it is human nature, or at least, societal nature. It's also, I assume, what prompted doctors to ask if I wanted to abort my kid because of his craniofacial defect. So you can see how this is a hard pill to swallow. Because fucking no, I did not. (I guess they have to ask? But that isn't the point, it's that ANYONE WOULD because how awful would someone have to be? Or not? Do you see all the moral implications?)

Welp I have just taken your post from "fun book discussion" to "thoughts on reproductive rights and the influence of genetic problems in termination decisions" so... I'll just get out of here now. (I legit thought about deleting my whole comment, but hey, discussions are good, right?)
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1 reply · active 460 weeks ago

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Ellie · 461 weeks ago

*AGGRESSIVELY TAPES THIS POST UP EVERYWHERE*
Thank you for pointing this out! I feel like this is such a rarely-discussed topic, and it needs to be brought up more. Give us average-looking people some love, help us build up our self-confidence. I, for one, would like a kickass character with braces and glasses. Naturally curly hair, large noses, and other physical traits characteristics of racial minorities also seem to be looked down upon in mainstream media, and I'd love to see some more love given to those.

Ellie | On the Other Side of Reality

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1 reply · active 460 weeks ago

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christysloveofbooks4 66p · 461 weeks ago

I see the good looks pushed more in romance and it gets annoying. I've found that fantasy and sci-fi do it a little less. Yeah, I think we favor good looking characters and tend to see them that way.
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1 reply · active 460 weeks ago

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wordsandotherbeasts 1p · 460 weeks ago

Great post! I think, however, that when it comes to reading we just naturally imagine characters as being attractive before any description is given. Like one of the other commenters said, we tend to gravitate towards people who we find physically attractive, and so because we want to like these characters we imagine them as being physically appealing, unless the author has said otherwise. However, I think that's also why some people can be much more forgiving of 'evil' characters if they're attractive, which is a problem. Just because someone is hot doesn't mean they should quite literally get away with murder. Really interesting thought though!

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Maraia · 460 weeks ago

This is such an interesting discussion! Attractive characters are definitely overly abundant in literature. In YA, they're usually described as being beautiful but not knowing it. Cue eye roll.

I can think of only a couple examples of books where the main character wasn't described as beautiful. The first is "Queen of the Tearling." In this case, I found it grating how often it was repeated (both by the main character herself and by others) how unattractive she was. (How ironic that Emma Watson was chosen to play her in the upcoming movie, lol.) I definitely think the author took it too far. The other example is from Protector of the Small quartet by Tamora Pierce. Keladry is not supposed to be particularly attractive, but her other qualities are frequently praised and are what cause her to be loved, not only by her friends in the book but by me as a reader. I wish there were more characters like that!

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caitdrews 124p · 460 weeks ago

I'm with you in that I haaaate when we're CONSTANTLY told how gorgeous they are. It's irritating. omg. As much as I loved The Problem With Forever by Jennifer L Armentrout, I was getting super sick of being reminded how beautiful the love interest was. >_> So actually, I don't mind. I do like pretty people of course, I won't deny.😂 But I mean, people's standards of "pretty" and what they're attracted to are always different SO THERE'S THAT. But honestly when I read a book by an "ugly" character it actually kind of excites me and doesn't turn me off at all! If a character gets like seriously mangled in a book (like a fantasy where they get stabbed in the eyeball or something) it also pleases me (omg I sound like a psychopath...not like pleases me but YOU KNOW WHAT I MEAN) because I know the author isn't afraid to hurt their characters!

1 reply · active 460 weeks ago

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darkeststorm 55p · 460 weeks ago

I love your never ending questions. It's why your discussions are so good, you have so many thoughts regarding characters and concepts and plots and everything else. You're really just really great.

This post is spot-on. Unattractive main characters are super rare, especially when they're girls. It's seriously ridiculous. You automatically picture characters as white, tall, thin, blonde hair or white, short, thin, brown hair.

I hate that it's just the default for characters to be beautiful. If they're not completely beautiful, then they have minor flaws (which to them, can be big flaws, more power to them, that's totally fine) like frizzy hair, short, freckles… Just these small details that make them not completely perfect.

It's seriously such a turn off now. I'm just so beyond over it. Really, everything in society and U.S. culture and expectations and standards. There is just WAY too much value put on appearance. It's seriously one of the most horrible things ever.

How you look affects EVERYTHING: It affects what kind of job you can get (and I won't even touch race here), it affects how people perceive you, it affects how you think of yourself, your mental health, just seriously everything.

Good to know about The Thousandth Floor! I have another book to tell you about involving genetically enhanced, drop dead gorgeous girls. Will DM, of course.

I am glad you liked Metaltown AND favored the above character.

P.S. I agree with Shannon's comment about your pretty graphic.

1 reply · active 460 weeks ago

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Sam Frost · 460 weeks ago

Okay this is something I've thought about so much lately because honestly the Throne of Glass series is just populated with beautiful people and I'm like this is a pretty place but is it realistic? And in my head characters in most books are just really great looking, which is kinda hard to imagine in real life. However, I just read And I Darken and it's pretty straightforward in describing Lada as not attractive at all (physically or internally, honestly lol) and, sadly, at first I was like "I don't know about her..." but soon realized I was being biased because she wasn't the same as all the other characters in other books. I adored her when I was done with the book, but like you it really has me thinking of these things!

Great post!
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rachanahblog 15p · 460 weeks ago

Now that you mention it, most of the YA books I've read, definitely feature drop dead gorgeous MCs. But I personally don't pay as much attention to the MC's "beauty" as I do to that of the love interest. Overall, I think it's more interesting when MCs aren't conventionally attractive because it helps stretch the definition of beauty (after all it means something different in every culture). TLDR: I don't really pay much attention to whether they're beautiful or not unless I have a crush on the book boyfriend.

– Rachana @ Spun

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venosag 72p · 460 weeks ago

Interesting!! I think I always picture characters as attractive even if they aren't described as such. Totally think it is because of society and just how you said that standard of beauty is so pervasive in our lives. I do hate when it said how amazingly beautiful a character is and it is shoved down our throat. Especially when that character has no idea how pretty she is. UGH. Great post!!

1 reply · active 460 weeks ago

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Lais · 460 weeks ago

I have to admit: I feel the same way! For the last couple months, I've realized that I'm constantly picturing characters in an attractive way. Even when the author describes them as an "average looking" or with features that aren't considered pretty, I tend to forget about that and picture them as movie actors in my head regardless.
However, there are a few books that I didn't picture these characters attractive and it made the reading experience better! Eleanor & Park, for example, is a book about a redhead girl that is overweight. The fun part about it is that Rainbow Rowell made a post on her blog about how often she gets questions like: "Okay, but Eleanor is not really fat right? She just sees herself this way.", like fat people couldn't possibly be nice or attractive.
I think this topic and characters like Eleanor should be more present on YA literature. It is also a way to make books more realistic! I mean, we don't have that amount of good looking people in our schools and neighbourhoods in real life.
Great post and great discussion!
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awaalasweaspirecom 1p · 460 weeks ago

I have! I actually recently read an article about how female main characters were described in movie scripts as attractive with more emphasis on physical features then men. It is very interesting. It says something about the world doesn't it?
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bookmarklit 34p · 460 weeks ago

I think about this a lot! Most books have attractive main characters... or, even more likely, "secretly attractive people who don't know they're attractive." There are so few books about normal looking people! haha.

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lexxielin 66p · 460 weeks ago

I do think I imagine characters I enjoy as being attractive (my attractive, anyway - not magazine attractive!). And I think that is partly because most of the people I actually like a lot are attractive to me. Their inner beauty shines through, and thus they are attractive. And I actually really enjoy characters (and people) who are flawed and not afraid to show that they are. Instead of trying to pretend they are perfect, they are OK with their imperfectedness and that is also something I find very attractive!
I love this topic :) Thanks for making me think a bit harder today, Val.
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pupuutc 19p · 460 weeks ago

I love this topic! I am so guilty of this! I don't want book characters to be perfect or has a Mary Sue personality, I want them to be flawed, just not on the physical kind of way... I had no idea why! Sometimes, I'm a bit disappointed if the main character has... say, weird spiky hair instead of silky straight, I mean, what's wrong with me??? I sound SO judgmental! :( and I thought it was just me so it's a relief to be reading this post :P
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Karen Blue · 460 weeks ago

I am reading Metaltown currently, so now I am wondering who you are talking about...? I guess I need to keep reading to find out. I am always amazed at how beautiful people on TV are, especially when it is books to screen. Like what happened to being awkward to not drop dead gorgeous? I guess we are living in the wrong era for that.
I always picture very beautiful people when I am reading. I don't like it when the characters are too flawed, I guess I don't want to read about people like me. Does that make any sense?
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nereyda1003 59p · 460 weeks ago

It gets on my nerves when characters are always beautiful and gorgeous, but it also annoys me when they have something wrong with them. Like a scar or burn or some sort of disability, I can't help but feel that it's usually more like a checkbox kind of thing that authors have to do because it's 'trendy.'

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Peach · 459 weeks ago

Omg this legit made me feel bad for some reason, I have no idea why. hahaha. I literally thought for a second, "DO I???" I mean, there were quite a few in Gossip Girl. (People are probably sighing at how often I name-drop GG, but yeah) But I sympathized with only of them tbh, and that was because she tried to be fashion-y under a budget and unlucky in love/life. Taylor Momsen's, the Pretty Reckless's frontwoman's character. haha. The guys were all judgy a-holes in some way. ANYWAY.

Seriousss about The Thousandth Floor and those Mary Sues - I mean, kind young, genetically-created ladies. I didn't sympathize with either of them. The "love interests" in Red Velvet Crush & Under The Dusty Moon were described as unattractive. Like sweaty and bad hair and indescribable smells. And I felt bad for criticizing the terrible realism in the novel, so I can definitely relate, but i missed the Morgan Matson novels where she'd describe guys like shirtless, perfect, rockhard abs of steel with flippy hair of magic. hahah. Omg I swear. </3
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Tasya · 459 weeks ago

I honestly never pay attention to character's description, I usually have my own image, but with black faces on them :D But I do think you're right, we imagine them as attractive because we're given this certain beauty standards all over the media. I don't really imagine the girls as gorgeous, most of them are just decent looking, but I always imagine boys with gorgeous features haha! But still, my enjoyment of the characters based on their actions and thoughts, that's why usually my characters have blank faces :D
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sydneyeditor1 42p · 458 weeks ago

I agree, I do the same thing with characters by imagining them all gorgeous, of course. But in the same vein, when I see a plain Jane character who the gorgeous guy falls for, and she usually has something extra special about her to warrant the interest from the gorgeous love interest. Basically, there has to be something special about the character, even if she is the plain Jane, but that's what sells I guess.
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Thursday, August 18, 2016

Do We Favor Attractive Characters?

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