I think it is important to keep things in proper perspective…

“It is not whether you win or lose,
It’s whether I win or lose!”

“I used to be extremely competitive, but I have mellowed out with age.
Now I just want to win.”

:D:D

This is a great thread, as I was recently having a similar discussion about this topic with a friend of mine… (Charlene Darwin). Relative to “physical attractiveness competition”…here is what we came up with…

Competing through physical appearance may be just another one of those evolutionary based behaviors that continued on through time on an unconscious, instinctual level. It was a critical function for Wilma Flintstone, when a woman’s ability to survive and reproduce depended upon her ability to attract a superior mate. (The best hunter with the biggest club, lol). Youthful appearance and good health improved a female’s chances of attracting a good provider and protector. You know, the old theory of…“survival of the titty-ist“, err…uh…I mean the “fittest.”

Youthful appearance, facial symmetry, body shape…waist-to-hip ratio (WHR) etc. and similar issues are still primary factors influencing the determination of female “attractiveness.” Cosmetics, plastic surgery and all the body “enhancement” paraphernalia are just adaptation strategies to appear more “attractive”. The more physically appealing attributes you can display (over your “competition”), the better you will potentially fare in society.

So, there ya’ go…one (evolutionary) “theory” for physical appearance competition. It does require a stretch…but if you squint your eyes…you might see two areas of applicability (competition) on the forum:

- “Who” is “passable”…and… who is “the most” passable.
- “Who” is the most “authentic” representation of a “genuine” CD, TG, TS, TM, etc.

I am not suggesting any of these issues represents dysfunctional or vindictive behavior on this forum. I am just sharing some personal observations (of typical human social behavior) on the forum that I find quite entertaining.

For the record…I am impressed at the forum’s (aka…moderators’) ability to maintain an overall supportive and respectful environment for all of the members. Pretty amazing when you consider the size.

Am I an innately “competitive” person? Yes. But just like everything else, sometimes “competing” makes sense…and sometimes “competing” would be engaging in nonsense. With all due respect…for me…competing for physical attractiveness is nonsense. Particularly on this forum, where honest representations and “genuine” identities are unverifiable, as well as being subject to the influence of tools like photo-shop, .

Heck, for all I know…some of you here could actually be guys, which are just pretending to be girls!

:D