Edward Champion's Return of the Reluctant

Match.com -- Maintaining the Status Quo Since 1995

Well, if Haggis can do it, so's can I. The Match.com Physical Attraction Test, purportedly millions of dollars and years in the making, is a disturbing image-oriented Flash thing that asks you such terrible questions as "If these were the only five women left on Earth, who could you tolerate?" Now how the hell can any vaguely humanistic-minded person answer that? Well, dear readers, you'd be surprised by how quickly you cross into darkness. Particularly if, like me, you've seen The Omega Man and Logan's Run more times than medically recommended.

Make no mistake: This test is fucking evil. The phrasing of questions makes this test perfectly designed for nihilists, pyromaniacs and armageddon enthusiasts. Namely, people like me. Worse still, it's all visual. Never mind if the lady I was sharing a sleeping bag in a post-apocalyptic Times Square could quote Robert Burns or engage in mischevious banter. There was a stage in this that reminded me of Press Your Luck, whereby you're supposed to single out women you can't stand. Except, in my case, I was concentrating on the women that I'd have no problem spending six lifetimes lovin' and found it difficult for my libido-charged mind to reverse the polarity of the neutron flow.

The results would indicate otherwise:

The choices you made in the test suggest you have strong, automatic preferences for certain types of women. You made your choices quickly suggesting you have clear physical instincts.

Uh, maybe because I'm a dude and I'm more visual-minded, mayhaps? Or I was clicking desperately on the choices to make this hard Hobson's choice objectification stop? You make the call, Match.com. You evil bastards.

But onwards.

My Favorite Features:

• Your photo choices suggest a woman over 55 is probably getting a little old for your tastes (Seems a sick Freudian joke to start this out with.)
• You seemed interested in dating a woman at least 30 or older (Yeah.)
• So-called "Ecto-Mesomorphs," with narrow chins and nicely angular faces (What the hell is this, Ghostbusters?)
• Blue eyes (Oh, don't get Kristallnacht on me, muthafuckas.)
• Light brown hair (This morning, maybe.)
• Wavy hair (Yeah.)
• Straight hair (Yeah. But doesn't that contradict my previous choice?)
• Medium-length hair (Not quite.)

Unique Traits:

• Sometimes, you like younger women, by a good gap. (Saturday night after a lot of Jamican rum? Yeah, a roll in the hay with an undergrad ain't bad.)
• Sometimes, you like women over 5 years older than you. (Damn straight.)
• More unique than "mainstream" appeal (Fuck Maxim, anorexia and silicone implants.)
• Thin, angular faces with a classic or refined look (Bingo again, but only if they look like Liz Scott or Ann Sheridan. Not that your culturally amnesia-charged minds would know anything about that.)
• Cute, button or small noses (Cute? Fuck no. But I do like interesting noses.)
• Glasses and the sophisticated and smart look that goes with them (What can I say? Me like smart women.)
• You appreciate someone with a few extra pounds (As opposed to, say, the starving waifs you presented me with? Jesus, does "plus size" these days mean anyone who has more than one meal a day? If so, count me in.)

Not Your Type:

• Women over age 55 (Again with the Freudian shit.)
• Women under age 30 (Maybe because I might have, you know, specified this at the beginning of the test?)
• High "mainstream" appeal, with little unique flair (We've covered this, I think.)
• Long and narrow "rectangular" faces (Only if someone paid me to kiss Bruce Campbell.)
• Thin lips (Yup, labia latitude's a plus.)
• Black hair (No. Anyone who knows about my obsession with Jennifer Connelly will testify to this.)
• Curly hair (Not necessarily.)
• Women of Black/African descent (Oh, bullshit. You want to play the fucking race card, Match.com? I clicked on hot mommas of all ethnic dispositions, as your "Maybe" photo collection, asking me why, will attest. Maybe because they're, uh, hot? You didn't exactly present a lot. Something like ten out of 100?)
• Hispanic or Latino women (See above.)

How You Compare to Other Men:

4% Very attracted to women my type
14% Attracted to women my type
21% Somewhat attracted to women my type
61% Not at all attracted to women my type

Yeah, mofo! How you like me now, Match.com?

Body Types:

One body type that seems to appeal to you is scientifically called "Endomorph," which roughly translates into solid, "plus-sized" women. She's not overweight, but her big bones and large frame make her hard to miss. Endomorphs are definitely curvier than the other body types, with hips that are wide in proportion to shoulders. Although she is prone to gain weight over her lifetime, at this point she doesn't have a "pot belly" or "love handles," just nice womanly curves! As she ages and puts on weight, she usually carries it in her hips and butt. This type usually makes up 7% of single women. Telling signs of this body type include wide and curved jaws, round faces, "chubby cheeks," a girlish look, a very short and wide neck, plus larger legs and butts.

In other words, the kind of woman that people had no problem with in 1962, but that carries a stigma today. Or as Elizabeth Hurley once said, "I'd kill myself if I was as fat as Marilyn Monroe."

Breast Size:

While you may enjoy looking at different breast sizes, based upon the choices you made, you prefer a well-endowed woman with much larger breasts.

And while you're conveying this earth-shattering piece of news, why not expound on the Third Law of Thermodynamics while you're at it?

My Ideal Match:

Reese Witherspoon? I must confess, I like her as an actress. But, dear Match.com, you clearly do not understand the kind of women I fantasize about while I'm jerking off. As such, you have proven your test, purportedly millions of dollars and years in the making, to be irrelevant and silly.

But there's a far larger issue here: Within seconds of taking the test, you sent me a list of profiles of women who "matched" my purported ideal. That may be fine and dandy with the Sears catalog set, but that disturbs me on multiple levels, Match.com.

So I have to ask, Match.com. Since you're in the business of profiting off of instant objectifying of the opposite gender, how do you sleep at night?

Posted by DrMabuse at February 20, 2004 12:11 PM