Vast Majority of Young Women Caught in the Grip of Common Sense!

Quarter of Women Would Rather Be 'Top Model' Than Nobel Winner

Posted by Ken Wheaton on 03.24.09 @ 11:10 AM

Oh, wait. If I break out my calculator and ... hold on ... running this complex equation. That means over 75% of women would not rather win "America's Next Top Model" than the Nobel Prize. So the overwhelming majority of 18- to 34-year-old women are not slobbering, beauty-obsessed fools. And the other 25%? Well, maybe they're not foolish either. Maybe they figure that a "peace prize" given out to the likes of Yasser Arafat ain't worth having in the first place.

Another not-so-distressing stat: Some 91% of women "would rather live a long life and lose their looks than die young and beautiful." I guess "Vast Majority of Young Women Caught in the Grip of Common Sense" wouldn't make a sexy enough headline for a press release that's ... wait, what's this damn press release for, exactly? Tucked way down after a laundry list of stats (50% of women 18-24 would marry an ugly man if he were a multimillionaire), we find this:

Premiering March 31 at 11 p.m. ET/PT, Oxygen's new series "Pretty Wicked" puts looks aside as 10 women compete in a series of challenges designed to "beautify" their insides to match their outside. The twists and turns in this social experiment continue while the contestants find themselves without the everyday luxuries they are accustomed to.

4 Comments

  By Stacy | LINDEN, MI March 24, 2009 01:36:20 pm:

I love this. I'm in the 18-34 y/o women demographic, and had to take a double take, too, when I read that. Personally, though, I'd rather win a Pulitzer than either of those two. :)

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  By seanm | SAN FRANCISCO, CA March 24, 2009 02:11:17 pm:

Wow, now reality TV promotions are managing to be just as mindless as the shows themselves...or should I say, 'continue to be'?

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  By Dave | Springfield, VA March 25, 2009 09:26:42 am:

Let me guess ... those who would rather be beautiful are morons, right?

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  By marcia.sutter | WINNETKA, IL March 26, 2009 11:37:15 am:

Here's the tricky bit - Comments to that study ("Not a Scientific Survey" disclaimer included - http://www.cnbc.com/id/29876749) reveal that
1) Way more men are interested in commenting than women (86% of responses)
2) Among the men, more would rather date the supermodel than the Nobel Laureate (46% vs 40%)

Funny Business Poll - Not a scientific survey.

Would you rather win "America's Next Top Model" or the Nobel Peace Prize * 104 responses
I'm female and want to be the Model - 2.9%
I'm female and want the Peace Prize - 11%
I'm male and want to date the model - 46%
I'm male and want to date the Nobel laureate - 40%

In that context, we should not be surprised that men's preferences shape women's attitudes about and aspirations for themselves.

Marti Barletta, author, Marketing to Women

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