Pretty sure these two are tens on anyone's scale.

On a scale from one – ten, how hot are you? Are you a solid eight, a mousy three, or perhaps a bombshell ten? A new LiveScience study reveals that the more you adhere to your stereotypical gender role, you more accurately you know your hotness level.

To conduct this study, Mitja Back and her fellow researchers studied 192 females and 190 males at a real speed-dating event. The researchers asked these daters to fill out a questionnaire about their personalities, go through a round of three-minute speed dates, and predict the number of dates that would be interested in seeing them again. This predicted number was then compared to the actual number of “yeses” the daters got from potential mates in order to see how accurately they could predict their own level of attractiveness.

The researchers found that the more stereotypically feminine – that is, the more warm, cooperative, and trusting – the women were, the more aware they were of their looks. Likewise, the men that adhered to the stereotypically masculine patterns of dating, such as the desire to be promiscuous and a need to play the field, correlated with a sense of self-awareness when it came to their appearance.

Although neither sex was particularly great at predicting their attractiveness to others, with most overestimating their appeal, the study did show a solid correlation between gender roles and the participants’ sense of  accuracy. The researchers hypothesized that “the reason for their finding is that daters who conform to gender stereotypes get more practice at the mating game. Promiscuous men are more likely to put themselves out there…[and] warm, trusting women may attract more flirtation than their aloof counterparts,” writes Stephanie Pappas, senior writer at LiveScience.

This experience can lead to a better understanding of one’s own league and, more importantly, where one fits into ever-important one-ten scale.

So what does this mean for our own sense of attractiveness as young, self-confident women?  Are only stereotypically feminine women considered pretty? Are only cocky men hot? What do you think?

February is International Boost Self-Esteem Month, and I think it comes at a perfect time.  We could all benefit from a little (or big) boost of self-lovin’ when the holidays are long gone, the weather is cold, and school is starting to get stressful again.

Self-esteem is a major issue in our perfection-driven and celeb-obsessed society, and college-aged women are especially vulnerable.  There’s so much pressure to get straight A’s, pad your resume with extracurriculars, be a social butterfly and a dating expert, and look like a model while doing it all.  It’s so easy for our self-esteem to plummet when expectations for us are sky-high, but letting this happen can actually be dangerous!

Low self-worth puts you at a high risk for eating disorders (experts say that at least 1/5 of college girls suffer from one), and drug use, and can eventually lead to unhealthy relationships and problems in the workplace.  So this month, let’s stop with the self-deprecating and learn to love ourselves!

Need a little help? No problem. We turned to some experts to give us tried-and-true tips to boost our self-esteem. No cheesy mantras here – just real things you can do to make yourself feel better about…yourself. Read More »

The mission of National Eating Disorder Awareness Week is to facilitate open, honest preventive communication about the attitudes, perceptions, and pressures that shape eating disorders and body image issues. An eating disorder is not a choice, it is a life-threatening illness. In light of the fact that 91% of women on college campuses have attempted to control their weight through dieting and that 1 in 3 of those dieters develop compulsive eating and/or exercising behaviors, it is crucial that those of us who have overcome the frightening, destructive grasp of an eating disorder open up and share our story of hope.

My personal fight with an eating disorder started innocently as a goal to get fit and healthy as a freshman in college. I was never overweight, but I suddenly became very self-conscious in a dorm room filled with girls who were prettier and thinner. I began joining in on the nightly runs and workouts with the other girls – not only were helping me lose weight and get in shape, but I was making new friends as well. It was very difficult for me to be in a new place with no one I knew. I had grown up in a small Christian high school where everyone knew my name, where it was easy to be popular and liked, and where I identified my worth with the achievements, awards, and titles that I held. Now, as I began to compare myself with my new friends, I suddenly felt insecure and as if I had lost my worth. With the praise that I began to receive about how great I looked, I started to believe that being skinny would be what could make me happy and feel self-worth. Read More »

You know when life just sucks? When one crappy thing happens after another, after another and you feel like life just took a big dump on you?

Yeah, welcome to my life as of late.

It’s like I can’t get out of these series of unfortunate events that are just cropping up day after day. Not everything is totally sh*tty, I do see the good things that are continuously happening, but it’s like I’m being stoned and the world just keeps on throwing rock after rock at my face.

And it hurts.

The worst part of it though, is that I’m having a hard time separating these crappy times from my self-esteem. When life gets me down, my self worth tends to go with it. And most times, I end up at the end of it all trying to get my life—and my body—back in loveable condition.

But this time I say NO.

This time, despite all the sh*t, I’m trying my hardest to keep my body-love separate from my life-love. So what if my life sucks, I am determined not to let the self-esteem I have worked so hard to build crumble along with the rest of my life. Even when everything else is going down, I am working on staying strong.

I happened along the blog La Dolce Vita’s most recent entry, an affirmation to YOU.

There is no one else in the world like you. There is no one who has experienced every single experience you have or shares the exact same outlook that you do. You bring something unique and wonderful into this world every single day you are in it. You are one of a kind and while it might be nice to admire the bodies, personalities, achievements and other attributes belonging to others, you can only be you. Read More »

If you’re an obese teenage girl, you’re half as likely to go to college as a “normal” teenage girl.

Researchers at the University of Texas-Austin confirmed this hypothesis in a recent study of 11,000 young adults, proving what we’ve all known for years: obesity isn’t just detrimental to one’s physical health.

But why are girls getting the brunt end of this stick?

Even girls of average weight have image problems; obese girls are dangerously subject to a negative self – image. And a negative self – image lessens the desire to be social, to go to college, and to generally succeed in anything either than being overweight, creating a vicious cycle spurred by the obesity epidemic.

Researchers say that obese girls can improve their self – worth by joining clubs or creating close relationships with parents and teachers. God. If I hear “join a club!” as the solution to a pervasive social issue one more time… I just don’t know.

The fact of the matter is, once an epidemic keeps people from attending college, one of the best and most accepting receptacles for everyone from weirdos to clowns to jocks that one will see in a lifetime, the solution cannot be to “join a club.” Read More »

As if women needed another method to be exploited, Tennessee lawn care company Tiger Time Lawn Care has decided to boost sales by offering routine lawn service performed by bikini-clad landscapers.

Tiger Lawn Care has been able to make their services slightly more expensive, due to the show that customers receive — in addition to an immaculate lawn.

According to employees, some customers sit outside with a beer and watch their lawn being mowed by the attractive young girls….ew. While this may be pleasurable for lazy pervs, the rest of society shouldn’t be thrilled.

These women are blatantly being viewed as objects. Sure, they accepted the position of half-naked landscaper, but their actions are being publicly displayed. Little children riding their bikes around the neighborhood will encounter these women and learn early on that sex sells. Do we really need any more evidence of that fact?

Not to mention, men already have enough access scantily clad or naked women. Why should normal suburban women have to drive home from work and see a woman resembling a stripper mowing her neighbor’s lawn? Read More »