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When used with people, this term is often synonymous with sexual desirability, but can also simply mean whether or not someone is considered appealing to look at. While human attractiveness can be very much subjective, and one person may find a man to be ugly while someone one else finds him to be beautiful, there are certain objectively discernable characteristics that a majority of people will find more or less attractive. Some of these seem to vary between cultures more than others. As such, there is some debate about how much of perceived attractiveness is due to social conditioning and how much is biological.
Many have asserted that certain advantages tend to come to those that are perceived as being more attractive, including more ease in getting better jobs and promotions, receiving better treatment from authorities and the legal system, having more choices in romantic partners and therefore more power in relationships, and marrying into families with more money. Some argue that having more generally perceived attractiveness should be considered a form of privilege, akin to that of social class or race.
See also beauty.
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