Ade Mardiyati

BeautifulPeople members get to vote on whether to accept new applicants.

BeautifulPeople: Where Beauty is Truly Just Skin Deep

Five Jakarta Globe writers applied to BeatifulPeople.com. How did they do? Find out here!

Beauty is not in the face; beauty is a light in the heart,” Lebanese-American poet and writer Kahlil Gibran once said. If he were still alive today, he would likely be horrified by BeautifulPeople.com, an online community built around the idea that beauty is indeed in the face and form.

As the Web site itself says, it may not be politically correct, but it is honest.

The “sexiest Web site in the world,” according to CNN, BeautifulPeople is the first and only one of its kind to feature physically beautiful people from across the globe who vote on whether new members are accepted. Founded by Robert Hintze, from Denmark, in 2001, the site now has nearly 600,000 members from 190 countries, of which 4,000 are from Indonesia.

“We don’t claim that the site defines beauty, but it is a good litmus test to indicate what the majority of people across the world regard as beautiful,” Remy Le Fevre, global press officer for BeautifulPeople.com, said in an e-mail to the Jakarta Globe.

As a member of BeautifulPeople, the Web site says, you will have access to the most attractive people locally and from around the world. You will also be able to frequent events and parties hosted by fellow members of the BeautifulPeople Network or post your own events and invite friends and attractive members you would like to meet.

Furthermore, the Web site says, Beautiful People is frequented by some of the world’s leading model scouts, talent agencies and production companies looking to recruit talent.

New applicants apply by sending in their photograph, which can be accompanied by a brief profile. Within 48 hours applicants will be notified by e-mail whether they have been accepted.

“The decision for applicants to be granted membership [to BeautifulPeople] is taken after a democratic vote by the existing members of the opposite sex,” Le Fevre said.

The rating module was derived from the idea that “beauty lies in the eye of the beholder.” The voting, Le Fevre said, is done by choosing one of the four options to rate the new applicant: “Yes, definitely,” “Hmm, yes OK,” “Hmm no, not really” and “NO, definitely NOT.”

There are no specific characteristics that members of the site look for or find attractive, Le Fevre said.

“Members are from different countries, with different cultures and ideals of what beauty is,” he said.

However, he added, in general, the members of BeautifulPeople are very tough critics.

“Only 20 percent of applicants are successful,” he said.

“The fact that you failed to make it onto BeautifuPeople.com means that although some members may have found you attractive enough to become part of their community, the majority did not, and therefore your average rating was not good enough to get on to the site.”

And as the rejection e-mails failed applicants receive tell them, people are more than welcome to apply to the site for a second time.

“Better images may improve your chances,” Le Fevre advised.

He added that at 54 percent of the community, female members outnumber the males. The reason for this, he said, is because women are tougher critics and are less generous when they decide to let a man join.

“It’s not enough for women to allow a man to join the site based on his looks alone, either. They want to be impressed with his career and his sporting pursuits, too,” he said.

“Men will happily allow women to join based on a good photograph alone.”


Five Jakarta Globe writers applied to BeatifulPeople.com. How did they do? Find out here!

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