Comments on How do you find a mate when everyone looks amazing?
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How do you find a mate when everyone looks amazing?
We have modern humans found in a near future, first world country on Earth. The primary technological advancements are in the form of extremely cheap and fast genome sequencing ($10USD/genome) and in the inexpensive use of CRISPR gene manipulation to fix any and all defects. This gives everyone the capability to know what their genome contains and a means to make any changes to that genome.
Gene manipulation techniques become quickly and highly regulated. For the first few years after this treatment became available, only fixes to genes considered defective or disease causing are eligible for correction. Changes to appearance or musculature are not permitted. Those found to receive these treatments are punished by resetting to their previous state. Organization such as WHO and other NGOs have successfully made this treatment available to 99.9% of the world population. (Yeah, a miracle.) Now, the world is healthy and free of all genetic diseases. As children are born, they are tested and treated so no diseases are reintroduced into the gene pool.
Under considerable pressure from cosmetic surgeons and the populace in general, the regulatory body for gene treatments has permitted the genetic manipulation of appearance. As the treatment is ubiquitous across the world, anyone can manipulate their genes to alter their appearance to anything they please. Therapies that alter a person's brain or brain chemistry are forbidden (let's assume perfect enforcement).
Now, the implications of this kind of technology will touch practically every aspect of society. Every single one. I'm only interested in one particular aspect though, dating, specifically mate selection in cultures where individuals are able to choose their own mates. Arranged marriages are not up for consideration in this question.
When everyone can look like a Greek god (or the local physical ideal), how will mates be chosen if physical appearance is eliminated from the list, leaving material wealth, social status, smarts and emotional intangibles as the remaining criteria?
This already happened. I married my wife, who I met on an MMO, and I am far from being the only person this has happened …
9y ago
In all honesty, probably the same way people select their partners now: partly by appearances, but ultimately by psychol …
9y ago
I don't think things would change as much as you think they might. Looks would still play a part. Just because someone …
9y ago
Current research shows that mate selection happens based on traits that we think will provide the best chance for the pr …
4y ago
I'm surprised no one said it yet: Pheromones! One of the things that make you attractive is pheromones! This will pan …
9y ago
personality, and intellect, to name a few important criteria. Physical appearance is only one of many factors we use wh …
9y ago
This post was sourced from https://worldbuilding.stackexchange.com/q/21142. It is licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0.
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I'm surprised no one said it yet: Pheromones! One of the things that make you attractive is pheromones!
This will pan out in two ways:
People will just find the "best" sequence and everyone will be the same.
People will start doing a ton more in-person, social dating.
The first is extremely unlikely, since each person's base receptors are different, so there probably isn't one best emission. So I feel we can disregard this possibly. I'm sure it will be attempted, but those people will get regarded the way people who wear AXE body spray are now "“ posers, and lame douchebags.
That leaves the in-person stuff. I think that what you will see is more of a group-date, casual encounter setting, people going to events where the atmosphere is quiet enough for people to talk with each other and flex their personality, since no body needs to flex their biceps anymore. You see some of this now in larger cities in the US (at least, maybe more places) where bars are set up to play board games and tabletop rpgs, comic stores have reserved space for tables and tournaments, stuff like that. Noisy nightclubs and seedy bars are designed to mask undesired physical traits, whereas in the new world, attractive is the norm.
This post was sourced from https://worldbuilding.stackexchange.com/a/21160. It is licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0.
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