SHOHEI let em get heated. That is an observation I have made as well. The theory goes something like this: Girls considered rather pretty are relegated to pussy status. Instead of being considered a mind, they are considered an ornament, a walking vagina. This leads them to connect their looks with their identity.
Look at AOL/Yahoo names. Guys are often a thing, or an abstract, or some such. Racer, Demon, etc., or some nonsense name. Girls are very often "Lil cute thing" "goodlookn99" etc etc. This is very exacerbated in minority communities, where women are even more relegated to gender roles. (Let Hustle get huffy on that one)
You'll notice that often women who are less "good looking", at least in most people's opinions, will be more involved in interests and hobbies, and this would include reading, etc. I've noticed as well that girls I would put in the higher IQ range (130+), usually tend to be overweight or unattractive. This is because they have a chance to see themselves as more than a wedding gift or a hood ornament.
"My milkshake brings all the boys to the yard, cause im so fucking cute, and men want me so much, and im cuter than all the other bitches." If every black man wants to be the biggest balla/pimp imaginable, every black woman wants to be the best looking bitch out there, in other words. This is definitely cross-cultural, though. It exists among all races. The first thing people will compliment boys on is their personality. The first thing people will compliment girls on is their looks. The message is implicit: "Boys are valued for what they do, and who they are, and women are valued for what they look like." Girls who are most freed from this tend to be girls who have given up on how they look altogether, or don't consider themselves attractive. As sad as this is, it frees up more time for intellectuval pursuits.
This is one of the reasons I stopped dating white girls. They are especially susceptible to this, since our mainstream (read: non-minority) media's view of beauty is still this 50 year old notion of Marilyn Monroe, Madonna, and Britney Spears(<- not hot). If I hear one more person saying the Madonna/Britney kiss is hot im going to puke. Britney Spears is a stupid, unattractive ass bitch with a plain ass face, and Madonna is fucking elderly. They represent an outdated standard; generic, unintelligent, ugly white bitches.
In any case, I ramble. If a girl sees herself as more than a walking, talking, child-bearing vagina, she will most likely have time for intellectual pursuits. Ever noticed how goth kids are extremely intelligent most of the time. There's somethin to be said for being depressed and lonely, instead of bumpign 50 cent and playing football.
