Beauty is only skin deep, so we shouldn't be attracted to someone just because of their looks, right? In an ideal world, looks would fall further down the list, but we live in a culture where we're obsessed with beauty and good looks.

We praise those who fit our standard of beauty and ignore/ridicule those who don't, but when it comes to individual taste, physical attraction varies. However, it still seems like we unconsciously feel attracted to those who fit the same beauty standards. So, the big question is can we help who we feel physically attracted to?

The short answer is that no, we can't. Now, we can try to convince ourselves that we're attracted to someone who might not be our ideal type, but, let's be real, does that ever really work?

While we're taught from a young age what the ideal man and woman are supposed to look like, we do develop our own sense of attraction that maybe doesn't fit the norm. So what? We like who we like.

Now, what got me thinking about this was an old cartoon called "Braceface" that I was able to start watching again. In one episode, the titular character, Sharon, catches the eye of a very sweet, yet physically (by societal standards) unattractive guy. However, she does not reciprocate these feelings. Instead, she develops a crush on another guy who is basically an Adonis among men and who is far more interested in looks than anything else. Her friend takes note of this and berates her for liking the shallow and hot guy over the sweet and average guy.

Now, it's important to note that someone can be physically appealing, but have the personality of wallpaper and that you shouldn't write someone off for being less physically attractive. However, it's also important to remember that people are attracted to who they are attracted to. Yes, it seems unfair, but we shouldn't be made to feel bad about it.

While we should be looking at far much more than just the physical appearance of a person, the initial attraction is almost always physical. Some are pickier than others and there's nothing wrong with that because you should be attracted to your partner intellectually, emotionally, and physically.

I even examined my own history of men who I found attractive versus now and while my taste hasn't changed much, I have found that I'm not terribly picky when it comes to looks. However, that doesn't mean that there aren't some physical features that I find unappealing because there are.

So, in short, even though we're shown what society deems to be physically attractive, we do develop our own sense of what we feel is attractive. Whether or not that person fits society's standards doesn't matter to us because they're attractive and that's all that should matter.