Anonymous wrote:I think that women are socialized to focus on their flaws and constantly compare themselves to idealized images of women. I think men are not socialized in the same way. So yes, I would agree that, in general, men are more likely to overestimate how attractive they are and women are more likely to underestimate it. Women are also punished more for "vanity," which can include thinking that they are attractive, but are probably pushed to talk more about their looks than men are.
I agree - women are constantly bombarded with ads/images that they can never attain and women can be very catty about each others looks. I don't think men think about it very much unless they are striking out! If they are scoring their happy.