'Ugly Girls Don't Like Our Site': New Dating Site Pairing Rich Men With Beautiful Women Raises Hackles

This Dating Site Makes Sugardaddy.Com Look Wholesome
|

Launching an online dating site in Britain is going to be challenging enough when the joining fee is £10,000, but founder Gus Terkelsen has decided that one way of drumming up free publicity is to declare British women as being ugly.

Yes guys, the reason why you're single isn't because you refuse to compromise on sock hygiene, it's because we women are a nation of mooses.

Talking to the Mail Online, Gus said: "Coming from a Scandinavian country we know Britain as a country of ugly women. Ugly girls don’t like the site and poor guys don’t like it. They don’t want to admit that guys prefer beautiful women and women want rich successful men."

His site, the Secret Diamond Club, was launched in Denmark in 2012 - the UK version has been up and running for less than a month.

From what we can tell, the dating site pairs up rich men (regardless of appearance) with beautiful women (personality optional).

Open Image Modal

So far, so Sugardaddy.com - the site that pairs up lonely older gents with younger women who like being looked after.

The difference however is in the extremely high price tag to join the site - for men, there is a starting fee of £10,000 per year, and can go up to 60,000 a year.

The idea - understandably, unless you're a rich codger looking for a hot, young woman - has come under fire for being sexist as well as objectifying women by their looks.

Apart from Gus's own statements that men are only interested in beautiful women, presumably the lower end of the membership allows you access to women who aren't as beautiful as the more expensive end. To us, that has very uncomfortable similarities with the pricing range of a high class escort service.

Then there is the questionable ideology behind why Gus thinks this is a workable model. According to him, "genes dictate women are turned on by success" and advised us to check with an evolutionary scientist.

Open Image Modal

Gus Terkelson

HuffPost UK Lifestyle caught up with the businessman to ask him a few questions. Namely - when did money override primal instinct?

"Women don't rationalise this," he says. "It's genetic. When you see a big, strong lion mating with lots of females, that is because they are attracted to that. Back in the day, 1,000 years ago, if you had a girl who mated with a less successful man and got pregnant, she and/or the baby was more likely to die. This is how natural selection works."

Since our bodies have an evolutionary date-stamp of 10,000 years ago - long before money existed - we don't buy it. What if I ended up with a short, bespectacled rich man with asthma? Science can't differentiate between rich genes and poor ones.

"It's not money that women are attracted to - it's the ability to make things happen."

Open Image Modal

This still doesn't answer the question. And surely a site based on such superficiality is only likely to create brief hook-ups?

"It's none of our business how our clients want to define their relationship whether they want monogamy or just to date," he replies.

Story continues below the slideshow:

Online Dating Profile Pictures
DO: Make It A Landscape Shot(01 of18)
Open Image Modal
Landscape pictures, according to eHarmony's blog, are more likely to be clicked on than up-and-down or extremely close shots, likely because it gives people a better sense of the person's body, as well as their face. (credit:Shutterstock)
DON'T: Crop Someone Out(02 of18)
Open Image Modal
Along with falling into that narrow "up and down" no-no, cropping someone out results in less communication, according to eHarmony. And besides, you really should have at least one good picture of you on your own somewhere.
DO: Upload A Bunch Of Pictures(03 of18)
Open Image Modal
Give the people what they want! And in this context, that means a variety of pictures, so that prospects can get a good sense of what you look like, what you're into and so on. (credit:Shutterstock)
DON'T: Snap From Afar(04 of18)
Open Image Modal
Though you don't want to get too close, you also don't want your picture to be taken from far away — that can seem as though you're hiding something about your appearance. (credit:Shutterstock)
DO: Show Your Left Side(05 of18)
Open Image Modal
Real scientific research has gone into this one, so why not trust it? Apparently showing the left side of your face in pictures is more aesthetically pleasing, according to PsychCentral, and has the added bonus of showing more emotion. (credit:Shutterstock)
DON'T: Feature Shots Of Your Buddy(06 of18)
Open Image Modal
Even if it's the most platonic of friendships, don't include a picture of yourself with a member of the opposite sex if you're looking for a heterosexual relationship. In general, keep pictures confined to shots of yourself. (credit:Shutterstock)
DO: Show Pride (If You're A Guy)(07 of18)
Open Image Modal
According to eHarmony, some studies have shown that women prefer pictures of men who demonstrate pride — whereas the opposite is true for men when it comes to women. (credit:Shutterstock)
DO: Show Happiness (If You're A Gal)(08 of18)
Open Image Modal
That same study showed that men prefer women who demonstrate happiness in their profile pictures, assumedly because it's associated with femininity and nurturing, and are least attracted to women showing pride. (credit:Shutterstock)
DO: Get Outdoors(09 of18)
Open Image Modal
Taking a picture outside allows for the flattering effect of natural sunlight on skin, notes eHarmony. Just be careful to avoid squinting into the sun, and opt for a sideways glance instead. (credit:Shutterstock)
DON'T: Be In A Costume(10 of18)
Open Image Modal
As one eHarmony blogger pleads, even if you think it's a hilarious picture, don't put up a shot of your Halloween costume. Sure, you want someone who shares your sense of humour, but let them see what you look like first. (credit:Shutterstock)
DO: Get Flirtatious With The Camera(11 of18)
Open Image Modal
OkCupid found that, to their surprise, when women made a "flirty face" without smiling at the camera, it generated more new contacts in a month than any other expression. Flirting away from the camera, however, was the least favoured expression. (credit:Shutterstock)
DO: Get Serious Away From The Camera(12 of18)
Open Image Modal
For men on OkCupid, the most favoured expression was an unsmiling face that looked away from the camera — possibly, they theorized, because it gave an air of mystery. Flirting away from the camera, however, was also still a big no-no. (credit:Shutterstock)
DO: Take A Selfie (If You're A Gal)(13 of18)
Open Image Modal
The researchers seemed as surprised by this as us, but apparently, the selfie, duck face or MySpace photo was the biggest hit by OkCupid users in terms of context. Is it possible it is the most flattering angle? (credit:Shutterstock)
DO: Grab An Animal (If You're A Guy)(14 of18)
Open Image Modal
As for men, the favoured context for a headshot was one featuring a guy with an animal, whether a pet or even one at the zoo. Though this may not apply to everyone, as it was followed closely by ... (credit:Shutterstock)
DO: Show Off Those Abs(15 of18)
Open Image Modal
The second most popular context for men on OkCupid was showing off muscles — though the researchers are quick to point out that (a) obviously it's only guys who have them who would show them off, and (b) this becomes less attractive to women the older the guys are. (credit:Shutterstock)
DO: Show Cleavage(16 of18)
Open Image Modal
This isn't necessarily a surprising finding, but men really do prefer profiles of women who show cleavage. The interesting point? Unlike the muscle men, as women get older, if they show cleavage, they're more likely to be messaged. (credit:Shutterstock)
DO: Show Some Interests(17 of18)
Open Image Modal
OkCupid found that as far as a picture leading to a conversation goes, the most likely ones start with a shot of someone doing something interesting. And it's not hard to figure out why — it gives the messager an easy opening. (credit:Shutterstock)
DON'T: Drink In Your Picture(18 of18)
Open Image Modal
Is it because you seem young when you feature booze in your profile picture or that you don't have any other interests? The research didn't specify, but drinking in your shot was the least likely picture to generate an actual conversation. (credit:Shutterstock)

Is he likely to create a site for wealthy women and good-looking men then? Unlikely - as he says he does not see it as an equally good business opportunity.

"You can connect other kinds of people - and one of the versions is rich women and handsome men, But the vast majority of wealthy men want to be with beautiful women, it doesn't work as well the other way around.

While we think Gus is doing his gender a disservice - he basically just spelled out that men are superficial twits who only want a nice looking partner - it is true in that it's the way the world currently works.

Women can join the site for less than the men - which include self-made millionaires and sportsmen - for around £30 a year. They have to submit three photographs - one must include a body shot - and are then scrutinised by a panel of 20 experts.

They are then given a rating between 1 - 100, which is based on the photographs, their age and other women on the site. Ugliness also comes with a levy - if you have a lower rating, you have to pay more for your membership.