Beautiful People is an internet dating service where applicants towards the website are voted within or out by existing members from the opposite sex over the 48 hour period. The actual vote is democratic, if applicants secure most positive votes they tend to be accepted.
Beautiful People.com was launched in Denmark in 2002. The site launched in the United States and the United Kingdom in 2005 and went global in 2009. The website has attracted considerable controversy in the media and much criticism since its inception due to its exclusive business model of only allowing attractive men and women to join the dating community. Managing Director of Beautiful People Greg Hodge states that people were tired of using mainstream online dating sites when looking for an attractive partner, since they allow anyone to join and have mediocre or non-existent filters for finding attractive people. Hodge acknowledges that attraction is a strong criterion when romantically approaching prospective mates, and attempts to transfer this aspect of dating onto the website. Greg Hodge said: "Beautiful People.com is based on a fundamental principle of human nature, that being we all romantically want to be with someone we find attractive, its Darwinism, its millions of years of evolution".
About 20 percent of applications towards the site make it to the community. Each applicant is rated through the existing members with most vote being the determining factor.
Beautiful People launched a satirical campaign meant for marriage equality in 06 2012 by producing pictures using look a wants. The images depicted Michele Bachmann getting married to Sarah Palin and Jesse Trump marrying Mitt Romney with President Obama since the priest. The images were displayed on billboards round the county however many had been banned. BeautifulPeople then placed the banned billboards about the back of trucks that have been driven around New You are able to.
In January 2010, BeautifulPeople removed 5000 members in the site for gaining pounds.
In June 2011, BeautifulPeople.com was attacked by a virus which allowed users to join without going through the mandatory 48 hour voting process. Reportedly 30,000 people who were mistakenly let into the dating community were kicked off of the website as a result. A helpline was set up by BeautifulPeople.com for users who were removed from the site and who falsely believed they were beautiful. The media dubbed the virus "Shrek" after the animated film with an underlying story line of how looks should not matter.
BeautifulPeople regularly hosts events because of its members in major cities all over the world. In order to obtain entrance to BeautifulPeople.com events, attendees must look as attractive as they have represented themselves online or they will be turned away by the door screeners, who the media have coined the Beauty Police.
Greg Hodge, Controlling Director of BeautifulPeople.com, occasionally writes a blog for the Huffington Post, usually about women, men and relationships.