singles inferno is like the perfect example of men not actually being interested in women but in the social status among their male peers for being associated with certain women. theres a reason they all go after one or two "popular" women like seulki in season 2 or jia in season 1. it's less of a genuine interest in them and more of a boost in social standing among other men, especially the other men there. because they fit the beauty standard they are seen as more "valuable".
i genuinely think the men see them more as social currency rather than people. this is why jinyoung's disparaging comments about so-e are especially disturbing when you think about it like that. also the way that every male contestant completely ignores sejeong when she seems like a very nice, humorous person. is it because literally nobody there is interested in her? or is it because she doesn't fit the beauty standard and therefore can't be leveraged for their own gain? hmm.
