A dating site exclusively for "attractive" people has ditched more than 3,000 members for "graceless ageing" and gaining weight.
BeautifulPeople.com, which describes itself as the "largest internet dating community exclusively for the beautiful," puts people's snaps to a members' vote to decide if they are allowed in, but now the authorities have shown that the rigorous 48-hour selection period is not a permanent pass, the Independent reported.
Genevieve Hodge, who founded the website with her husband Greg, said that this may sound harsh and it is the most difficult part of managing the business, adding that they take no pleasure in removing members, but it is a necessary evil in order to maintain the beautiful community and our prized business model.
Greg claimed that the website had been "kind" in breaking the news to ditched people with emails encouraging them to apply again when they are "back looking their best."
Greg added that letting unattractive people populate the site would compromise the very concept for which BeautifulPeople.com was founded and if their looks aren't up to our members' exacting standards and they do not secure a majority of positive votes, then their profiles are immediately removed.
Anyone who is found to be failing to maintain their looks is put back through the rating system, where members of the opposite sex only can select options including "yes, definitely," "hmm yes, ok," "no, not really" and "no, definitely not" based on photographs and a brief profile.
A statement from BeautifulPeople.com claims it does not attempt to define beauty but simply gives an accurate representation of what society's ideal of beauty as decided by the members.