BeyondShy said:
Which brings up this question: what is so wrong with shyness? Why the prejudice towards it?
IMHO the prejudice toward it is because it implies lack of confidence, lack of assertiveness, and lack of excitement. It seems that women put a premium on those traits; then you have the generalized 4-1 ratio of men to women, so it allows them to be choosy and thus anyone who shows hints of shyness (slightly awkward photo, slightly off timing, lack of witty comments, etc.) is going to be skipped over until they find someone who shows strong hints of confidence (urban-chic style conveyed in photos, correct timing, witty conversation, etc.)
I'm just trying to "do the math" really and explain things in a relatively accurate way; let's not make this a gender battle, mmkay?