Sorry, this is for the most part fairy-tale "Blue Pill" idealistic stuff, not reality. In reality, looks matter A LOT for both genders and most people.

> "Physical appearance can affect first impressions, but do looks matter in the long run?"

Yes, they still matter, but that's not the point. The point is: without that "first impression", one cannot have any chance at the "long run"... because s/he won't even be chosen as a partner.

Imagine saying to an "ugly duckling": "You would be an amazing partner in the long run, too bad nobody wants you". Yay, lucky me! ;-P

Telling people that looks do not matter, or matter little, it's not useful and is even cruel: because reality will soon disabuse them of this delusion.

Looks matter because of evolutionary reasons, that's why it's universal (both for humans and animals) and has always been true.

Of course looks are not everything: developing great qualities might compensate being physically average. But let's not fool ourselves: most of the time beauty wins.