Just to be clear, I'm not a swan-swan. Maybe more like a cute goose? lol. Anyway, I'd say it makes more of a difference in initial contact. People give you more of a chance initially, which helps with confidence and gives you more opportunities to build rapport with people. But true friendship-building, once the initial barrier is breached, is still pretty independent of appearance, as it should be.

I will also say that I, unfortunately, mold myself a lot based on what I think others expect of me. So I'm not confident and outgoing when people don't give me a reason to be that way (eg. ignore me or avoid eye contact). That likely added to initial negative impressions to make me appear even less attractive. That's why I said that my experiences are probably more extreme than other women. Women who consistently let their freak flag fly without letting other people dictate who they should be will do significantly better than I did, and will see less of an extreme difference if they "upgrade" their appearance in some way. I encourage it!