StudentShare
Contact Us
Sign In / Sign Up for FREE
Search
Go to advanced search...
Free

Beautiful People Deserve to Be More Successful than Ugly People - Essay Example

Cite this document
Summary
The paper "Beautiful People Deserve to Be More Successful than Ugly People" highlights that not all beautiful-looking people are accorded success on a silver platter. Beautiful-looking people should not sit back and let their looks precede their hard work…
Download full paper File format: .doc, available for editing
GRAB THE BEST PAPER92.1% of users find it useful
Beautiful People Deserve to Be More Successful than Ugly People
Read Text Preview

Extract of sample "Beautiful People Deserve to Be More Successful than Ugly People"

? Beautiful people deserve to be more successful than ugly people al Affiliation) Introduction Almost from the moment of birth, each of us is judged – silently, unconsciously and nearly instantly – on the basis of everything that goes into the mix of qualities known as “physical attractiveness”. These qualities include the shape of our facial features, length and style of our hair, mode of dressing & grooming among other qualities. This is also termed as “lookism” which is basically treating people in ways biased by their perceived individual level of physical attractiveness. This subject continues to be one of great interests resulting to in depth studies by sociologists, psychologists, and even biologists. This paper will exhaustively discuss the phrase “Beautiful people deserve to be more successful than ugly people”. A phrase that is the norm in many cultures especially those in the West. Beauty influences a person’s success that what you look like - or how others perceive your looks shapes your life in a dozen of often subtle ways from cradle to grave (Hammermesh, 2011). Beautiful people deserve to be more successful than ugly people. Research findings reviewed by Daniel Hammermesh, an economist at the University of Texas in Austin are summarized and discussed in his book Beauty pays: Why attractive people are more successful. Some of these research findings show that both attractive men and women on average earn 3% or 4% more than people with looks that are considered below average. This is a very “unfair fact” since not everyone is born good looking and most people considered ugly are pretty much stuck with their looks. It’s widely known that people who are considered to appear conventionally beautiful often have few barriers to success in the workplace; an issue popularly known as “lookism”. When it comes to lookism, beautiful and attractive people are more often than not hired sooner, are promoted more easily to become high ranking professionals in several companies, and are able to get more work related perks, as well as attract more people of the opposite sex as partners and spouses. On the flip side, people regarded to be unattractive often face several prejudices and unfair treatment everywhere (Hammermesh, 2011). A woman living in San Diego reports of her experience at a shopping mall “there in the store was one of the ugliest clerks you might possibly have ever seen. His face was quite uneven and rugged and people in the line were quite rude to him, making mean remarks and children even pointing out to him making him feel quite hideous. If the same were of a more attractive person, the shoppers wouldn’t even have noticed it if they were given the wrong change.” It’s important to identify the reason why most people are prejudiced by beauty (Sanderson, 2009). The main explanation is that most people enjoy the company of attractive people as it gives them aesthetic pleasure. A second explanation is one derived from assumption and personality that whatever or whoever possesses outward beauty must no doubt possess inner beauty too. Our beliefs on beauty are more often than not prejudiced. It’s possible that our beliefs create reality, and we tend to believe that beauty implies goodness especially at the workplace (Malakh-Pines, 1999). Even if attractive people do not possess inner beauty, our actions may encourage them to develop the positive traits that we expect from them. According to Vardanyan (2011), “people that are pleasant to look at often get preferential treatment in many little ways, doors are opened for them, and they get the best seats in restaurants and even get plenty of party invites.” Basically, recognition and appreciation comes without them having to do much. Many experienced managers would like to think and believe that they are able to overlook an applicant’s physical attractiveness, but they end up selecting an applicant with high physical attractiveness whose job qualifications merely match those of a less attractive candidate (Patzer, 2008). It can be argued that some of the world’s beautiful people regard their beauty and attractiveness as a curse, and not a blessing. Erin O’Connor, world renowned top fashion model is quoted to have said “there’s always a part of me that says someone’s going to come along and find me out and discover that am really normal (St. John, 2006). Looks don’t always lead to success and even many stars look quite ordinary. Many big stars really are average looking and we wouldn’t even notice them if we didn’t know they were famous. Top show host Jay Leno was rejected earlier in his career for a movie part because he wasn’t considered handsome enough. The casting director was quoted to have remarked “we really like Jay, but we feel his face could be frightening to children.” Most beautiful people automatically get noticed more often than not and for this reason they tend to sit back in their comfort zone. Ugly looking people on the other hand have to work twice as hard so that they may have their hard work and effort take them much further than looks ever would (St. John, 2006). Beautiful people are also prejudiced in a negative way and what may appear to be an advantage can also be a hug disadvantage because society discounts people who are good looking. They are enviable, but we tend to discount them. John Ruskin an art critic said once that “remember that the most beautiful things in the world are the most useless; peacocks and lilies for instance.” As a result of this prejudice, good looks become a barrier. A study carried out by Rice University found out that when it comes to physical attractiveness, bias is in the eye of the beholder. Employers are usually eager to hire a beautiful woman for a job where face to face contact with clients is important including in occupations such as receptionists, flight attendants, dietitians and other jobs related to public relations. One explanation is that employers think that female physical attractiveness correlates with perceptions of femininity (Sanderson, 2009). Beautiful people often do bet stunted off into jobs based on looks and mainly get excluded from many fulfilling careers. They become the greeter or usher at the PR event, the company receptionist, the sales person and not the marketing manager or the event producer. They often become the model not the designer. A study carried out by a psychology professor Prof Karl Kelley and a pair of undergraduate students namely Lori Nita and Brittain Bandura at North Central College in 2002 was able to observe how a manager’s decision to punish an employee was affected by the employee’s physical attractiveness and gender. Their data revealed that attractive and beautiful females were punished most harshly and attractive males suffered the least severe consequences (Fox, 2011). The explanation to this is that managers come down harder on an attractive woman than an ordinary looking one who had committed the same offence probably because business has a sort of love-hate relationship with beauty. Managers tend to be harsher and insensitive to these dynamics as they’d like to avoid accusations about preferential treatment and thus they feel compelled to mete out stronger disciplinary action. Conclusion Not all beautiful looking people are accorded with success on a silver platter. Beautiful looking people should not sit back and let their looks precede their hard work. Philosopher and writer Baltasar Gracian advices “a beautiful woman should break her mirror early.” Though a person may possess exceptional looks and many doors may open and faster promotions accorded than the average worker, it’s true that as the person ages, they will have to work harder and harder to hang on to their looks (Mankiw, 1998). Physical attractiveness is not always enough merit for success at the workplace, and beautiful people do not deserve success at the workplace when compared to ugly people. Attractive or not, everyone should work equally as hard. References Fox, V. (2011). Beautiful people. Chatswood, N.S.W.: Mira Books. Hammermesh, D.S. (2011). Beauty pays: why attractive people are more successful. Oxfordshire: Princeton University Press. Malakh-Pines, A. (1999). Falling in love: why we choose the lovers that we choose. New York: Routledge. Mankiw, G. N. (1998). Success and Beauty. Orlando: Elsevier. Patzer, G.L. (2008). Looks: why they matter more than you ever imagined. New York: AMACON Sanderson, A.C. (2009). Social psychology. New York: John Wiley & Sons St.John, R. (2006). Stupid, Ugly, Unlucky and Rich. London: Train of thoughts Art Publishing. Vardanyan, V. (2011). Panorama of psychology. Central Milton Keynes, U.K.: Author House. Read More
Cite this document
  • APA
  • MLA
  • CHICAGO
(“Beautiful People Deserve to Be More Successful than Ugly People Essay”, n.d.)
Beautiful People Deserve to Be More Successful than Ugly People Essay. Retrieved from https://studentshare.org/psychology/1447481-beautiful-people-deserve-to-be-more-successful
(Beautiful People Deserve to Be More Successful Than Ugly People Essay)
Beautiful People Deserve to Be More Successful Than Ugly People Essay. https://studentshare.org/psychology/1447481-beautiful-people-deserve-to-be-more-successful.
“Beautiful People Deserve to Be More Successful Than Ugly People Essay”, n.d. https://studentshare.org/psychology/1447481-beautiful-people-deserve-to-be-more-successful.
  • Cited: 0 times

CHECK THESE SAMPLES OF Beautiful People Deserve to Be More Successful than Ugly People

Annie John, Jamaica Kincaid

Annie stares at her reflection in a store window and feel defeat by depression at seeing she look so ugly and shabby.... hellip; Though used to make the story more fascinating, conflict, mixed feelings and loss are among the most noticeable Challenges that Anna John faces.... The most outstanding losses that she experiences are the physical and emotional disjoins from her parents, more specifically her mother.... more painfully is when a group of boys laughs at her, as if this is not enough she gets home, and her mother confronts her and calls her a slut....
4 Pages (1000 words) Essay

Beautiful People Deserve More Success

The writer of the paper “beautiful people deserve More Success” states that whatever the rationale, the idea that attractiveness correlates with success still holds true, yet beauty is not automatically advantageous since beautiful people tend to be considered as more materialistic, vain, and snobbish.... In most cases, beautiful women are likely to get away with things that unattractive people would not; indeed, beautiful women often receive more smiles, more attractive lovers, and better treatment....
6 Pages (1500 words) Essay

Asian Indians Community of US

hellip; I can relate to many groups of people and still feel they are all part of me.... Thus organized attacks were made on these Indian students and successful prosecution of Indians took place.... I enjoy Christmas as much as I enjoy Diwali - at Christmas I celebrate the birth of Jesus Christ with my American friends , sending and receiving beautiful gifts, running around and shopping frantically for last minute decorations and celebrations , while at Diwali we celebrate the victory of good over evil when the entire Indian Hindu community lit up millions of small earthen lamps known as " dipas" which beautify and brighten the entire surroundings just the same way the lights on Christmas trees do....
5 Pages (1250 words) Personal Statement

Winged migration: the making of the documentary

The director through his visuals wanted to stir people's emotions which may help initiate concerted efforts towards preserving our environment.... Considering the fact that birds are not confined by boundaries, Perrin welcomed the idea of filming migratory birds, which was much more challenging than filming narrowly confined subjects.... Perrin along with his crew records the flight of dozens of different birds as they follow their navigational instincts and make the taxing journey to more temperate climates in the fall, all chronicled without the use of narration....
8 Pages (2000 words) Essay

Mens Perception Towards Ideals of Beauty in Russia and Africa

The Russian men may prefer, sharp noses, dark eyes, long flowing strands of hair and dainty build in their women, theIn Beauty and Culture the concept of beauty as seen by African men elucidates “Throughout history, people in every culture have sought to change the natural appearance of their bodies”.... Men have always vied beauty differently than their counterpart genders.... The paper " Men's Perception Towards Ideals of Beauty in Russia and Africa" highlights that Ideals of beauty have held different perceptions in every period of history and standards on what was and was not considered beautiful have always varied with reference to geography, race and culture....
11 Pages (2750 words) Coursework

Sociology : Skin Bleaching Epidemic

In Nigeria, for example, skin bleaching has been largely perpetrated by the people, not the media.... In movies, we see black people or Africans playing mostly minor roles while white or fair skinned people are given the lead roles.... We also see white or fair skinned people receiving more airtime in the media than black people (Blay, 2013).... It is far easier to find fair skinned or even white presenters in TV shows than dark skinned ones....
5 Pages (1250 words) Research Paper

Beauty Pays: Why Attractive People Are More Successful

This paper will exhaustively discuss the phrase “Beautiful People Deserve to Be More Successful than Ugly People”.... eautiful people deserve to be more successful than ugly people.... This literature review "Beauty Pays: Why Attractive People Are more successful" presents beautiful looking people that should not sit back and let their looks precede their hard work.... Research findings reviewed by Daniel Hamermesh, an economist at the University of Texas in Austin are summarized and discussed in his book Beauty pays: Why attractive people are more successful....
5 Pages (1250 words) Literature review

Role of White Standards of Beauty

Her self-hate is expressed through the destroying of white dolls implying that the society values not the individual but the skin colour and feels socially inferior, unaccepted and ugly.... She aspires to get to the unreachable white standards of the society, which makes her life more miserable....
5 Pages (1250 words) Literature review
sponsored ads
We use cookies to create the best experience for you. Keep on browsing if you are OK with that, or find out how to manage cookies.
Contact Us