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How much does it pay to be pretty?

Kanzler

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    I think all of us can reasonably assume that pretty people get perks. What do you think about how society rewards the physically attractive? How far does it go? Does it bother you? Is it negligible? Is the playing field of personal aesthetics more level or uneven? Is it something we should fix or is it something we should work with? Or is my assumption mistaken to begin with? And what's your experience with this, if you've got a story to share? :P
     
    Go shopping and look at the people who work at each kind of store. In the stores where people are probably paid more you're more likely to see conventionally attractive people and in stores where you expect only low wages you'll more likely see fewer conventionally attractive people. At least that's kind of my anecdotal impression. I chalk it up in part because being pretty gives you a leg up, gives you more confidence, and confidence helps you do better in society.
     
    A part of me says it's luck of the draw, making the playing field a bit uneven. There are those who are born "pretty" and those who may alter their appearance to look as such, but to be quite honest, there are those who will never live up to society's standards of beautiful. For the average human being though, I think the whole thing is pretty negligible. In the economic world, you are hired, I assume, mostly based on your skill set, experience, etc., and thus the effort you put into amassing a good resume is more important than physical appearance. The only time I can think of appearance being an advantage is in modeling, or acting. Hollywood obviously wants to pick good-looking people (again, for the most part), but even so, a very small percentage of the population, whether pretty or not, gets an opportunity. The perks are still there, sometimes pretty people are treated nicer, get more attention, have easier times finding potential dates, etc., but in the grand scheme of things, I myself view these as rather trivial "perks." Not to say that economical aspects of life are valued more than the social, but that a free beer from a stranger every once in awhile isn't life changing. So yeah I think being pretty can be advantageous at some times, but not to a point where those who aren't are going to have miserable lives. It's not something that's exactly a problem to be fixed, but I think something that eventually evens out. I myself am not a stunner, I haven't been rewarded with a fabulous social life, but I don't it's an issue I need to worry about.
     
    BlahISuck said:
    I think all of us can reasonably assume that pretty people get perks. What do you think about how society rewards the physically attractive? How far does it go? Does it bother you? Is it negligible? Is the playing field of personal aesthetics more level or uneven? Is it something we should fix or is it something we should work with? Or is my assumption mistaken to begin with? And what's your experience with this, if you've got a story to share? :P
    Click to expand...

    Being relatively unattractive as a woman, I see all of the perks that beautiful girls get compared to what I get, which is very little if nothing at all. It seems to go as far as getting jobs easier, having a better time making friends, and overall receive more positive feedback. It does bother me, because I'm a very nice, friendly, kind person and I usually get snubbed by everyone simply because I'm not hot. I think it's quite a poor way to treat people, but it's really in human nature I think.
     
    I don't think attractiveness is as important as people think it is (besides modeling and acting). More attractive people generally have more confidence, and that is a factor that can't be ignored. The more confident you are, the better off you'll be as far as getting a job, making friends, or dating. If you can be less than even easy on the eyes, but still be confident, you'll be better off.
     
    Not as much as it pays to be bad, koff~

    I don't think I would be considered ugly, and I have amazing eyes, or so says every woman I've ever met, young and old. It pays out nothing. It might have some hidden benefits, but being pretty is not the same as being hygienic, and I think being clean comes first. You could have the most prettiest face, but if your breath smells like you've been eating rotten garbage, not very many people want to deal, koffi~
     
    The "perks" gained from physical differences are subconscious notions based from the reptilian brain. The lower part of your brain.

    That part of the brain is responsible for the basic thoughts, desires, and actions of life. Of which, of course, I mean mating in this scenario. People understand that the general populace gravitate more towards what attracts them(I.E attractive people.) Thus, they use this in business and many other things, that I'm sure you'll notice in life.

    How much does it pay to be pretty? Well, my friend. The face can burn and retort, but my mind will never fail me. (or so I hope.)

    Thank you, readers, and have a good day.
     
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    I'm pretty, I would know

    I think it is pretty important. I've noticed a lot of these "perks", showing up in the way attractive people are treated. It's a pretty uneven playing field, in my opinion. On the other hand, I don't know if it's possible to fix - it is human psychology after all.
     
    We actually had a discussion about this in school. If one is pretty and dressed up nicely they tend to get treated better, even if the people treating them don't notice. Now compared to when they dress up more plain people don't treat them as nicely...some even back away from them. So yeah there's some perk to being preceived as pretty by ones society standards. There's also disadvantages that come with it as well.
     
    I come from the school of thought that holds that most people are good looking. I think when guys dress up and girls put on makeup, in addition to an aesthetic response like "wow he/she looks really good" there's also another response like "wow, he/she really means business!". I think people see that effort, and that goes a long way in improving one's "attractiveness" in the eyes of the world. So in this sense, I believe "beauty" is to a large extent an even playing field because it's easy to look decent. Of course, not everybody's a supermodel, but the relationship between your looks and how people treat you probably levels off instead of going on to infinite :P
     
    Society values aesthetics.
    Being pretty makes others feel good, it's science. When you make someone feel good they sometimes want to return the favour, also science.

    So, to the lovely people who are less than lucky with their physical self, by making that extra effort to draw attention to your greatest asset (your personality, not your breasts) your relationship will be much more fulfilling than if someone was only friends with your breasts. I said it busty ladies what are you going to do about it?
     
    Plumpyfoof said:
    Society values aesthetics.
    Being pretty makes others feel good, it's science. When you make someone feel good they sometimes want to return the favour, also science.

    So, to the lovely people who are less than lucky with their physical self, by making that extra effort to draw attention to your greatest asset (your personality, not your breasts) your relationship will be much more fulfilling than if someone was only friends with your breasts. I said it busty ladies what are you going to do about it?
    Click to expand...
    Looks and personality are not inversely proportionate; people are just as likey have both or neither, as well.
     
    As someone who is aware of my own physical attractiveness, I can vouch for the fact that one's looks can define part of how people judge you. However, it's not everything. My looks have resulted in random girls coming up and hitting on me, and even got me to second base with a brunette beauty who was dating a senior during my freshman year. On the other hand, my personality makes some people flustered or frustrated with me, and some girls are intimidated by my intelligence. This... is a problem.

    It's hard for me to tell why girls are turned off to me after knowing me, but it shows that being pretty doesn't automatically get you a girlfriend or a boyfriend. Then again, after my ADHD depolarized, I became the quiet sort. Plus my high school is for active duty children, so there's quite a bit of diversity... it's up to you to judge.
     
    Physical appearance is everything in today's society, no matter what anyone says. Why do I say this? Well, because there's a lot of people that get to where they are right now, either by looks, or money. I think its some sort of parameter that people nowadays have set up. Being good looking has a lot to do with how teens/children/whatever you want to call it, think. Its not ok to judge someone because of how they look, and make fun of him/her just to increase your standing among the popular people, to ridicule them or to bully them. This is one of the reasons why our society is screwed as it is, they have a lack of morals and respect towards others.

    I once had a friend who was looking for a job, he had experience with what he was applying for, and he needed it because of his social needs. However there was someone else who applied for the same job, a younger good looking person, with 0% experience and wasn't passing through the crisis my friend was. But the young man ended with the job, instead of my friend, because he was better looking and the manager wanted someone with vibrant energy that can attend customers.

    I know this may be on the irregular side, and not something that might happen often. But its still an example of something that did happen. I believe it isn't fair. Things like these are being overlooked, and other people who work harder aren't being taken into consideration.
     
    I think attractive people can do alot of things that another cannot.

    If you have 2 people looking for a job their experience and skills are identical but ones attractive and one is normal or ugly-ish the attractive one will, people do not want the face of their company being ugly people. Ads and TV ugly people cannot get on TV because we don't wanna see an ugly person making out but in some movies yes if it fits the role, you will not find a movie like mean girls where the main character is ugly because it isn't a selling point.
     
    Cassino said:
    How not? He said the greatest asset of an unattractive individual would be their personality.
    Click to expand...

    As you've pointed out, inversely proportional means there's a relationship between the two variables - in this case between personality and looks. I don't feel that he's implied anything that statement - he's talking about it in relative, not absolute terms ie personality would be more important to an unattractive individual versus that of a more physically attractive individual who happens to be the same in every other way. Perhaps personality is more important as an asset, but it doesn't mean they have absolutely a better personality.
     
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    I definitely think that being pretty/more attractive can help you get things. It works for both women and men. It's unfortunate because not everyone is considered a "hottie" but that doesn't make them less important than the "hotties." Besides, when you get older, your "hotness" will fade. It just happens and sometimes I think that people don't see that.
     
    BlahISuck said:
    I come from the school of thought that holds that most people are good looking. I think when guys dress up and girls put on makeup, in addition to an aesthetic response like "wow he/she looks really good" there's also another response like "wow, he/she really means business!". I think people see that effort, and that goes a long way in improving one's "attractiveness" in the eyes of the world. So in this sense, I believe "beauty" is to a large extent an even playing field because it's easy to look decent. Of course, not everybody's a supermodel, but the relationship between your looks and how people treat you probably levels off instead of going on to infinite :P
    Click to expand...
    I think this is true - to an extent. You have to have the knowledge or experience (or money) to get to the point where you can make yourself attractive if you're not conventionally attractive. A conventionally attractive person has a head start, having people admiring them in high school and boosting their confidence, for example. Confidence is a part of attractiveness after all. And when you're just starting out, trying to get your first job or whatever, you have that extra something by being attractive and having confidence.
     
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