Does Attractiveness Get You Further?

[tld221]

Originally Posted by ShamikaT

Girl, get on somewhere with that mess. I'm 22 years old and I have had 7 jobs since I was 19. I may have not always been christlike, but I've always been fine! If I had my way, at this point in my life I would 've had my own clothing line, "stay" (Shamika Taylor). Or at least been a black stepford wife. The only thing my looks get me is a couple of free White Castles.

dayum... you couldnt even pull a milkshake or somg chicken rings?

LMAO @ S-dot as usual.

i love how Tyra does this "groundbreaking" talk show topics, and in the end, confirming what we already know.

and the examples she gave, realize a. she is in LA (which is very superficial. then again so is NY, but i think its a little different) b. she used the beauty industry as example, and c. she used women. i think its safe to say that most industries, looks arent going to exactly go against you. and like mentioned above, "beauty gets you in, brains keep you there."

p.s. the only female MDs (there are only a handful) at my bank are gross as a motha! then again, maybe they were hot back in the day.

[Still BLUTANG]

1. Do you think where you are in life professionally and otherwise has been significantly affected by your looks?
not really, i am a female in a female-dominated profession. Its been to my advantage that i entered the field immediately after graduation so i am YOUNG, but my looks have been a help or hindrance.

2. Do you think it is commonplace for potential employers to view looks just as if not more important than experience?
I think it depends on the field/industry. My last position was with a membership-driven nonprofit. Everyone that worked in a public position was young, outgoing, friendly and cute. Even the older people were stunners. However, looks didn't matter with the behind-the-scenes staff. I KNOW i was sent to conferences and other events to serve as the "face" of my department because i was young AND minority. Again, not sure if in MY case it was looks per se, but...

3. On the other had do you thind being to beautiful is a curse? That one may not be taken seriously for a job or socially treated poorly beacause a person is too pretty?
I think if someone values or devalues someone based on appearance then it's the OTHER person's hangup. Not the "pretty" person's issue. Pretty people are often treated differently but that's not because they think they're too pretty for this or that. The people around them place standards and expectations of behavior on them (she can't be smart, I knew she was going to be stuck up, yadda yadda yadda...)

[lovelyivy84]

Professionally, I don't think my looks have anything to do with where I'm at. I worked hard to get here, and while it doesn't hurt to look nice, I think connections/the schools I went to/my BRAIN had a LOT more to do with it.

Personally I have experienced this to some degree- people always think that because of how I look that I will 'act' a certain way. Now that I have gone natural it's very different, but especially when I was relaxed or had braids this was the case. The fact that I'm a nice, funny person with unconventional likes and dislikes in almost everything is something that people just don't see at first. I don't stress it- I hang out with people who get me and other folks can just KIM.

[ShamikaT]

Originally Posted by tld221

dayum... you couldnt even pull a milkshake or somg chicken rings?

LMAO @ S-dot as usual.

Silly rabbit, they don't have milkshakes at White Castle! And chicken rings are made with fillers. I'll take my free white castles, with no onions and extra pickles, thank you.

[Conskeeted7]

I do think that attractiveness occassionally plays a role in career advancement. I don't think that it can get someone around being able to perform their job functions, but it can certainly play a role. However, when I say attractiveness, I'm also considering people who may not be conventionally attractive but are well manicured, dress nicely, and are clean cut overall.

[Dionysus]

A slight hijack. Do you trust people who are super attractive? Stay with me here. No, I do not believe that they have some sort of "shady gene". But, it's obvious that super attractive people have privelege.....which can be abused.

[DSTCHAOS]

Originally Posted by Dionysus

A slight hijack. Do you trust people who are super attractive? Stay with me here. No, I do not believe that they have some sort of "shady gene". But, it's obvious that super attractive people have privelege.....which can be abused.

I see your point and it's an interesting one. But not trusting super attractive people because of some contextual privilege is like not trusting white people because of white privilege or not trusting upperclass people because of class privilege.

I don't trust most people but I trust anyone who proves to be trustworthy. I tend to stay away from people who get beside themselves easily or who are shady opportunists. I specify "shady opportunists" because anyone with a sense of drive and future orientation should be an opportunist to some degree.