Posted on 07/19/2010 9:21:31 AM PDT by SeekAndFind
In today’s economy, looking good is no longer something we can dismiss as frivolous or vain. How beauty can affect your job, your career, your life.
Most of us have heard the story of Debrahlee Lorenzana, the 33-year-old Queens, N.Y., woman who sued Citibank last month, claiming that, in pencil skirts, turtlenecks, and peep-toe stilettos, she was fired from her desk job for being “too hot.” We’ve also watched Lorenzana’s credibility come into question, as vintage clips of her appearance on a reality-TV show about plastic surgery portray a rambling, attention-obsessed twit, stuffed to the brim with implants and collagen. (“I love plastic surgery,” she coos. “I think it’s the best thing that ever happened.”) Creepy, yes. But for all the talk about this woman’s motives—and whether or not she was indeed fired for her looks—there’s one question nobody seems to want to ask: isn’t it possible Lorenzana’s looks got her the job in the first place?
Not all employers are that shallow—but it’s no secret we are a culture consumed by image. Economists have long recognized what’s been dubbed the “beauty premium”—the idea that pretty people, whatever their aspirations, tend to do better in, well, almost everything. Handsome men earn, on average, 5 percent more than their less-attractive counterparts (good-looking women earn 4 percent more); pretty people get more attention from teachers, bosses, and mentors; even babies stare longer at good-looking faces (and we stare longer at good-looking babies). A couple of decades ago, when the economy was thriving—and it was a makeup-less Kate Moss, not a plastic-surgery-plumped Paris Hilton, who was considered the beauty ideal—we might have brushed off those statistics as superficial.
(Excerpt) Read more at newsweek.com ...
Are they saying Obamie is an airhead? /s
Aside from the adult industry, I imagine there are jobs where employers would prefer to choose something for their looks to attract people that say, such as for car sales.
There are lots of job where it makes sense for the employers to be “lookist.” Those women who squirt you with perfume in department stores, etc. Any business that is selling image, such as clothing retail, shoes, cosmetics and things like that have a right to project the king of image they are selling.
If my observations are worth anything, relatively few scientists were hired for their looks.
uh, yeah, like they needed a study (Taxpayer funder, surely) to figure this out?
From the same people who made the astounding discovery that men are different from women.
Lets be honest here folks, how many jobs really require vast amounts of intellect versus just requiring repetitive and predictable behavior? Given that, an average intelligence person who easy on the eyes with a nice disposition will win hands down. Who wants an ugly bored MENSA witch around all day?
While watching a football game, who would you rather serve you wings and pour your beer....Rosie O’Donnell or Jessica Alba???
“Not all MENSA members are unattractive: IQ 156.”
Was there a picture with this post or am I to assume you are smoking hot?
I am not so attractive, but brilliant, and I remain well-employed no matter how bad the economy.
We ugly people have known this all our lives.
I once owned a company and needed to hire an in-house attorney, who would report directly to me.
One of the applicants was an outrageously gorgeous woman. My heart skipped a beat the minute I saw her.
I knew right away I wouldn’t hire her, because I didn’t want to deal with the distraction of being attracted to her, especially given that I was engaged at the time.
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