|
|
|
Jewish World Review June 27, 2005 / 20 Sivan, 5765 Let's face it, we're pretty superficial: Study after study shows skin deep is about as far By Jerry Large
http://www.JewishWorldReview.com |
I was sitting with a bunch of baby boomers one day not too long
ago, thinking about how we'd all changed over the years, when I
noticed something odd.
The men all had acres of gray in their hair, but most of the women
hadn't so much as a strand of it.
Of course I knew some people dyed their hair, but nearly everyone?
Apparently you are only as young as other people think you are.
It's not just vanity. What you look like has a measurable effect on
how other people treat you. I've been prone to shake my head at the
idea of all those people who get themselves made over on television
shows, but maybe I shouldn't.
Last week I read about a Princeton study in which people were shown
nearly 700 pairs of candidates for Senate or House seats from past
and current elections. Volunteers were asked to pick the most
competent candidate.
Seeing the photos for only a second or so, the volunteers made
decisions that matched the electorate's choices in the majority of
races for both houses. The candidate people think looks most
competent usually wins.
But what makes someone look competent? Two scientists at Brandeis
University conducted an experiment that suggests voters want a face
that looks mature.
People apparently associate big lips, big eyes, a round face, small
nose, high forehead and small chin with a baby face. That's an
advantage in some situations, but not when people are deciding who
has power and authority.
And you thought campaigns were about issues.
Of course, we already knew that the taller of two male candidates
tends to win. People who've studied height say tall men get a lot of
perks.
Short boys get picked on in school and in the workplace. Each inch
above average yields $789 more in pay each year, according to a
study in the Journal of Applied Psychology. And CEOs, like winning
candidates, tend to be tall men.
A few years ago the news show "20/20" had women judge a lineup of
men. All of them were chosen because they were judged to be
handsome, but one was also picked because he was short, 5'3."
The news show made up brief bios on all of the men and asked women
to look at the men through one-way glass and pick the one they would
marry. Not one of the women picked the short guy.
The show kept running different groups of women through the
experiment, and each time they'd add something to the short guy's
biography. They said he was a doctor, that he was wealthy, that he
loved cooking. They kept piling on more and more, but still women
preferred the other guys.
A man who was 5'6" did better, but only with a really impressive
biography.
Beauty or perceived beauty works that way too. One study found that
plain people tend to earn 9 percent less than average per hour, and
that people with above-average looks earned about 5 percent more
than average.
Sometimes good-looking people (and tall men) do perform especially
well partly because of a higher level of self-confidence, which is
itself enhanced by people's positive reaction to them. (A recent
Canadian study concluded even parents take better care of cute
children.)
The one situation in which beauty is a disadvantage in the workplace
appears to be for women who are applying for traditionally male
jobs. It seems people figure they are too feminine, so they lose out
to men or to women who aren't as appealing to the person doing the
hiring.
But mostly when employers rate workers, they tend to rate
good-looking people higher, and co-workers prefer working with cute
people.
And there is always the question of who is deciding what's
good-looking.
I came across the lyrics to Sir Mix-A-Lot's hit "Baby Got Back,"
which is actually a pretty good piece of social commentary with some
political bite to it. It starts off with two apparently white girls
talking about a third person.
"I mean, her but-, is just so big. I can't believe it's just so
round, it's like, out there, I mean gross. Look! She's just so ...
black!"
Sir Mix-a-Lot then offers his praise of women who are endowed with
butts. Who says rap mistreats women? OK, I know it's hypersexual and
objectifying and all that, but it does make a good point, and it has
a catchy beat. Also, would it bother you if someone said you had a
big but-? Umhnn, you've internalized the standards of a society that
does not value the natural female form.
Everybody is looking at everybody else and judging them based on
what they look like. We're a pretty superficial species — and the
effects of that cut deeply sometimes.
Every weekday JewishWorldReview.com publishes what many in in the media and Washington consider "must-reading". Sign up for the daily JWR update. It's free. Just click here.
Jerry Large is a Seattle Times columnist. Comment by clicking here. © 2005, Seattle Times; Distributed by Knight Ridder/Tribune Information Services |
Arnold Ahlert | |||||||||||
