Spring Break
Presidential hopefuls take heed: Confidence and good looks can trump ability
by Hillary Davis
Op-Ed | 3/13/07
Posted online at 3:10 AM EST on 3/13/07
FORT COLLINS, Colo.-Is President Bush a babe? Do you think Nancy Pelosi is a hottie? Do you drool over Dick Cheney? Maybe you don't think so, but it seems the general electorate might disagree with you.
Researchers and economists have found that in the U.K. Finland, Australia, Germany and the United States, residents like pretty politicians and are more likely to vote for someone if he or she is good-looking. I'll bet you never looked at your voting records that way. And politicians are not the only ones for whom it pays to be pretty, or to at least use a flattering publicity photo.
Daniel Hamermesh, an American economist, has recently completed studies that show ugly people earn less money across the board, even in professions where appearance has nothing to do with the job.
Are attractive people smarter? Probably not. But are attractive people better at their jobs? Maybe, just maybe. After all, pretty people have a lot going for them right from the start. Chances are, barring any major surgery or drinking of the pretty potion, pretty people have been pretty all their lives and have been treated preferentially because of it.
It's no secret the human eye likes to look at symmetrical objects. Studies have shown the more symmetrical people's faces are, the more likely they are to be considered beautiful by others.
Beautiful people also have more advantages than their not-so-fine-looking friends. Again, the human eye seeks out beauty, so it almost makes sense that teachers dote and call upon beautiful children first, and they ultimately do better in school. Or that day-care workers feel more love and compassion for a cuter toddler, so they become popular and social among other children much faster. Such advantages are bound to add up, resulting in a serious leg up for the future Mr. and Ms. Americas of America.
There is no doubt about it, the way you look matters today. Anyone who tells you otherwise is probably dumb. And probably is also secretly considering Botox or hair plugs. Yet this goes against all of what America used to stand for, pulling yourself up by your bootstraps like Horatio Alger, achieving the American dream even with the odds stacked against you.
Researchers and economists have found that in the U.K. Finland, Australia, Germany and the United States, residents like pretty politicians and are more likely to vote for someone if he or she is good-looking. I'll bet you never looked at your voting records that way. And politicians are not the only ones for whom it pays to be pretty, or to at least use a flattering publicity photo.
Daniel Hamermesh, an American economist, has recently completed studies that show ugly people earn less money across the board, even in professions where appearance has nothing to do with the job.
Are attractive people smarter? Probably not. But are attractive people better at their jobs? Maybe, just maybe. After all, pretty people have a lot going for them right from the start. Chances are, barring any major surgery or drinking of the pretty potion, pretty people have been pretty all their lives and have been treated preferentially because of it.
It's no secret the human eye likes to look at symmetrical objects. Studies have shown the more symmetrical people's faces are, the more likely they are to be considered beautiful by others.
Beautiful people also have more advantages than their not-so-fine-looking friends. Again, the human eye seeks out beauty, so it almost makes sense that teachers dote and call upon beautiful children first, and they ultimately do better in school. Or that day-care workers feel more love and compassion for a cuter toddler, so they become popular and social among other children much faster. Such advantages are bound to add up, resulting in a serious leg up for the future Mr. and Ms. Americas of America.
There is no doubt about it, the way you look matters today. Anyone who tells you otherwise is probably dumb. And probably is also secretly considering Botox or hair plugs. Yet this goes against all of what America used to stand for, pulling yourself up by your bootstraps like Horatio Alger, achieving the American dream even with the odds stacked against you.
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