Ana Kasparian: Do "Hot" Girls Have All the Advantages? Response to ThunderF00t

[WhoIsNumberNone]

I recently came across a very sweet video by ThunderF00t, where he asks whether or not me being attractive helps or hurts my career. This is an awkward topic for me to discuss, because it seems like I'm bragging about my looks. That is not my intention at all. Being perceived as pretty can have certain disadvantages along with the major advantages. I discuss that and the accusation that I only got hired for my looks in this video.

[KansDem]

1. Studies have demonstrated that the more attractive you're perceived...

...the better the job and salary.

Mirror, mirror
A summary of research findings on body image

Motives: why we look in the mirror

We are all more obsessed with our appearance than we like to admit. But this is not an indication of 'vanity'. Vanity means conceit, excessive pride in one's appearance. Concern about appearance is quite normal and understandable. Attractive people have distinct advantages in our society. Studies show:

*Attractive children are more popular, both with classmates and teachers. Teachers give higher evaluations to the work of attractive children and have higher expectations of them (which has been shown to improve performance).

*Attractive applicants have a better chance of getting jobs, and of receiving higher salaries. (one US study found that taller men earned around $600 per inch more than shorter executives.)

*In court, attractive people are found guilty less often. When found guilty, they receive less severe sentences.

*The 'bias for beauty' operates in almost all social situations – all experiments show we react more favourably to physically attractive people.

*We also believe in the 'what is beautiful is good' stereotype – an irrational but deep-seated belief that physically attractive people possess other desirable characteristics such as intelligence, competence, social skills, confidence – even moral virtue. (The good fairy/princess is always beautiful; the wicked stepmother is always ugly)

It is not surprising that physical attractiveness is of overwhelming importance to us.

--more--
http://www.sirc.org/publik/mirror.html

However, in Ms. Kasparian's case, she has the savvy and moxie to be doing what's she's doing.

[RedstDem]

2. love the turks

think I would still love them if I were blind...

[bluestateguy]

3. I can't speak to Ana's specific situation

But I can share with you one incident I witnessed a couple of weeks ago at a coffee shop.

I was sitting at a table enjoying my morning coffee and breakfast, and the door to the shop opened as a few people came in (they were not together). First, a guy, maybe 30ish, and he held the door open for a pretty young woman. Right after her was a frumpy, disheveled woman of about the same age. The guy did not continue holding the door open; he just let it slam into her face.

[Scuba]

4. "I'm sure you all know who he (thunderfoot) is." Ana, I don't even know who YOU are.

[HisTomness]

5. El Scuba es confusa

You do realize that Ana did not post this video on DU, right? She's talking to people who subscribe to her vlog, so they probably do, in fact, all know who thunderfoot is....and they certainly know who she is.

[Plucketeer]

6. As a guy...

I think most ALL women are beautiful - even if that beauty isn't on their exterior. Of course, there ARE women who are vulgar or lack respect for their own being - and I don't find even a smidgen of attractivness in them. Of course, the same can be said for guys as well.
We're a bi-sexed species and we've evolved to where the females are formed to attract prospective mates for them to choose from. This gives them the power (responsibility?) to choose which suitor's characteristics (genes) best serve the continuation of our species. Of course with humans (and possibly other creatures - I can't speak for them) DO have a component of choice afforded the male as well. But that "choice" is maybe more cultural than biological. Just look at the depictions of females from Greek and Roman times. The only place you're gonna see female bodies like those is on the cover of check-out line tabloids that make fun of the girth of media stars. Yet bodies like that were considered temptuous a couple of millenia ago! Heck, I like generously appointed gals even in this day and age!

I like Anna. I've liked her "works" and her appearance since the first time I saw her.

[Demo_Chris]

7. Short answer: Of course. Hot guys and girls have a HUGE advantage

Are there a few negatives to go along with it? Obviously. But they are of the 'too much of a good thing' variety. Yes, you get the better job and at a higher pay, yes you do not have to do that job as well as someone else, and when you do make mistakes it doesn't matter anywhere near as much, yes you have job security that others do not enjoy. But... coworkers might tend to hang around more than you strictly prefer, and people will admire your appearance and stare and perhaps dream.

It goes beyond simply the work place of course. If you are attractive, there is no where in life that you do not hold a huge advantage. You will even get preferential treatment in court, and even slam dunk cases against you become questionable if you are good looking enough. Will people hate you for your looks? Not unless you are a jerk. If you are nice, even the barest semblance of it, people will respond disproportionately. Behavior that is considered normal and ignored in less mortals, from the gods and godesses becomes praise worthy.

In a sense it's just like being wealthy. Yes, there are some downsides, but it's a curse we all would love to suffer.

[southshore]

8. And they just don't get it...

I have an insanely attractive female friend and she just thinks that the reason the rest of us don't have as easy time sailing thru life is because we just don't try hard enough. Jodi locks her keys on the car? Three guys will work tirelessly to get them out. Jodi gets stopped for speeding? She gets a warning, then complains the cop tried to flirt (I told her she can trade with me for the $300 fine, and $700 increase in insurance rates). I could go on, but you get it.

[Jim Lane]

9. Negative assumptions people make

As Ana says, there are advantages and disadvantages, but the advantages clearly predominate.

As to disadvantages, I recall seeing some research a while back about negative assumptions people make. When they look at women, there is some tendency for people to think that the prettier woman must be less intelligent. The stereotype is of the beautiful but ditzy woman, while the plain-looking one is the brain.

For men, it works a bit differently. There's less emphasis on facial attractiveness. The men who are affected are those who are tall, strong, and muscular. The stereotype is the "big dumb ox" or the "muscle-bound oaf", while the thin nerdy-looking guy is the one who has the smarts.

Apparently, some people think that a person who excels at one of the primary things considered desirable for their sex -- prettiness for women, strength for men -- can't also be good at something else, like intelligence.

[NICO9000]

10. Ana, you are a smart and beautiful woman

Plus, you seem like a really cool person that we viewers can relate to and your interplay with everybody is great. The four of you have a great chemistry together and I hope we can find you guys back on TV once Current bites the dust. Please tell Cenk that I am super-impressed at how professional you all are with these last shows. It really sucks that we're losing such great programming and it makes me mad that you guys have to go on TV every day and basically act like nothing's different. I won't complain however, as I really look forward to watching TYT on a daily basis and have watched every episode on Current since the first one!

On topic though, I have known many smart, attractive women in my life. I learned pretty early on that a man kind find beauty in almost any type of woman out there. You might find out a big nose could be cute; glasses; nice eyes - whatever floats yr boat. I know a few middle-aged never-married guys who think they deserve a supermodel and basically reject anybody not in that category, i.e. 99.9% of both males and females. Naturally, they will remain unmarried or even paired-up with a girlfriend 'cos they're too stupid to understand that beauty really is in the eye of the beholder.