Good Looks Mean Better Pay

A recent article cited a study by two university researchers that indicate the following about aesthetic endowment and economic earning potential and productivity:

• Plain looking folks earn 5% - 10% less than good looking ones.
• The results are the same in all occupations.
• Ugly women are less likely to hold a job
• Ugly women are more likely to marry men with no talent and/or ambition.
• Spending money on make-up, hair styling, and a better wardrobe to mask or improve their physical endowments did not improve one's economic lot in their career.
• Ugly children turn into ugly adults.
• The taller the man, the bigger the paycheck. (I guess that size is important in that regard)

Ouch!  I mean, look at my picture.  What am I going to do?  At least at 6' 2" I have height on my side.

Actually, this study leaves more questions than answers.  Who evaluates these employees: employers or clients/customers (who vote with their wallets in sales)?  Why are there examples of successful and rich ugly people?  I mean, c'mon, look at Bill Gates.  What other factors could account for the study results?  I came to my conclusion early in the article, which was that years of aesthetic discrimination played havoc with the "Plain Janes" and "Average Joes" as they developed from children to adults.  A lot of children who do not meet the community standard for attractiveness or are obese are routinely bullied, name-called, chosen last, and isolated by peers.  I see it everyday; after all, I'm a school principal.  One study even indicates that parents also show preferences for a more attractive child over its unattractive sibling.  Years of this destroys self-confidence, ambition, and limits social and communication skill development.  As they develop into an adult, they are cheated out of the important rewards of experiencing successes that can be built on.  The resulting adult turns into a socially clumsy underachiever with a whiney, pissy attitude due to his/her lot in life.  They become unproductive or marginally productive members of society.  I say it is this negative, self-destructive attitude, not physical attractiveness, or the lack thereof, that brings about the results that this study finds.  In other words, I think the study found a correlation, not a causal relationship between attractiveness and financial success.

So what's the answer?  First, to parents who have children in those all-important formative years:  Build your child up.  You provide the confidence and social skill building experiences that your children need.  Don't leave that to their peers.  Talk to your children to inculcate the fact that success is theirs for the taking.  For years, I put my twins to bed with, what we called, "The Words."  Every single night, I tucked them in and asked them what they wanted to be when they grew up.  Then, when they answered (and the answer changed a lot), I would spend the next hour describing in great detail how successful they would be when they achieved that dream.  I painted that picture in bright colors and added plenty of excitement.  Today, both boys are pre-med students with goals of a medical career.  Did "The Words" cause that?  I don't know, but I know it didn't hurt.  However, they tell me they still remember "The Words." 

--Oh, as a side note, I'm not rich (yeah, look at my picture, remember the topic of this post?).  I've got medical school tuition coming up fast!  Feel free to hit one of my donate buttons to help this ugly boy put his kids through medical school.  Consider it an investment; they might be working on you one day!--

Another aspect involved in overcoming aesthetic discrimination is to actively work on our attitude and self-image.  Tools such as NLP and Anthony Robbins' programs are invaluable in this regard.  Learning to appreciate who we are goes a long way.  We can't expect others to like and appreciate us if we don't like and appreciate ourselves.  We also need to remember that communication and social skills are learned and that we can develop that side of us by placing ourselves in situations that will foster (or force) their development.  I learned in my flight training, that talking on the radio to the control tower can be very intimidating.  Hundreds of people are listening and knowing that they could sound awkward and clumsy keeps many off of the radio, severly limiting where they can fly and endangering other pilots.  So how does one improve that?  Practice.  If not on the radio, computer programs are now sold that will play the part of the tower and allow you to practice in the comfort of your own home until you are confident enough to try it out in the real world.  The point?  Place yourself in situations where you will improve in these areas within a safe environment.  For example, learning to talk to large and small groups to inform and persuade can be learned in Toastmasters International.  Small talk and networking skills can be learned within one's own church's small classes and groups.  Learn where you are weak and craft a program for improvement.

Technology offers another benefit.  With telecommuting becoming more and more prevalent and with many of us using computers and producing a product without us ever being seen (this blog, for example), we are able to be judged by our results rather than our looks.  If my picture was not on this site, I would be judged solely on the quality of my thoughts, with my looks never playing a part.  Ah, Nirvana!  In fact, there has been more than one couple who met online, fell in love through ideas, thoughts, and words, long before they ever saw each other.  By that time, they considered each other beautiful, despite what they looked like.  Find avenues for self-fulfillment and contribution where you are judged on what you possess inside, not external physical looks.

With the right mental mind-set, self-image, confidence, and a willingness to take action to become more positive, crafting a good attitude can mitigate the effects of others' negative biases about physical characteristics.

Comments

[TesTeq]

I am not even 6' tall. How did you achieve it?
Any hints that would help me to be bigger.
Diet, exercises, more or less sex?
TesTeq

[John Richardson]

What I want to know is... how in the heck did Ross Perot get so rich and famous?? He is short AND ugly... what gives??