“It turns out that being good-looking really does pay off,” begins the abstract for Is Beauty More than Skin Deep? Attractiveness, Power, and Nonverbal Presence in Evaluations of Hirability. “Decades of research have shown that attractive individuals are more likely to get ahead in their careers.”
You don’t say.
But wait—there’s more: “There is also evidence that these [attractive] individuals may be socialized to behave and perceive themselves differently from others in ways that contribute to their success.” How, you ask? A “greater sense of power than their less attractive counterparts.”
Decades of research? Hell, I learned all this the hard way after one week in high school. But since I read Shakespeare, I also knew the hotties would eventually get their comeuppance:
When forty winters shall besiege thy brow
And dig deep trenches in thy beauty’s field,
Thy youth’s proud livery, so gazed on now,
Will be a tattered weed, of small worth held.
Small comfort, I suppose, but still.
