“What is Beautiful is Good…”
The Greek poet Sappho once wrote, “What is beautiful is good, and who is good will soon be beautiful.” Since then, much has been written about beauty and, not surprisingly, Sappho’s quote has proven to be quite astute; at least the first part: “What is beautiful is good.” Indeed, from better grades to more room on the sidewalk, those people we consider to be more attractive get preferential treatment in almost every area of life.
In an article for the American Journal of Sociology, authors Murray Webster and James E. Driskell combine several previous studies to determine that, “The most general conclusion from research is that the world must be a more pleasant and satisfying place for attractive people because they possess almost all types of social advantages that can be measured.”
Which social advantages, exactly? The authors go on to catalogue a myriad list of such advantages, beginning as early as childhood, “Attractive schoolchildren are expected by their teachers to achieve higher school marks than unattractive children, and they usually do so; their misdemeanors are judged less serious and it is predicted that they will have more successful careers.”
Attractive children often go on to become attractive adults, where the benefits continue to multiply: “Attractive adults are thought to have happier marriages than those who are unattractive, and that expectation seems to be fulfilled. Opinions of attractive adults are more likely to be agreed with; attractive adults are perceived as having better mental health; Attractive adults are even granted larger ‘personal space’ on the sidewalk than are the unattractive.”
Of course, we’ve all seen Tyra Banks wear an undercover camera while donning a fat suit and been amazed at how differently the supermodel was treated when compared to when the suit came off, but hard research reveals that what she experienced was no isolated event. Studies prove that attractive people really do earn more and become more successful – in business and in love – than those considered less attractive.
Case in point: a recent study by the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis reports that, “Good-looking, slim, tall people tend to make more money than their plain-Jane counterparts”
Writing in the Journal of Young Investigators, author Charles Feng from Stanford University writes, “Psychological research suggests that people generally choose mates with a similar level of attractiveness. The evolutionary theory is that by mating with someone who has similar genes, one’s own genes are conserved. Moreover, a person’s demeanor and personality also influences how others perceive his or her beauty.”
Furthermore, a study from the Archives of Dermatology boasts research to support the theory that, “The best-looking women in high school are 10 times as likely to marry as the least attractive, and they are more likely to marry sooner and marry persons of greater wealth or social status. Sexual encounters are more numerous and varied for attractive people. Better treatment for the better looking extends to the workplace. West Point graduates with facial features more suggestive of dominance are more likely to achieve high rank. In the private sector, the good-looking are more likely to be hired, given a higher salary, and promoted sooner…”
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