The Importance of Being Pretty

My original post was going to be mainly focused on the (in my opinion) ridiculous outcome of an Iowa legal dispute in which a dentist fired his assistant because he found her too attractive and "irresistible," and felt she was a threat to his marriage. If you want to read more about the case, click here. However, after thinking about this case and my own personal experience, I realize that there's a big question surrounding women in today's society: How important is it to be pretty?

I have personally been affected by other people's opinions of my attractiveness, both casually and in the workplace. I could even argue that I've both received and lost jobs based on my appearance. But, in the end, should a person's employability be based on his or her physical assets rather than professional skills? While I think not, I still find myself judging others for both "trying too hard," and "not trying hard enough"  to look good.

I have to wonder why, despite my belief that appearance should not be so important, I judge people without even realizing I am. Am I really so shallow, or have I unconsciously accepted that people, especially women, must strike a fine line in their appearance and, if they fail, they are to blamed for how they are treated? And so, again, how important is it to be pretty?

Honestly, I don't like leaving the house without makeup on and a decently flattering outfit. It's not that I want male attention; in fact, I get really embarrassed when I'm hit on. And, despite the speculation that women dress up to impress each other, I'm not trying to show off for other women. I want to look nice because when I do, I feel better about myself. I wish I could walk out the door bare-faced and still feel confident, but I don't. So, personally, feeling like I look nice is important not because of how others perceive me, but because of how I perceive myself.

I know I am not the only person who thinks looking nice is important. Studies show that attractive people tend to make more money, have better jobs, and are generally happier than their less-attractive counterparts, and it's clear that our society values physical attractiveness. But why? I know it could really all be broken down to genetics and ideal mates and so on, but are we no better than animals looking to associate with the best-looking of our kind in an attempt to better ourselves?

In short, YES. We are animals, and we want to be pretty and be around pretty people. As a society, we spend a lot of money to look good, and we judge people who we feel don't try hard enough and, in reverse, we judge people to try too hard. It's a fine line to hit, and we can be very unforgiving of those who either fall short or overshoot.

But is it really acceptable to value someone based almost solely on their appearance? I really don't think it is. It's fine to appreciate physical attractiveness, but as individuals I think we all need to make more of an effort to appreciate people for their other attributes. Furthermore, I think that we need to appreciate the confidence it takes to choose to not share society's obsession to always make oneself prettier.

Men, women, children: we're all people, and we're much more complicated than what the eye can see. Put your best foot forward, and try not to be a jerk to someone who doesn't cover theirs with designer shoes.