Unit 24 Is Beauty an Advantage? Is beauty an advantage? Does it make the beautiful individual powerful? Does it result in substantially better pay and opportunities in the workplace? Ten years ago, feminist author Woolf wrote about the beauty myth. Woolf spoke critically of society's obsession about female beauty and challenged us to place more value on intelligence, complexity and humor. But media are as beauty-obsessed as ever. How often do you see gray-haired women presenters? How often do they have a big nose? The media may not be entirely to blame. According to an evolutionary psychological analysis, it is human nature for people to think constant bombardment of images of flawless models creates unrealistic expectations of women. And women's desire for beauty may well stem from men's mate preferences. Over evolutionary history, men have imposed their desire for attractiveness on women. This is because physical attractiveness is a clue to health and youth, and therefore fertility. Do good looks bring other advantages? My model agent friend is uncertain. "Even some of our most well-known girls are constantly worrying about their looks and weight. Being beautiful actually makes them miserable," she said. I spoke to a beautiful friend in the publishing industry. Without the problems of the fashion industry to deal with, perhaps she would have found her beauty and advantage. "I don't consider myself to be a great beauty, but there are women in this building who took a dislike to me on sight." She complained, "Women don't like beautiful women, particularly not as their subordinates." Nancy Etcoff would agree. In her book "Survival of the Prettiest," she stated that beauty is no asset to an ambitious woman. There is an assumption that beautiful women are too sexual and unable to lead the troops, and they often fail to reach the top. For women wanting to climb the corporate ladder, they must conceal their beauty in order to get ahead. Meanwhile, scientists maintain that feminism will never achieve any success in eliminating obsession with female beauty. If all men were suddenly persuaded to value physical strength in a mate, and then women would, over time, compete with one another to build muscles. The fashion industry, by this very existence, perpetuates an idealized image. But it is also the best place to learn the true value of beauty. As a journalist, you are never part of the beauty competition because there is always someone younger, slimmer, more beautiful than you. In the real world, beauty is a marketing tool that can occasionally open doors and occasionally slam them in your face.