Wednesday, March 23, 2005
Physical Attractiveness: A Stereotype?
Textbook Definition: The belief that physically attractive individuals possess socially desirable personality traits and lead happier, more fulfilling lives than less attractive persons.
In other words, when establishing our impressions of people, especially people we do not really know, we tend to focus more on their physical attributes like ethnicity, age, and in this case, physical attractiveness rather than their intrinsic traits like kindness and honesty. We judge people based on what we readily see about them. We have the tendency to hold the misperception that beautiful people live their lives without being stigmatized by any flaw.
The evolutionary aspect suggests that physical attractiveness is influenced by a partner’s perceived fertility, that is, physical attributes like weight and facial appearance that reflect high fertility would render an individual as being attractive. However, in a more modern context, physical attractiveness stereotype is largely influenced by our sociocultural beliefs.
The media is a primary key in influencing physical attractiveness stereotype. Our general idea of a villain is most probably a person with a mean grin on his face, a huge potbelly of a tummy, a gold-studded tooth, and yes, an ugly scar on one of his cheeks. A huge contrast to this repelling image is our hero, characterized by a flawless face, nice jaw-line and cheekbones, great, dark hair, and a terrific body. Now, we all know that many successful “bad guys” possess good looks, which is a tool used to manipulate people. However, nobody wants to see an ugly hero, thus, in their pursuit of high viewership, we are brought up with the misconception that physically attractive people have more desired qualities than less attractive ones. Due to this, we form attitudes of people according to their physical attractiveness, and trying to stay consistent with that attitude, we develop a physical attractiveness stereotype.
The power of a culture in society also largely determines the degree of physical attractiveness stereotype. Since World War I and World War II right until this very day, the western culture has been perceived as being the powerhouse of the world. That explains the general definition of beauty to be that of light-skinned people of countries like the United States and those in Europe.
The plastic surgery industry has also benefited from people’s obsession with looking good. To label these people as being ridiculously vain and shallow would be a fundamental attribution error. This is because external factors play a vital role when looking for an explanation for people’s obsession with physical beauty.
Many industries today have marked physical attractiveness as one of their main criteria, for example, the media industry, the airline industry, the modeling industry and even the sales industry. This is because of the fact that beauty sells.
Physical attractiveness stereotype is a hard habit to break, considering the social power it holds in the world today. One way to control it is to perhaps look beyond the physical facade of a person and unveil the beauty within.
Lovefoolosopher ¶ 12:03 PM
In other words, when establishing our impressions of people, especially people we do not really know, we tend to focus more on their physical attributes like ethnicity, age, and in this case, physical attractiveness rather than their intrinsic traits like kindness and honesty. We judge people based on what we readily see about them. We have the tendency to hold the misperception that beautiful people live their lives without being stigmatized by any flaw.
The evolutionary aspect suggests that physical attractiveness is influenced by a partner’s perceived fertility, that is, physical attributes like weight and facial appearance that reflect high fertility would render an individual as being attractive. However, in a more modern context, physical attractiveness stereotype is largely influenced by our sociocultural beliefs.
The media is a primary key in influencing physical attractiveness stereotype. Our general idea of a villain is most probably a person with a mean grin on his face, a huge potbelly of a tummy, a gold-studded tooth, and yes, an ugly scar on one of his cheeks. A huge contrast to this repelling image is our hero, characterized by a flawless face, nice jaw-line and cheekbones, great, dark hair, and a terrific body. Now, we all know that many successful “bad guys” possess good looks, which is a tool used to manipulate people. However, nobody wants to see an ugly hero, thus, in their pursuit of high viewership, we are brought up with the misconception that physically attractive people have more desired qualities than less attractive ones. Due to this, we form attitudes of people according to their physical attractiveness, and trying to stay consistent with that attitude, we develop a physical attractiveness stereotype.
The power of a culture in society also largely determines the degree of physical attractiveness stereotype. Since World War I and World War II right until this very day, the western culture has been perceived as being the powerhouse of the world. That explains the general definition of beauty to be that of light-skinned people of countries like the United States and those in Europe.
The plastic surgery industry has also benefited from people’s obsession with looking good. To label these people as being ridiculously vain and shallow would be a fundamental attribution error. This is because external factors play a vital role when looking for an explanation for people’s obsession with physical beauty.
Many industries today have marked physical attractiveness as one of their main criteria, for example, the media industry, the airline industry, the modeling industry and even the sales industry. This is because of the fact that beauty sells.
Physical attractiveness stereotype is a hard habit to break, considering the social power it holds in the world today. One way to control it is to perhaps look beyond the physical facade of a person and unveil the beauty within.
Lovefoolosopher ¶ 12:03 PM
