American educator, activist of the second wave of feminism and favorite of Oprah Winfrey, Warren Farrell became famous for his books, literally explaining on his fingers most of the problems of modern men, women, as well as everything that happens between them before and after the lights go out in the bedroom. ... Since the mid-1980s, his book Why Men Are The Way They Are is considered a handbook for those who want to figure out what is actually happening to these strange people. One of the questions that Farrell vividly dissects is why we are deceived in partners and in people in general. The answer lies in the fact that the traits for which we choose people are often accompanied by qualities that are unpleasant enough to coexist. For example, those character traits and habits that help make a career,
Farrell pays special attention to appearance. He introduces the concept of "genetic stardom" (or "the triumph of genetics" - genetic celebrity) - so he defines physical beauty. According to the scientist, those who won the genetic lottery are accustomed to the fact that people evaluate them and all their actions positively, only on the basis of how they look. In his opinion, this deprives beautiful people of a sober assessment of their personality. They value this given by nature as their own merit. Spoiled by attention and flattering reviews, they often do not know how to appreciate truly deep human feelings.
The idea of evaluating people by their appearance is not new and has its own rationale. This is part of our nature. Moreover, our ideas about "good" - beauty, pleasant smell or taste - are inherent in evolution. We love sweets because they are a source of high energy and an opportunity to quickly get full. We hate the smell of rot, because bacteria can pose a threat to our health. We can see a threat in those who are not like us ("outsider"), and strive to choose as partners "symmetrical individuals" (beauty is hostage to symmetry) as carriers of a successful gene set.
Beauty was written down in virtue and quite meaningfully. In the sixth century BC, the philosopher Parmenides amused himself by compiling endless lists of "good" and "bad" things. Life, light, goodness, beauty - a hit parade of positive concepts. Death, darkness, evil, ugliness are confident leaders of the negative. The European tradition is also based on the principle "everything that is beautiful and good-looking is good." Therefore, in authentic fairy tales, all princesses and princes are certainly beautiful, all villains and destroyers are unbearably ugly.
"Problems begin when the desire to evaluate everyone by their appearance becomes a form of discrimination"
The Institute of Fashion has also at all times made its contribution to the strengthening of the role of visual assessment of personality. Clothing has always served as a social marker, allowing people to recognize "theirs" and stay away, or even wet strangers altogether. Today, based on the choice of wardrobe, others are ready to draw conclusions about your well-being, your idea of ethics, range of interests, and even readiness for sex.
There is nothing wrong with the everyday deduction that we use when we consider new acquaintances in order to understand our attitude towards them. Problems begin when the desire to evaluate everyone by their appearance becomes a form of discrimination. Lookism (another name - face fascism) is a concept that was introduced in the 70s as part of the struggle for the rights of overweight people. Individuals whose appearance does not fit into current ideas about good looks are often subjected to the same restrictions and bullying as victims of racism. Everyone knows how obese children are bullied at school. This often continues into adulthood. Ugly people have a harder time making friends. It is more difficult for an employee with a vivid physical "flaw" to move up the career ladder.
Because of this, one of the urgent problems of personnel management and business in general is to make effective decisions without taking cognitive biases into account. For example, the halo effect (or the halo effect), due to which one personality quality - a bright or memorable detail - makes us evaluate other aspects of it in the same way. Under the influence of the halo effect, people with repulsive appearance are often given a low rating for intellectual ability.
Managing physical attractiveness stereotypes (handsome = good) within your judgment is not easy. When Vicky Houston and Ray Bull began researching the phenomenon of beauty and ugliness in 1994, they conducted a series of experiments. In the course of them, it turned out that a woman with scars on her face would be reluctant to sit down on public transport. It became clear that teachers often evaluate the motives of children's behavior (the child did something bad on purpose or by accident) on the basis of how cute their appearance is. The stereotype is so deep that even newborn babies prefer prettier faces. All of these decisions are largely unaccountable.
Because of this, someone who says that he does not evaluate people by their appearance will be largely a hypocrite. Whether of our own free will or against it, we do this dirty work every time. Everyone likes beautiful and beautiful. Another question is that this should not be the main criterion for assessing personality or become a reason for criticism. And here again the "fat men" were especially unlucky. It is shameful to sneer at an unaestheticness, either inborn or acquired due to tragic circumstances - and this is official. At the same time, pouring out streams of criticism towards overweight people is actually a social norm. At hand as an excuse there is always a sacred cow - the Question of Health, as well as accusations that "people have done this to themselves."
The whole injustice of these accusations is that people are harassed on the grounds that the possible consequences of their weakness are in plain sight.
The fact that you have been cheating on your boyfriend for years, stealing Dad's antidepressants and buying stolen goods, others may not even guess. But habits or physiological features that affect your appearance give rise to any sleepy passer-by to give you an assessment. Your colleague may be lazy to visit his lonely grandmother. Even if it turns out, you are likely to come to the conclusion that it is "his business." Why is the discussion of "laziness" that gets in the way of going to the gym suddenly become commonplace and such a popular target of criticism?
"The first step to liberation is to understand that we are
don't have to be pretty and fit
their ideas of beauty "
Our generation is more focused on visual perception of reality than its predecessors. We read less, listen less, talk less, talk more - like no one before us! - we look at photos and videos. This further exacerbates the problems of lookism. Sometimes it seems that everyone is literally crazy about their appearance. When you live under the magnifying glass of those who are considering your cellulite or age-related skin changes, to a certain extent it is difficult to abstract and do something really important. Close attention to how a person looks becomes the source of many psychosomatic disorders, distortions of one's own physicality, changes in character, life goals and destiny. It seems that if you control your body, your appearance, then this can somehow order the chaos of the world around you. Conversely, it seems that those
The first step to liberation is to understand that we do not have to be beautiful to anyone and correspond to their ideas about beauty. A socially approved and even more attractive appearance for the majority, of course, can become a tool for facilitating communication with people. It is convenient to use beauty to achieve your goals: personal, professional and any other in which people are involved. Many do it unconsciously, someone manipulates it deliberately. However, everyone is free to abandon this method in favor of their other interests.
It is also important not to forget that the desire to be and seem beautiful is quite natural. When five-year-old girls spin in front of a mirror in their mother's lace and imagine themselves to be princesses, they feel all the beauty and perfection of the world around them. It seems to them that everything around them will be transformed together with them. Adult girls dream of expensive bags or plastic surgery, harboring the same hopes.
Text: Yunna Vradiy
Farrell pays special attention to appearance. He introduces the concept of "genetic stardom" (or "the triumph of genetics" - genetic celebrity) - so he defines physical beauty. According to the scientist, those who won the genetic lottery are accustomed to the fact that people evaluate them and all their actions positively, only on the basis of how they look. In his opinion, this deprives beautiful people of a sober assessment of their personality. They value this given by nature as their own merit. Spoiled by attention and flattering reviews, they often do not know how to appreciate truly deep human feelings.
The idea of evaluating people by their appearance is not new and has its own rationale. This is part of our nature. Moreover, our ideas about "good" - beauty, pleasant smell or taste - are inherent in evolution. We love sweets because they are a source of high energy and an opportunity to quickly get full. We hate the smell of rot, because bacteria can pose a threat to our health. We can see a threat in those who are not like us ("outsider"), and strive to choose as partners "symmetrical individuals" (beauty is hostage to symmetry) as carriers of a successful gene set.
Beauty was written down in virtue and quite meaningfully. In the sixth century BC, the philosopher Parmenides amused himself by compiling endless lists of "good" and "bad" things. Life, light, goodness, beauty - a hit parade of positive concepts. Death, darkness, evil, ugliness are confident leaders of the negative. The European tradition is also based on the principle "everything that is beautiful and good-looking is good." Therefore, in authentic fairy tales, all princesses and princes are certainly beautiful, all villains and destroyers are unbearably ugly.
"Problems begin when the desire to evaluate everyone by their appearance becomes a form of discrimination"
The Institute of Fashion has also at all times made its contribution to the strengthening of the role of visual assessment of personality. Clothing has always served as a social marker, allowing people to recognize "theirs" and stay away, or even wet strangers altogether. Today, based on the choice of wardrobe, others are ready to draw conclusions about your well-being, your idea of ethics, range of interests, and even readiness for sex.
There is nothing wrong with the everyday deduction that we use when we consider new acquaintances in order to understand our attitude towards them. Problems begin when the desire to evaluate everyone by their appearance becomes a form of discrimination. Lookism (another name - face fascism) is a concept that was introduced in the 70s as part of the struggle for the rights of overweight people. Individuals whose appearance does not fit into current ideas about good looks are often subjected to the same restrictions and bullying as victims of racism. Everyone knows how obese children are bullied at school. This often continues into adulthood. Ugly people have a harder time making friends. It is more difficult for an employee with a vivid physical "flaw" to move up the career ladder.
Because of this, one of the urgent problems of personnel management and business in general is to make effective decisions without taking cognitive biases into account. For example, the halo effect (or the halo effect), due to which one personality quality - a bright or memorable detail - makes us evaluate other aspects of it in the same way. Under the influence of the halo effect, people with repulsive appearance are often given a low rating for intellectual ability.
Managing physical attractiveness stereotypes (handsome = good) within your judgment is not easy. When Vicky Houston and Ray Bull began researching the phenomenon of beauty and ugliness in 1994, they conducted a series of experiments. In the course of them, it turned out that a woman with scars on her face would be reluctant to sit down on public transport. It became clear that teachers often evaluate the motives of children's behavior (the child did something bad on purpose or by accident) on the basis of how cute their appearance is. The stereotype is so deep that even newborn babies prefer prettier faces. All of these decisions are largely unaccountable.
Because of this, someone who says that he does not evaluate people by their appearance will be largely a hypocrite. Whether of our own free will or against it, we do this dirty work every time. Everyone likes beautiful and beautiful. Another question is that this should not be the main criterion for assessing personality or become a reason for criticism. And here again the "fat men" were especially unlucky. It is shameful to sneer at an unaestheticness, either inborn or acquired due to tragic circumstances - and this is official. At the same time, pouring out streams of criticism towards overweight people is actually a social norm. At hand as an excuse there is always a sacred cow - the Question of Health, as well as accusations that "people have done this to themselves."
The whole injustice of these accusations is that people are harassed on the grounds that the possible consequences of their weakness are in plain sight.
The fact that you have been cheating on your boyfriend for years, stealing Dad's antidepressants and buying stolen goods, others may not even guess. But habits or physiological features that affect your appearance give rise to any sleepy passer-by to give you an assessment. Your colleague may be lazy to visit his lonely grandmother. Even if it turns out, you are likely to come to the conclusion that it is "his business." Why is the discussion of "laziness" that gets in the way of going to the gym suddenly become commonplace and such a popular target of criticism?
"The first step to liberation is to understand that we are
don't have to be pretty and fit
their ideas of beauty "
Our generation is more focused on visual perception of reality than its predecessors. We read less, listen less, talk less, talk more - like no one before us! - we look at photos and videos. This further exacerbates the problems of lookism. Sometimes it seems that everyone is literally crazy about their appearance. When you live under the magnifying glass of those who are considering your cellulite or age-related skin changes, to a certain extent it is difficult to abstract and do something really important. Close attention to how a person looks becomes the source of many psychosomatic disorders, distortions of one's own physicality, changes in character, life goals and destiny. It seems that if you control your body, your appearance, then this can somehow order the chaos of the world around you. Conversely, it seems that those
The first step to liberation is to understand that we do not have to be beautiful to anyone and correspond to their ideas about beauty. A socially approved and even more attractive appearance for the majority, of course, can become a tool for facilitating communication with people. It is convenient to use beauty to achieve your goals: personal, professional and any other in which people are involved. Many do it unconsciously, someone manipulates it deliberately. However, everyone is free to abandon this method in favor of their other interests.
It is also important not to forget that the desire to be and seem beautiful is quite natural. When five-year-old girls spin in front of a mirror in their mother's lace and imagine themselves to be princesses, they feel all the beauty and perfection of the world around them. It seems to them that everything around them will be transformed together with them. Adult girls dream of expensive bags or plastic surgery, harboring the same hopes.
Text: Yunna Vradiy