We are taught that beauty is only skin deep, and later taught that some ugly people are really very beautiful on the inside. It can be very confusing for the thoughtless person, but it isn't that hard to figure out if you think about it. However, both of these platitudes suggest that there is little value to an attractive appearance. Certainly, people who have an attractive appearance find it easier to get a job, a date, a discount, a warning instead of a ticket, or a presidency, but under the covers, many of us recognize that this added ease is less of a boon for society and more of a problem.
Many attractive women get hit on more often than they'd like, and for this reason, they devalue their own beauty. However, in this unfortunate situation, I see the potential for a very positive role for superficial beauty. Suppose that such an attractive woman chooses a few issues to study and she becomes very well informed. She is now in a position to push away all those unworthy men by imposing her views on them. When a guy (or a lesbian, I suppose) engages the pretty girl in conversation, he will gladly follow her to any topic she wishes. So she can steer him toward an issue important to her, and if he agrees, she can suggest that he get involved. She can arbitrarily raise the bar as high as she wants, and leave it to him to prove that he is worthy of her attention.
If you are a person with superficial beauty, perhaps you feel that the idea just presented is not a very good one. However, there is a related meme that you might very much enjoy and take to heart. What I have discovered is that there is an objective value to your appearance. Even if no issues are important enough to you to motivate you to study them, there are valuable memes in your head, and your appearance gives you sway with people that can benefit from them. Share your ideas with people that will listen to you. People listen to you more than they listen to me because looking at you is just a more pleasant experience. |
