Do you think people really have prejudices against attractive people? When you see an attractive person, do you automatically assume that person cannot be brilliant?
My girlfriend is very smart (a philosophy major) but feels the need to play down her looks in order for her mind to be taken seriously. She's very beautiful and she told me recently that she doesn't want her classmates (and her prof - who,
incidentally, is a woman) to assume she's just a beauty with no brains. (She didn't word it quite like that.)
So she dresses really shabbily and makes a point of wearing no makeup to class (even though she likes it) so that she doesn't stand out.
When she told me this, I started thinking ... is this just a personal hang-up of hers? Or do people (especially academics) feel threatened in the presence of really attractive people? Or is it simply a stereotype that attractive people can't also be bright?
What are your thoughts?
2007-08-02
18:58:28
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14 answers
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asked by
Anonymous