This was how I was blown off from a job interview today after I turned in what I am sure was a clean edit of a 4 sentence grammar and spelling "test" prior to what were supposed to be open interviews. It was the third time I had applied to this particular company and the first time that they had offered interviews. I sat in my car for a while and watched as the overweight hispanic woman exited after I did but the young blond was apparently interviewed.
I know I harp on this and there is nothing anyone can say to change it. I just think we all need to be a
ware that this goes far beyond attitudes about fat women in their fifties.Deborah Rhode, a Stanford law professor wrote a book called "The Beauty Bias" in which she argues that in America, discrimination against unattractive women and short men is as pernicious and widespread as bias based on race, sex, age, ethnicity, religion, and disability.
Rhode cites research to prove her point: 11 percent of surveyed couples say they would abort a fetus predisposed toward obesity. College students tell surveyors they’d rather have a spouse who is an embezzler, drug user, or a shoplifter than one who is obese.
In an article published in Newsweek, Dahlia Lithwick reports that the less attractive you are in America, the more likely you are to receive a longer prison sentence, a lower damage award, a lower salary, and poorer performance reviews. You are less likely to be married and more likely to be poor.
So, playing Devil's Advocate here: just how attractive are your kids? We are all very concerned with their education and health...should we start looking into plastic surgery, personal trainers and wardrobe consultants? Wouldn't that be doing the right thing to help our kids get ahead?
5 comments:
We do it already: orthodontia, for example, to straighten less than perfect teeth. When was the last time you saw a middle class kid with an overbite? It's just a matter of degree.
I definitely agree about the hiring bias. I have had long arguments with friends about the fact that we are lucky we are born (at least somewhat) attractive and with good teeth and yes, I will add, without the propensity to obesity. Walk into a Barnes & Noble .. then walk into a Half Price Books .. notice the difference in attractiveness of the staff. Ditto Macy's vs. JCPenney or Sears. The list goes on.
As for the feedback you got, "there was mistakes" .. ARghghghghg! How frustrating. You just want to shout back, "There WERE mistakes, you mean!"
I think a lot of people do a lot of that stuff now--and I agree that orthodontia separates the poor from the not poor right of the bat.
I'm reeling over that sentence.
As if on cue ...
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/37831468/ns/health-diet_and_nutrition/
Disturbing, isn't it? I'm sure on some level we all have been guilty of giving preferential treatment to someone based on looks. Seriously, even good looking men who have committed heinous crimes receive numerous marriage proposals while behind bars. People can be blinded by good looks.
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