Kristen Gyles | Pretty privilege is real

It is very interesting how differently we treat people simply based on how they look. Here, I am not just using the word ‘we’ in a general sense. Every single person is guilty of some prejudice in this regard, and it is worth thinking about.

Recently, I came across a testimonial of a woman who said she had lost 140 pounds and was shocked at how much differently she is treated now, having lost the weight, than she was before. She said that at almost 300 pounds, she felt invisible and felt as though she was constantly being judged, especially while eating in public. Now, she notices that strangers smile at her randomly, make eye contact with her much more and are genuinely nicer to her. Whereas she used to be invisible, people now notice her enough to hold the door for her.

I’m glad this woman shared this experience. Only someone who has existed in this world both in an unconventionally attractive body, and in one that is much more traditionally accepted, would be able to readily spot the difference in how differently people are treated based on appearance. This phenomenon does not just apply to body size but general attractiveness, and what is at stake is not just having someone hold the door for you.

Conventional attractiveness does affect life outcomes. A group of four academic researchers examined how the lives of 4,200 people evolved over 35 years, in light of their varied levels of conventional attractiveness. These individuals were participants in the Wisconsin Longitudinal Study (WLS). As a part of the study, a panel of experts assessed the high school yearbook pictures of each participant and awarded a beauty score to each person. The panel discovered that those who had the highest beauty scores moved into better jobs and led more prestigious careers in comparison to those who had lower scores although many of those with higher scores had lower IQs and lower levels of education.

This is not just a silly theory. People who are conventionally attractive typically garner to themselves greater levels of respect and dignity than people who are not. As borne out by the WLS, this doesn’t only affect individuals in their social lives but in their work and professional lives as well. This is why job applicants today are often encouraged not to submit résumés with professional portraits as these only have the effect of skewing the reviewer’s perception of the applicant’s ability.

MAKE ASSUMPTIONS

Despite our unwillingness to recognise or admit that we suffer from certain biases and prejudices, research shows that we tend to make assumptions about other people’s competence and general capabilities using other totally unrelated traits. This is a psychological phenomenon that can be explained by the ‘halo effect’. The halo effect is a cognitive bias that causes our overall perception of an individual to be positively influenced or shaped by one singular good trait that we find them to have.

For example, if you meet someone over the phone and find them to be exceptionally funny or entertaining, you are probably more likely to assume that the individual is a good person and has a kind heart. You might even subconsciously associate the person with some high level of intelligence. After one brief, casual interaction with them, you have already formed an opinion – as untrue as it might be.

Similarly, upon meeting a strikingly handsome or beautiful person for the first time, you may immediately perceive them as also being funny, talented and/or competent, whereas you would not necessarily form similar assumptions about someone you found unattractive.

Of course, we all suffer from this bias to varying extents. But it is worth discussing, because this bias affects the way we make decisions on a day-to-day basis and affects the way we interact with each other.

We also judge people based on how well they put themselves together. During my time as a student, we were taught that we should dress how we want to be addressed. At the time, I felt that it was unfortunate that the treatment of any individual would be tied to how they dress. I still feel that way. But now I realise that human biases are so ingrained that it is counterproductive to waste time lamenting their existence rather than focusing on working around them.

There is also a cycle to this whole phenomenon. When a child enters this world and grows up in an environment where they are constantly praised for their appearance, they are likely to develop a high level of self-confidence. Afterall, if you are used to getting commendations for doing nothing but existing, you will naturally feel good about yourself. As such a child grows into adulthood, this confidence shows up in the way they market themselves, negotiate with others, take on and execute new tasks, take risks and generally conduct themselves.

The point of all of this, aside from ruminating on yet another fascinating aspect of the human mind, is to recognise that the unchecked biases that we carry towards or against others are neither simple nor petty but have an actual effect on people’s life chances. Decision-makers and authority figures should especially be mindful about the biases they harbour and how they allow those to cloud their judgment. As with anything else, we can’t address what we didn’t realise existed.

Kristen Gyles is a free-thinking public affairs opinionator. Send feedback to kristengyles@gmail.com and columns@gleanerjm.com