Words to Live By, cont.

"Hiring attractive people is not necessarily illegal…"

Comments

[Steve in CO]

It is obvious that people who are viewed as attractive are treated better and generally fair better in life (better jobs, better-looking spouses, etc). Whether this is "fair," or not seems to be the question. Of course it isn't "fair," at all. But should "something," be done about it? No.

Besides, why is it difficult to hire attractive minorities anyway? There are millions of them.

🙂

[Julian Sanchez]

An interesting quotation in the article from an attorney who advises his employer-clients that they should focus on hiring someone who can "get the job done" rather than attractive people. But, of course, the whole point is that, in sales, more attractive people DO get the job done better. How to make a discrimination charge stick when, ceteris paribus, the more attractive person really would sell more jeans (or whatever)? And if ability to move product isn't allowed as a hiring criterion, how are companies supposed to decide who to hire? Lottery?

[SM]

I don't know how to feel about this. She looks kind of fat in that photograph.

[Emily]

Abercrombie stores would probably do better business if instead of hiring pretty girls, they'd just turn down the music in their stores. Generally, you can hear the Abercrombie store in a mall long before you can see the smiling nordic faces inside of it.

[Anonymous]

"A guy wants to go hang out in a store where he can see good-looking gals."

Guys shop?

[Madog]

No, I want to hang out in stores where there are lots of neat electronic things. If I have to go into a clothing store for more thant the 15 minutes it takes me to buy stuff for myself I want it to be full of attractive people.

[Tommy_Grand]

So it's ok to discriminate against ugly people, short people, fat people, & bald people, but it's illegal to discriminate against drunks, drug addicts, or "seriously learning disabled" (read: stupid) people? How can you say that the congenital condition known as being butt ugly is not a disability?

The ADA = a paragon of logical consistency.

[joe]

I guess it depends on what you hire them for...

[Jim]

Just one more of the trade offs people have to consider when choosing a job or career. People who gain an edge through youth and beauty will lose it as they become old and, er, less beautiful. Ugly smart people have job security for life. Ugly dumb folks are more or less screwed, but at least they can stay in the same lackluster career path indefinitely as well.

What about good looking smart people? They often have it all, which isn't fair, but what is in life? None of us had much choice in choosing either looks or intelligence, although we all made choices about what we've done with what we have. Further, just because you can't get a job in a certain kind of market doesn't imply you can't get a job or even a good one. Personally I'll not lose much sleep over the fact that I'm too old to work for Abercrombie & Fitch for 1/4 my current wage.

[Tommy_Grand]

"Which isn't fair, but what is in life?"

That principle applied consistently = Fired b/c you're ugly? Life isn't fair. Fired b/c of your race? Life isnt fair. Fired b/c of gender? Life isnt fair. Cant get to work b/c no legs? Life isn't fair. I guess you'll starve. Law of the jungle.

I'd prefer a law that forcing businesses, schools, and government agencies to honestly disclose the reasons for every hire, promotion, and firing. (Sure, they would almost always lie, but, when caught, the statutory penalty should be huge.) In other words, you can legally discriminate - but you must tell the world aginst whom.

[Brandon]

Didn't Ayn Rand write a thesis about Envy and its many perils?

[D. Parton]

"Several business owners told me rather bluntly that they would only hire good-looking women with big tits. Being that this was the South, it wasn't hard to fill the bill."

(Because, you see, in the north, all girls have small tits. The cold weather stunts their growth.)

[Croesus]

Heh. When I was at Auburn University working on a my Piled-High&Deep, I knew several business owners who told me rather bluntly that they would only hire good-looking women with big tits. Being that this was the South, it wasn't hard to fill the bill. Anyway, the policy didn't seem to hurt business that's for sure.

[Russ D]

The most irritating thing that happens to me is when I'm in a store and people come up to me and ask "Do you work here?"

I suppose I should be flattered when I'm in Abercrombie & Fitch, but it only happens in record stores and comic book shops.

[Anonymous]

"Can I help you, sir?"

"No, I'm just checking out the poontang."

[Ugly American]

hiring attractive people is anti-american. in this country we all have a right to a job! all I ever see is ugly french people working on TV, so obviously they are more progressive in their hiring practices.

[Cheez]

This is nothing new. MIT has been discriminating against dumb people for years in its faculty hirings.

[Tommy_Grand]

It's not the weather. Northern girls are more reluctant to get implants. It's just one more reason the north sucks.

[shatae]

Hiring because someone is cute is ridiculous. I believe that I am an attractive young women but I want to be hired because I can do the job, not because my eyes are light brown or perfect skin. That's so stupid. Americans today are way to obsess therefore; we learn to hate our personal beauty because we are still trying to live up to the expected look. Whatever those look may be for an individual. Yet we don?t feel we are as equally attractive to that "look" we become obsessed with changing ourselves. We die visually perfect but with this mental frame telling us to constantly measure and compare to that "look" we didn't need to change in the first place.

[Ludynea]

i think that getting a job depends on what you look like its not about looks its about how qualified you are and if you can handle the job. i know girls that are very pretty and all they do is winge because they had to do something like the dishes and my god half of the females have to more then that everyday and i dont see them wingeing so the pretty people need to get over themselves and think of what they can do to help others!