written June 2nd, 2009 · 0 comments

I just listened to the BBC’s World Have Your Say podcast from yesterday, June 1st. They were discussing whether it was fair that the judges on the TV program Britian’s Got Talent completely and obviously prejudged a contestant Susan Boyle as having no talent based solely on her looks. I watched a clip of her singing before I listened to the podcast to see what all the fuss was about and I was really shocked at the way the judges looked at her in disbelief when she came on stage and also how the audience members looked around as if, how on earth could she have any talent. It was almost like these clips were purposely thrown together to increase the drama and push viewers to question her talent as well.

I think it is horrible how we judge people based on looks, but I also think it is in our nature to do so, unfortunately. This, however, does not make it right and we, as morally decent human beings, should strive to overthrow these inclinations as best we can. We should only look to our own friends and coworkers to see that people are varied in appearances and talent.

This problem raises its head more and more these days as people find new ways to indulge in their vanity. Personal (self promotional) videos on YouTube, reality shows, social networking, acquiring the latest fashions and hottest brands, plastic surgery and the list goes on. High fashion brands, advertising, the media and the coverage of celebrities have all pushed people into thinking that attractiveness = success. How did this notion come about?

I remember when I first came to Berlin, I was applying for jobs and I kept coming across the requirement to attach my photo to my CV. I thought to myself, what? This is crazy! How fundamentally wrong of them to ask such a thing and I declined to put my picture on my CV out of principle. When I landed my first job, the managers had a laugh about that fact that I was the girl who applied without the photo. How strange it is to apply for a job where your appearance is an issue (if it were not, they would not require a photo for an application). And to think I was applying for a job as a graphic designer, not a model! Luckily this is illegal in the USA, and perhaps it is now too in Germany (I thought I heard that their laws here were changed, but I am not positive). Despite this, employers still ask for photos.

Humans are attracted to attractive people. I think I can state this with certainty when looking at how our world has become obsessed with Hollywood celebrities, pop stars, crazy dieting techniques and cosmetic surgery (although I think this is more of an insecurity issue), expensive fashion, thin and trim catwalk models and more recently insanely overly photoshopped models and images in almost every magazine on the shelf. Weren’t there even studies a few years ago about how they observed babies spending more time looking at photographs of attractive people rather than unattractive ones?

I mean, who doesn’t love looking at gorgeous models in a glossy magazine? However, admiring models doesn’t leave one with any urge to learn who they are as a person…they are just eye candy for us, or art in some cases. On the other hand, people all over the world  are obsessed with the beautiful people of Hollywood, the rich, the glamorous, the famous, but they are also obsessed with the details of their lives. I have never understood this obsession with the lives of people one doesn’t know. People we find attractive or perhaps those who lead lives we can only dream about is not enough information to become a crazed fan, is it? Inspiration is one thing, obsession another. I get the feeling from the media that many of these famous people do not in any way deserve the attention they get and are just a pretty face (or figure) with no talent and have in no way impacted our society for the better (um, one such person comes to mind immediately). There are so many celebrities that are just plain annoying with their need for attention. Wouldn’t life be so much more enjoyable without the media’s blabbering on about the self absorbed people of Hollywood?

Maybe it is all the media’s fault. They are the ones pushing all of this nonsense into our faces, aren’t they?

Additionally, are there just some of us who are able to see past all the nonsensical idealizing, media frenzy, and über-interest in the details of the supposedly glamorous life, and some of us who can’t? What is the reason for this? Insecurity? Self loathing or unhappiness? A pressure felt from society that fame and popularity will bring you everything you don’t have?

And to get back to my original reason for writing this, until one really knows a person, they should not pass judgments on that person’s character, talents or even applicability for a job. I believe we can all be attractive by being self confident, fit and healthy. These are very important components of an attractive person for me. But most importantly is how we focus and develop our talents. That is what will get you where you need to be in the long run.

I learned my lesson once with a crush I had. He was older, confident (cocky actually) and definitely good looking and sexy. I asked him out. After a week, I broke it off because he was a totally different person than I had imagined him to be! Key word: imagined. I was so taken by his good looks that I assumed his personality would match them. No no no. Far from it and I was never fooled again.

I have kind of combined two issues here, because I think they are connected in a way. Senseless celebrity infatuation and the wrongful conventions of putting more worth to appearances vs actual skills. Hollywood is a prime example of where this has taken us (good actors not being considered for roles if they don’t fit the look). The only way out of this is if we finally stop putting celebrities on a pedestal. The media has really blown celebrity out of proportion to their skills. There will always be insecure egomaniacs, on the internet, in TV and elsewhere and the rest of us, who want to stay sane, will just have to ignore them!