# Do extraordinarily good-looking people have an easier time in life, in your opinion? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [August 29, 2011, 3:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-extraordinarily-good-looking-people-have-an-easier-time-in-life-in-your-opinion/594499 "2011-08-29T15:29:17Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 4
**Author:** ![PandaBear77](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/edb3f5/32.png) [@PandaBear77](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PandaBear77)\ **Post date:** [August 30, 2011, 5:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-extraordinarily-good-looking-people-have-an-easier-time-in-life-in-your-opinion/594499/61 "2011-08-30T17:19:51Z")
Of course beautiful people (male or female) have an easier time in life! That’s why the rest of us want to BE beautiful. ---
**Author:** ![bump](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/7c8e57/32.png) [@bump](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bump)\ **Post date:** [August 30, 2011, 5:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-extraordinarily-good-looking-people-have-an-easier-time-in-life-in-your-opinion/594499/62 "2011-08-30T17:26:58Z")
For men at least, there are physical things that are a bigger deal than just looks; height is much more important, as to a lesser extent, is the pitch of your voice and physical size. I mean, it doesn’t matter how competent you are, if you’re 5’2" and a grown man, you just won’t be taken as seriously as someone over six feet tall. Same thing if you have a squeaky voice, or are abnormally skinny or big. I’m a pretty good looking guy, or was before I got fat, and the bigger issue for me wasn’t looks, it was people making assumptions about my size and voice that I’m stupid. ---
**Author:** ![TruCelt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/trucelt/32/523_2.png) [@TruCelt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TruCelt)\ **Post date:** [August 30, 2011, 6:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-extraordinarily-good-looking-people-have-an-easier-time-in-life-in-your-opinion/594499/63 "2011-08-30T18:14:07Z")
> [@PandaBear77](#): > > Of course beautiful people (male or female) have an easier time in life! That’s why the rest of us want to BE beautiful. Are you one of those who sees a beautiful woman and hope for a chance to “put her in her place?” Because those who assume it’s easier tend also to want to even the score. And those people are everywhere. And they have no idea what it was like growing up in my household, or working with my hellish first boss. They only know they felt really good about the opportunity to push their way through a doorway in front of me. Yeah, a real coup, that. :rolleyes: ---
**Author:** ![Justin\_Bailey](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/justin_bailey/32/8792_2.png) [@Justin\_Bailey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Justin_Bailey)\ **Post date:** [August 30, 2011, 6:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-extraordinarily-good-looking-people-have-an-easier-time-in-life-in-your-opinion/594499/64 "2011-08-30T18:19:23Z")
> [@Larry\_Borgia](#): > > I think you’re making this too much about sexual attraction. People are conditioned to think Handsome Man is also Intelligent Competent Man. Even heterosexual men will respond better to sales pitches from better looking men, all things being equal. I really don’t believe that. Sorry. I think handsome don’t get too many too much of an advantage in life because a lot of them come off douchebaggy, ruining any advantage their prettyness gives them. ---
**Author:** ![Skald\_the\_Rhymer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ecccb3/32.png) [@Skald\_the\_Rhymer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skald_the_Rhymer)\ **Post date:** [August 30, 2011, 6:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-extraordinarily-good-looking-people-have-an-easier-time-in-life-in-your-opinion/594499/65 "2011-08-30T18:21:45Z")
> [@PandaBear77](#): > > Of course beautiful people (male or female) have an easier time in life! That’s why the rest of us want to BE beautiful. Sorry, that doesn’t follow. The fact that many non-beautiful persons covet beauty demonstrates only that many non-beauties _believe_ that beauties have an easier time, not that they actually do. ---
**Author:** ![Onomatopoeia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/onomatopoeia/32/4145_2.png) [@Onomatopoeia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Onomatopoeia)\ **Post date:** [August 30, 2011, 6:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-extraordinarily-good-looking-people-have-an-easier-time-in-life-in-your-opinion/594499/66 "2011-08-30T18:26:45Z")
> [@Skald\_the\_Rhymer](#): > > The question is exactly what it seems like. Assume, for the sake of discussion, that the hypothetical hotties are of average intelligence and comes from a middle- or working-class background (and thus does not have the advantages of growing up rich and connected). Would you expect the hotties to have an easier time in life than the notties? Of course they do. What a question. As do the tall. As do fair-skinned blacks. Being a diminutive 5’ 7", I possess 2 of the 3 attributes I mentioned above, but my younger brother, who’s 6’, hit the trifecta, and has gotten away with crap all his life solely and indisputably based on his looks, and has climbed up the Corporate Trust ladder at his financial institution with remarkably little effort. In the late 1980s, when I was in my 20s, I had a part time job as a floor manager [AKA a White Flower. I don’t know if they still call them that] in the ladies shoes department at Macy’s Herald Square in New York. There was a not-at-all-veiled practice of hiring and promoting attractive people before the less so. The tall received preferential treatment as well. Attractive and tall people were more often recommended for Macys’ management training program than the less so. I’m not saying it was Macy’s policy, but it was definitely the practice. ---
**Author:** ![Larry\_Borgia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/larry_borgia/32/156_2.png) [@Larry\_Borgia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Larry_Borgia)\ **Post date:** [August 30, 2011, 6:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-extraordinarily-good-looking-people-have-an-easier-time-in-life-in-your-opinion/594499/67 "2011-08-30T18:39:34Z")
> [@Justin\_Bailey](#): > > I really don’t believe that. Sorry. > > I think handsome don’t get too many too much of an advantage in life because a lot of them come off douchebaggy, ruining any advantage their prettyness gives them. Fair enough, I really don’t feel like running down cites, although there are a few links in the Cracked article I linked to earlier. I’m using handsome here broadly, encompassing tall, muscular, etc. Not just pretty. Also, it’s not a guarentee or a super huge advantage. If someone comes off as a raging douchebag, people are going to dislike him no matter what he looks like. Also, I would note that leading men are almost always going to be good looking, not just in female oriented rom-coms, but in action movies and dramas. (ok, Stallone is an exception 🙂 ) Unattractive men usually wind up in comedy. ---
**Author:** ![rhubarbarin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/eb9ed0/32.png) [@rhubarbarin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rhubarbarin)\ **Post date:** [August 30, 2011, 6:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-extraordinarily-good-looking-people-have-an-easier-time-in-life-in-your-opinion/594499/68 "2011-08-30T18:39:37Z")
> [@MichaelEmouse](#): > > Having never been a pretty girl, I have difficulty relating to this. What’s the mind fuck and how does it negatively affect one’s life? I don’t question that it does but I’d like to know how. The beautiful girls I have known who looked adult at young ages were relentlessly sexually pursued (and too often harassed) by men of all ages, long before they had a handle on their own sexuality and what they wanted out of life. As a result most of them have had traumatic sexual experiences/dysfunctional relationships starting in their early teens, and have had lifelong problems with a]overvaluing and obsessing about their own looks and projected sexuality, since they have felt since puberty that that is where their value to other people lies and b]feeling depressed that men want them mainly for their looks/sex, and are not interested in who they are ‘as people’. ---
**Author:** ![Daylate](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/9dc877/32.png) [@Daylate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Daylate)\ **Post date:** [August 30, 2011, 6:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-extraordinarily-good-looking-people-have-an-easier-time-in-life-in-your-opinion/594499/69 "2011-08-30T18:45:41Z")
From **TruCelt** > [@](#): > > The guy cops stopped her because they wanted to talk to her. The girl cop stopped her because she had comitted an actual infraction. No, believe me, all of the incidents were for infractions. One of them was for deliberately running a red light (around 5:00 AM, on the way to the ice rink), where she explained to the officer that that green light at that intersection was just WAY TOO short. The officer agreed with her analysis, and said “don’t do it again, please”. ---
**Author:** ![etv78](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/d78d45/32.png) [@etv78](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/etv78)\ **Post date:** [August 30, 2011, 6:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-extraordinarily-good-looking-people-have-an-easier-time-in-life-in-your-opinion/594499/70 "2011-08-30T18:47:31Z")
This is like asking,“Does the sun rise in the East?” :rolleyes: ---
**Author:** ![Skald\_the\_Rhymer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ecccb3/32.png) [@Skald\_the\_Rhymer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skald_the_Rhymer)\ **Post date:** [August 30, 2011, 6:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-extraordinarily-good-looking-people-have-an-easier-time-in-life-in-your-opinion/594499/71 "2011-08-30T18:49:29Z")
> [@etv78](#): > > This is like asking,“Does the sun rise in the East?” :rolleyes: Have you troubled yourself to read the thread? It’s replete with stories of people who have _not_ benefited from being good-looking. Restricting myself to professional concerns: being good-looking in fields like acting, sales, and singing; it’s a disadvantage in engineering, academia, and the law. ---
**Author:** ![Dangerosa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/22d042/32.png) [@Dangerosa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dangerosa)\ **Post date:** [August 30, 2011, 6:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-extraordinarily-good-looking-people-have-an-easier-time-in-life-in-your-opinion/594499/72 "2011-08-30T18:51:59Z")
> [@TruCelt](#): > > LOL! I looked 25 at age 12, and still looked 25 at 34. Worst of all worlds. Hard to move up in the corporate world when you look like an intern. I looked 17 at 25, and 25 at 34. At least you got to go through college without setting off jailbait alarms. But rhubarbarin’s point is good as well. Maybe I got off easy looking young as I did - it provided at least some shield (not one that some people didn’t attack) until I was mature enough to deal with it. But it didn’t make getting treated seriously at work easy. ---
**Author:** ![uuaschbaer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/76d3ee/32.png) [@uuaschbaer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/uuaschbaer)\ **Post date:** [August 30, 2011, 7:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-extraordinarily-good-looking-people-have-an-easier-time-in-life-in-your-opinion/594499/73 "2011-08-30T19:12:23Z")
At the risk of upsetting **Skald the Rhymer** I submit, along with the other 92%, that, “in my opinion,” the correct answer is affirmative. ---
**Author:** ![rhubarbarin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/eb9ed0/32.png) [@rhubarbarin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rhubarbarin)\ **Post date:** [August 30, 2011, 7:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-extraordinarily-good-looking-people-have-an-easier-time-in-life-in-your-opinion/594499/74 "2011-08-30T19:22:23Z")
People trust me without knowing me, tell me all the time I seem ‘innocent’ (…this is not how I view myself), apologize for cursing in front of me, express surprise when I curse (I actually have a huge potty mouth, but no one seems to notice!). Almost everyone is very friendly and nice to me right off the bat, most especially men of all ages. Men are always offering to do things for me, holding doors, giving me things, etc (this makes me uncomfortable and I prefer to do my own heavy lifting). People compliment me on my looks all the time. I don’t have a career, but I’ve gotten hired right away at 90% of the jobs I’ve ever applied to. I wouldn’t say I’m ‘extraordinarily beautiful’ at all (I’m not my own ‘type’ anyway), but I am pretty, and in a particular kind of way: I’m very thin and small-breasted, have a youthful face and big eyes, and am ‘cute’ rather than overtly sexy. I’m not threatening, and don’t grab a ton of attention when I walk into a room. I feel that my looks have been an ENORMOUS advantage. I feel that just about everything would have been different in my life if I was a dude, or if I didn’t look how I do. I’ve never felt I wasn’t taken seriously because of how I look, but I also am somewhat nerdy and serious in person and people often tell me I am smart. So… I dunno. Looking young and cute would probably bite me in the ass in a ‘real’ job, especially one in a male-dominated field. Maybe there is a huge difference between a woman like me and someone who is the kind of beautiful that makes everyone in the room stare when she walks in… but I don’t think the (certain) drawbacks of being that stunning are enough to make her experience in life negative or equal to someone of average looks. As someone said upthread, if being gorgeous is a drawback it’s quite possible to downplay your looks in a variety of ways. But the most naturally beautiful people I have met almost always tend to be very well-put-together in every aspect… flattering clothes, care taken with grooming/makeup, etc. ---
**Author:** ![AnalogSignal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/analogsignal/32/1085_2.png) [@AnalogSignal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AnalogSignal)\ **Post date:** [August 31, 2011, 4:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-extraordinarily-good-looking-people-have-an-easier-time-in-life-in-your-opinion/594499/75 "2011-08-31T04:57:01Z")
In social situations, both very good looking men and women have clear advantages. In the corporate environment, good looks are also helpful. Although, in my experience, very good looking women often end up in “decorative” roles while fewer males are in similar situations. ---
**Author:** ![Boyo\_Jim](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/87869e/32.png) [@Boyo\_Jim](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Boyo_Jim)\ **Post date:** [August 31, 2011, 5:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-extraordinarily-good-looking-people-have-an-easier-time-in-life-in-your-opinion/594499/76 "2011-08-31T05:09:10Z")
Rarely have I seen a poll with such a high level of agreement. My own beauty is so unusual that no one sees it. ---
**Author:** ![Unintentionally\_Blank](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/unintentionally_blank/32/5418_2.png) [@Unintentionally\_Blank](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Unintentionally_Blank)\ **Post date:** [August 31, 2011, 11:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-extraordinarily-good-looking-people-have-an-easier-time-in-life-in-your-opinion/594499/77 "2011-08-31T11:54:58Z")
Ditto. ---
**Author:** ![Becky2844](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/91b2a8/32.png) [@Becky2844](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Becky2844)\ **Post date:** [August 31, 2011, 11:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-extraordinarily-good-looking-people-have-an-easier-time-in-life-in-your-opinion/594499/78 "2011-08-31T23:23:48Z")
Oh hell yeah. And if they’re tall, even more so. (Leave it to me to be short & plain.) ---
**Author:** ![panache45](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/panache45/32/64_2.png) [@panache45](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/panache45)\ **Post date:** [September 1, 2011, 12:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-extraordinarily-good-looking-people-have-an-easier-time-in-life-in-your-opinion/594499/79 "2011-09-01T00:06:07Z")
My partner is one of the extraordinarily good-looking people, among other things. His life, especially as an adolescent, was very difficult because of the “other things,” but mine was difficult for other reasons. So I’d say their lives are just as difficult as anyone else’s, but for other reasons. ---
**Author:** ![mbh](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/a6a055/32.png) [@mbh](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mbh)\ **Post date:** [September 1, 2011, 1:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-extraordinarily-good-looking-people-have-an-easier-time-in-life-in-your-opinion/594499/80 "2011-09-01T13:11:42Z")
In your teens and twenties, it is a significant advantage. In the long run, though, I think a good work ethic trumps good looks. I went to my high school 25-year reunion last year. The women who used to be plain are all in good shape. The women who are still pretty are mostly in good shape. The women who are no longer pretty are having a rough time. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-extraordinarily-good-looking-people-have-an-easier-time-in-life-in-your-opinion/594499.md?page=3) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-extraordinarily-good-looking-people-have-an-easier-time-in-life-in-your-opinion/594499.md?page=5)