Hyerdahl3 wrote:
> >Subject: Re: Being Beautiful -- a blessing or a curse?
> >From: Janithor Janithor{at}comcast.net
> >Date: 1/8/2005 9:57 PM Pacific Standard Time
> >Message-id: 
> >
> >x-no-archive: yes
> >
> >Ablang wrote:
> >>
>  Sometimes I often wonder about that.  Maybe life would be easier if
I were
> "beautiful".  I have to assume that I am not considered one of the
beautiful
> people judging by the way I have been treated in the past.  I'm sure
some of
> you probably relate to it.  Your appearance might be considered
intimidating,
> perhaps you attract extra attention> from store clerks & security
when you are
> shopping.  Just recently, a grocery clerk asked to see my credit card
(which I
> was using to pay)
> and my ID concurrently, only because I mentioned that I was walking
on
> > foot.  Other times, when I am using a "free" coupon in a store, I
get>
> charged for sales tax.  I imagine that I might get overcharged for>
some
> services.  Lastly, hardly anyone does any special favors for
> >those they don't find attractive (usually I am one of them).  That
is> the
> downside to being perhaps "un-beautiful".
>
> I don't know whether or not you're attractive, but getting by on ones
looks may
> not be the best way to address life, especially since looks fade as
we age.
> However, they do say that even children respond better to a face that
is more
> symmetrical, and ...thus...more attractive by human standards.
>
> On the other side of the coin, I imagine what it might be like to be
a young,
> good-looking blond woman.  I seriously doubt (besides the downsides
of having a
> woman's body and all that that entails) that
>  beautiful women have it difficult in life.  I would think that the
advantages
> for beautiful women are many and numerous.  Those perks would
probably include
> the opposite of what I get.  People may bend
> >> over backwards to do you favors or nice things for you.  You may
get
> >> comp-ed or discounted goods and/or services from people.  People
don't
> >> eye you suspiciously as someone who might be a potential thief or
> >> thug.  I don't know.  I can't think of any downsides to being
> >> generally considered beautiful.  Whether we like to admit it or
not,
> >> our society seems to reward those who are beautiful, and
> >> sub-conciously unrewards those who aren't.
> >>
> Sure, but I know of a downside.  I'm not particularly attractive, but
a dear
> friend of mine was runner-up to a contestant in the Miss America
contest.  She
> was very beautiful and whenever I went anyplace with her, men had
accidents.
> ...car accidents, and once a man actually did step into a can of
paint, and
> almost fell off a building.  It was scary being with her.  One day, I
commented
> about her being beautiful and the perks she got because of it, and
she started
> crying.  It turned out that two boys had committed suicide over her.
One of
> the boys was a neighbor she never even dated or knew.  The other was
a young
> man she dated and then she moved away with her family.   Both left
notes.  She
> became reclusive, tied her beautiful long hair in a severe bun, to
try to
> makeherself less appealing, and eventually she became a divorce
attorney.


This story has all of the usual stigmata of a made-up bit of
Hyerfiction.
Men desperate and despairing in their powerlessness, a woman
triumphant and getting her revenge. Yawn.
The best way to guage the value of extraordinary good looks is to
observe peoples behaviour when it starts to fade. The sums spent on
cosmetics and plastic surgery in this country could pay for the Iraq
war and then some.

She
> is still unmarried today and still seems afraid to commit.  So, I
think there
> are negatives to being extremely good looking.
>
> I'd love to hear opinions, theories, experiences, observations, etc
from both
> sides of the coin -- those who consider
> >> themselves "beautiful", and those who consider
themselves in the
range>>
> between ultimate beauty and "un-beautiful".
>
> I'm just ordinary, so can offer you little insight on a personal
level.
> >>
> >> ===



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