4 ms·

Maybe it's time to shine some light on inequality in the realm of attractiveness??? As kids increasingly interact via social media, being funny, intelligent, o

Maybe it's time to shine some light on inequality in the realm of attractiveness??? As kids increasingly interact via social media, being funny, intelligent, or creative is less important than looking good in pictures. I can't imagine how shitty this is for teenagers. We used to lament the "unattainable beauty standards" of magazines and on TV, but this seems even more harmful. I dunno how you do this though, as even just admitting something like: "I am handicapped in the looks department" is pretty depressing. At the same time it seems messed up that someone who is attractive doesn't just get preferential treatment in their daily interactions, but can now monetize their looks easily via social media (or onlyfans lol).

parpfish 4y ago
wouldn't social media be a boon for the funny and creative as well?
- throwaheyy 4y ago
  No. The average social media consumer isn’t that deep.
  - fknorangesite 4y ago
    Surely, though, the average HN user is the pinnacle of thoughtfulness.
- elil17 4y ago
  Perhaps the issue is that whatever you're good at, you'll be shown along side the best of the best. Your friend's joke is funny when you hear it at a party. But is it as funny on Twitter, where it's shown alongside jokes from professional comedians?
  - godelski 4y ago
    Not to mention that the audience is very different between friends at a party and on Twitter. Twitter, and social media, is far more reaching and lots of context and intent may be lost as we cross many different cultural lines and play the game of telephone. Your friends are far more likely to be good faith actors, but even there we can see how a singular bad actor can quickly ruin a situation. I'd argue that there's parallels to not just jokes but any types of communication (science, tech, political, etc) and attraction. (Though people are also able to successfully carve out bubbles and find a very specific audience but at the same time very large. Both can be true. Sometimes the hate can amplify these bubbles. Not so simple)
- prawn 4y ago
  Absolutely has been. Loads of YouTube channels where the creator has a thick accent, looks unremarkable but builds an audience through persistence and/or passion. There are comedic social media creators that look plain but build a style and crowd as a result.
kelseyfrog 4y ago
> "I am handicapped in the looks department" is pretty depressing. Conversely (and as you hinted at), "I'm only liked for my looks," illustrates the double-bind at play. Yes, it's difficult to shift societal norms but I encourage folks to ask themselves, "Which other norms shifted in the last hundred years?" and how that was accomplished.
jsnk 4y ago
At least in the Western developed world, discrimination against less attractive people is probably the most potent, most prevalent and least acknowledged discrimination in the society. It is most potent because this happens at almost every human interaction from trivial (getting help at a store from the staff) to important (selecting a husband or a wife). It is most prevalent because this happens across all races, religions and sexes without any inhibition. Other than the old adage, "don't judge book by its cover." people judge others based on looks all the time and feel justified in doing so. There's not even a word like racism, sexism, anti-X or X-phobia for discrimination against less attractive people. It is least acknowledged because as you mentioned, there's no one who would like to join the "ugly" identity group. There's no commonly shared root like race, religion, sex, or ethnicity. And identifying oneself as "ugly" probably hurts the person more than it can help. It is unfortunate that there's no foreseeable solution to this wide spread problem at all, other than voluntary empathy from the society in general. But at the same time, that may be the most important antidote to any discrimination we face rather than top-down rule of law change.
- s1artibartfast 4y ago
  what about discrimination against stupid people? It seems like that would top discrimination for appearance.
  - jsnk 4y ago
    Not gonna lie. That hasn't occurred to me, but that is a pretty grave discrimination as well. It might be even more insidious because there's a strong justification that stupid people are stupid because of their own volition. However, in reality, there's element of intelligence that's purely genetic and there's nothing a person can do.
    - s1artibartfast 4y ago
      As with all things in life, a determinist can spin it so it's no fault of the individual. Someone might have little control over their beauty or their intelligence, or even if they are a jerk, or even if they are violent and abusive. The reason I bring it up is because I think there is an important distinction between a illogical bias and a simple preference. People are very preoccupied with weeding out bad biases, and often mistake preferences for them. Things are only complicated more when egalitarian ideas get mixed in. There's nothing inherently wrong about wanting a beautiful life partner or to watch an attractive Entertainer. Those are legitimate preferences. The only problem is when individuals place that as a higher priority than something else that they actually want more.
gnicholas 4y ago
Thanks goodness for filters, and for the coming metaverse. We'll all be attractive soon!
corbulo 4y ago
Treat the patient not the symptom. Looks>everything else is indicative of a much larger problem that needs addressing.

parpfish 4y ago

wouldn't social media be a boon for the funny and creative as well?

throwaheyy 4y ago
No. The average social media consumer isn’t that deep.
- fknorangesite 4y ago
  Surely, though, the average HN user is the pinnacle of thoughtfulness.
elil17 4y ago
Perhaps the issue is that whatever you're good at, you'll be shown along side the best of the best. Your friend's joke is funny when you hear it at a party. But is it as funny on Twitter, where it's shown alongside jokes from professional comedians?
- godelski 4y ago
  Not to mention that the audience is very different between friends at a party and on Twitter. Twitter, and social media, is far more reaching and lots of context and intent may be lost as we cross many different cultural lines and play the game of telephone. Your friends are far more likely to be good faith actors, but even there we can see how a singular bad actor can quickly ruin a situation. I'd argue that there's parallels to not just jokes but any types of communication (science, tech, political, etc) and attraction. (Though people are also able to successfully carve out bubbles and find a very specific audience but at the same time very large. Both can be true. Sometimes the hate can amplify these bubbles. Not so simple)
prawn 4y ago
Absolutely has been. Loads of YouTube channels where the creator has a thick accent, looks unremarkable but builds an audience through persistence and/or passion. There are comedic social media creators that look plain but build a style and crowd as a result.

kelseyfrog 4y ago

> "I am handicapped in the looks department" is pretty depressing. Conversely (and as you hinted at), "I'm only liked for my looks," illustrates the double-bind at play. Yes, it's difficult to shift societal norms but I encourage folks to ask themselves, "Which other norms shifted in the last hundred years?" and how that was accomplished.

jsnk 4y ago

At least in the Western developed world, discrimination against less attractive people is probably the most potent, most prevalent and least acknowledged discrimination in the society. It is most potent because this happens at almost every human interaction from trivial (getting help at a store from the staff) to important (selecting a husband or a wife). It is most prevalent because this happens across all races, religions and sexes without any inhibition. Other than the old adage, "don't judge book by its cover." people judge others based on looks all the time and feel justified in doing so. There's not even a word like racism, sexism, anti-X or X-phobia for discrimination against less attractive people. It is least acknowledged because as you mentioned, there's no one who would like to join the "ugly" identity group. There's no commonly shared root like race, religion, sex, or ethnicity. And identifying oneself as "ugly" probably hurts the person more than it can help. It is unfortunate that there's no foreseeable solution to this wide spread problem at all, other than voluntary empathy from the society in general. But at the same time, that may be the most important antidote to any discrimination we face rather than top-down rule of law change.

s1artibartfast 4y ago
what about discrimination against stupid people? It seems like that would top discrimination for appearance.
- jsnk 4y ago
  Not gonna lie. That hasn't occurred to me, but that is a pretty grave discrimination as well. It might be even more insidious because there's a strong justification that stupid people are stupid because of their own volition. However, in reality, there's element of intelligence that's purely genetic and there's nothing a person can do.
  - s1artibartfast 4y ago
    As with all things in life, a determinist can spin it so it's no fault of the individual. Someone might have little control over their beauty or their intelligence, or even if they are a jerk, or even if they are violent and abusive. The reason I bring it up is because I think there is an important distinction between a illogical bias and a simple preference. People are very preoccupied with weeding out bad biases, and often mistake preferences for them. Things are only complicated more when egalitarian ideas get mixed in. There's nothing inherently wrong about wanting a beautiful life partner or to watch an attractive Entertainer. Those are legitimate preferences. The only problem is when individuals place that as a higher priority than something else that they actually want more.

gnicholas 4y ago

Thanks goodness for filters, and for the coming metaverse. We'll all be attractive soon!

corbulo 4y ago

Treat the patient not the symptom. Looks>everything else is indicative of a much larger problem that needs addressing.