Annotated Bibliography

He mentions several key factors that support his argument that looks do matter; Socially, attractive people are more likely to get paid more on the job, and mothers tend to look for attractiveness in their children. The way someone looks tends to determine their social status, physical activity, and their fitness level. From 1939 to 1989, the importance of looks to both men and women increased along with the change in trends in fashion, magazines, and the media, and that these trends will continue to develop along with technological changes that are not likely to change anytime soon. The author then mentions obesity, and its effect on someone's look. In a study, people that weighed more pounds were estimated to be older than the thinner person. As society further develops, the way both men and women dress changed in terms of the level of formality. The clothes we wear to school/work, private/public, and formal/informal are the same because America has been getting more casual ever year. There is no longer a distinction in clothing between gender, class, and age. Shorts used to be meant for youth only, but now you see people of all age wearing

The beauty standard is a culturally constructed notion of physical attractiveness that has become increasingly imperative for women and men. However, this standard has become extremely perilous to men and women’s self-image. Camille Paglia, a highly educated individual who earned her PhD at Yale University and became a highly acclaimed author, explicates this conception in her essay “The Pitfalls of Plastic Surgery”. Paglia suggests that the beauty standard idealizes women to look like “sex symbols with an unattainable grandeur” (776). She continues to claim that it forces her audience of higher class women to pay large sums of money in order to alter their features ultimately conforming to a very “parochial” definition of beauty (776). Although Paglia is a highly credible source, she illogically appeals to the reader’s fears in order to persuade them. Paglia fails to give any credible outside sources which affirms her preposterous beliefs. Contrary to her inconsistencies, Daniel Akst, a social journalist and graduate from New York University provides his audience with reputable sources in order to persuade his audience. Daniel Akst believes that there needs to be a “democratization of physical beauty” in which instead of attempting to alter the beauty standard, we must first change how we view ourselves. Akst provides credible sources to establish his credibility where he observes cases studies and cultural experiments from scientists and organizations including:

Discrimination based on appearance is a severe inequity and its impact is often more invidious than we can presume. Although it is not the most severe form of bias, the costs and disadvantages associated with appearance may necessitate some legal remedy or other societal response. Unfortunately, current legal frameworks are limited in prohibiting appearance discrimination and those established are so often ineffective. Government therefore does not have the means to mandate a change to this injustice. Yet, a reform for discrimination based on appearance remains imperative. The following will explain why appearance discrimination should be unlawful in the United States and why there is little that the government can do to alleviate the

The first impression people get of each other is the way one looks. If someone has tattoos, is overweight, or just plain unattractive they are deemed as some sort of monster. Our perceptions of others and stereotypes that are used impact everyone’s social identities today. When we stop hiding from the fact that we as a society are based off of appearances, we can come together to change these social misinterpretations. David Kirby and Deborah Rhode introduced us to the topic of discrimination and stereotypes that we face based upon our appearance and physical attributes. They assist by showing us how this discrimination should be changing into something more thoughtful and positive. Social perceptions of one’s appearance leads to stereotypes and discrimination that should be legally changed to help people for the better.

Strangers will base their actions toward another person based on the first things they notice about that person, which most often includes a person’s looks. This proclivity is known as the “primacy effect”. “[The] primacy effect is the tendency to be influenced by what information we gather first…This information can be physical attractiveness…” (Hein 1). Although it is not certain as to why this effect is in place, it is certain that this effect is real and common in today’s society. This inclination for attractiveness to equal superior treatment follows over into areas of a person’s life that are not exclusively centered around recreational social interaction. For example, those who are universally thought of as being attractive “make 12 percent more money than those regarded as less good-looking” (Dobson 1). This shows that, yet again, beautiful people receive unjustified advantages from the unknowing people they interact with on a daily basis only because they are physically

The temptation to feel worth through external beauty, drives each and every person to go to extreme lengths to make themselves seem as presentable as possible. Because of society's high prioritization of external appearance, I always personally feel pressured to look and act a certain way. However, many new perspectives on beauty were revealed to me through novels I read throughout this year. Both “The Picture of Dorian Gray” and “A Nymph's Reply to the Shepherd” work to develop an overarching theme that possessing a superficial faith in youth and beauty, will ultimately lead to one's damnation.

The topic of attraction in humans has been one of deep interest for years as it is a fundamental aspect of human nature, and yet our understanding of why some people find certain traits attractive and not others is far from complete. The gap in knowledge is largely due to the vast evolution of that which defines attractiveness among humans (Gangestad & Scheyd, 2005). On a personal level, the decision on what is and is not attractive lies with the individual, but throughout time, evolution and, in more recent centuries, society have influenced the individual’s notion of what is attractive (Baur & Hofmeister, 2008; Gangestad et al, 2005; Lippa, 2007). The pursuit for a “perfect” mate

Interpersonal attraction embodies feelings of love, like, dislike, hate, lust and admiration. It refers to positive and negative feelings towards one another. Since most people desire relationships of some form, be it platonic friendship or romance, these are common essentials, which make interpersonal attraction a major topic within social psychology. Since it is such an important topic, this essay will discuss what attraction is and what determines it. Social traits are important aspects in attraction and according to Hume (1757), attraction is biased since it is 'in the eye of the beholder'. However, researchers have defined attraction objectively through a variety of social factors and theories and answered the question “what draws us into these "relationships"? “What makes another person attractive”? Researchers have identified five factors that are important in determining whether we are likely to find another person attractive. These factors are physical attractiveness, proximity, pheromones, mutual attraction or liking, similarity or complementarity of interest and beliefs.

As the conclusion of this study, it is obvious that people doesn’t just base how they look at attractiveness and beauty on physical

Since the beginning of time, humans have gathered their first impression of someone based on their appearance. Perception is a basic human process that causes people to become aware of something through their senses. That being said, people always link a person’s personality or skill to the way they look. Because the human race is so judgmental, people who cannot afford to look a certain way, people who want to look differently, and people who were born with different defects are being wrongly perceived. Thinking that someone is less of a person because of their physical appearance is a large problem in this growing society. It is important to analyze all of the issues rising because of judgment in order to ensure a future where all people are accepted and given equal opportunity.

The results to this study showed that equal symmetry or as called in the experiment perfect images were chosen as the most attractive and most chosen for mate selection. These results indicate that what we perceive of others and for mate selection is a very public and a natural perception among humans. The effect of facial symmetry as well did not correlate with the initial attractiveness of the image. Ratings for male and female images

“Bias against the unattractive seems most unjust when it involves features that people cannot readily alter” (Rhode 109).Thus, banning appearance discrimination is justified by such discrimination which offends principles of equal opportunity and personal liberty. Prejudice based on bias of physical characteristics averts from those of merit and performance and is a barrage of unworthy assertions. In addition, appearance related preconception reinforces group relegation. Consequently, some decisions based on appearance improperly restrict self-expression and cultural identity. Even so, the objective of appearance discrimination falls into a category that cannot be controlled by anything but self-restraint.

A few relationships tend to be based solely on their partner’s level of attractiveness. We determine how attractive someone is, “ the prejudice of deciding what to do based solely on outward appearance could cost the pursuer the chance of a meaningful relationship” (Modern Day Adages). Although someone is “better” looking doesn’t mean anything when it comes to their character and personality. An “average” person can be more beautiful on the inside than a “better” looking person. As a society, we need to give others the opportunity to show themselves even if they’re “average.”

Many factors impact the type of people we are attracted to. They include physical attractiveness, proximity, reciprocity, and similarity. Research shows that the initial phases of romantic attraction are largely determined by physical appeal (Curran & Ruppel, 2012). People’s perception of their own physical appeal also plays a

Humans are generally known to desire seeing attractive people in their daily lives, in films, on their television; allowing them to obtain physiological stimulation upon seeing physical beauty. In essence, our brain deem beauty important enough or significant enough as it receives a chemical stimulus telling us to surround ourselves with those who are beautiful. Bizarrely, the chemical released when one is addicted to drugs or feeling elated, is the same one released upon seeing beauty.(John R Buri. 2010) This highlights that although many other factors most definitely contribute to achieving social desirability within society, the idea that attractiveness could influence this