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September 18, 2012

Beauty vs Ability

Beauty

We live in a world where beauty dominates ability. Plain and simple. It doesn’t matter what country you live in, what field you work in, what your ethnic background is, or your sexual orientation. If you are beautiful you will get more opportunities than the average Joe. Why is that? Is it because we are so attracted to the physical that we let that dictate our decisions? Well hopefully by the end of this blog I will answer that question.

I went to a nightclub a few weeks ago to celebrate a friend’s birthday. I hate going to nightclubs in LA because it’s a ridiculously long process. If anyone has ever been to a club on a sat night in hollywood, than they probably know where this is headed. When you arrive at the front, there’s that usual question of “who’s list are you on?” (which actually means NOTHING at all). I say the name of the bday party and he says “wait over there”. Meanwhile about 15 min later I see dozens of beautiful and botox-iful ladies walk right in with no problem at all. Then another 30 min passes, and I see the same thing over and over again. It occurred to me that maybe if I had a vagina and resembled a kardashian, instead of being a 6 foot black man, than maybe I would have gotten in a lot faster. Well apparently it wasn’t just the black man that was getting discriminated against because I saw plenty of voluptuous borderline chubby women that were waiting forever as well. Which made me come to the conclusion that beauty always has a way.

I happened to land in a career that is probably the most discriminatory out of any field and understandably so. The field of entertainment. I’m sure we’ve all seen the movie that stars the drop dead gorgeous chick that can’t act to save her life, but is pleasant to look at. Well in the world of hosting its no different. I’m sick and tired of seeing the attractive hot girl “playing” a meteorologist on my local news station that knows NOTHING about weather. Or better yet the hot sport’s reporter that is completely clueless when it comes to sports. Why are they there? Because they are beautiful, and beauty gets you far. Now I’m a walking sports encyclopedia and probably more knowledgeable about sports than 98% of America. But lets keep it real, would you rather see me commentating on your favorite sport or a victoria’s secret model?

And speaking of sports is it true that an athlete is highly more marketable for endorsement deals because of their look versus their ability in the sport? Well I think Lolo Jones haters can answer that question easily. And Anna Kornikouva haters are right there with you. If Tom Brady, Tim Tebow, and Aaron Rodgers looked like Larry, Moe, and Curly would they be in the midst of lucrative endorsement deals? Probably not. Lets be real; You need a good look to market a product. I believe Shaq would be the lone exception.

The funny thing is that you see it everywhere. Have you ever seen a homeless woman that looked like a covergirl model? Hell no! Someone that gorgeous would not find themself in that situation because somewhere along the path they were given an opportunity based on their look. Abercrombie and Fitch were recently scrutinized because of several lawsuits on them regarding discrimination. A & F put out a statement that they hire people “that represent the brand”. In other words, if you’re fat ugly and missing teeth don’t even think about putting in an application at A & F. While professionalism is essential in any work atmosphere, beauty isn’t. But time and time again we find ourselves wrapped around that concept that “the beautiful the better”.

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