Not too long ago, I had a conversation with Tina (my wife) about what impact looks (physical appearance/beauty) play in the workplace. We both agreed that being “really, really, really ridiculously good looking” (Zoolander) definitely does help people not only get jobs but also advance in their careers. Are good looks just an aid or a unwritten necessity to move up?
In fact, an article I read recently from Career Builder (by Kate Lorenz) stated that some are even going as far as cosmetic surgery to rejuvenate not only a sagging face, but also a sagging career (E.g., estate agents, lawyers, airline pilots and business execs). According to Lorenz, it appears that some companies are hiring more on “looks, speech, dress sense and personal hygiene than in how well they did at school or university”.
Now, this doesn’t come as a big surprise to those of us living in a cultural context of image and perceived social beauty. [This is all too evident in my context...I live in LA. 
]
In light of this growing reality, the above mentioned article suggests that people consider doing the following (a list formulated by work guru Catherine Kaputa):
1. Package yourself: Clothes will not help you perform but will help how your performance is perceived.2. Emphasise features: Be confident about your looks and build a strong image.3. Have a trademark: Think Bono’s shades or Sir Robin Day’s bow ties. Stand out from the crowd.4. Focus on “soft power”: Use your values, style and point of view to attract others to you. Stand tall, and never slouch.5. Hone your speech: The ability to sell yourself and your ideas is critical.
With all this being said, I wonder how (and if) those of us seeking to live out the ethos of embrace and inclusivism exemplified by Christ actually work in this reality of social image trends. I ask because I don’t necessarily think that followers of Christ are unaffected by these developing standards for advancement. For example, consider some of the following open-ended questions:
- Do you treat others differently based on appearance?
- Do you get treated differently because of your appearance?
- How does this perception on looks permeate (if any) in the life of an organization like the church?
- Do looks play any role in who get highlighted in your local business or ministry context?
- What are some of the major factors that contribute to our understanding and perception of beauty in our respective cultures? Is change even possible?
- Is there hope for the rest of us?
Love to hear your thoughts…
This post is tagged Beauty, Career, Cosmetic Surgery, Embrace, Perception
8 Comments
> Do you treat others differently based on appearance?
Guilty. And it makes me feel like trash whenever I consider it (thanks for bringing it up). The most prominent method in which I treat others differently based on appearance has to do with whether or not I remember them/things about them. Especially as it relates to children (I work with children), those who are attractive in appearance or personality stick in my memory more.
> Is there hope for… us?
I wish I could remember the quote exactly, but I recently read something to the effect of, [physical appearance fades in knowing]. I took it as, the more we get to truly know someone, a new kind of seeing happens to us, and one’s attractiveness becomes equal with our knowing of him. Abstract, to be sure, but I can certainly relate. For instance, I now perceive my wife’s appearance differently than when I first met her. Her appearance to me now is very wrapped up in who I know her to be. I hope that’s remotely understandable.
In application, I’d assert that knowing a person works to solve the appearance problem. Of course openness to knowing involves embrace, humility, compassion, patience, determination…
So true… Always felt beauty/image plays an exagerated role in day to day interaction, but never realized how deep and institutionalized those constructs have become. Nowadays every time I come to church people tell me I look homeless! (Mostly because I am coming from a sweaty cycling group ride and am learning to cut my own hair… haha)
Sorry I havent been around on Sundays Pastor Charles! Gonna try and make it on fridays…
Thanks for the notes guys! You both articulated your thoughts really well.
Josh, I like your notion of “physical appearance fades in knowing”…something definitely to consider. I’ll need to process that one.
Mark, aren’t you glad we welcome everyone to our church?
At least people don’t tell you to leave…haha – So, I’ll see you soon?
hey charles, how’s everything? hope all’s cool.
just finished listening to your podcast ‘life beyond the ruins’. as usual with your messages, i really appreciated your thoughtfulness and honesty.
i know the point of you message wasn’t to answer the ‘whys’ of why god might let certain tragedies to occur, but to rebuild our life and faith past some of the unanswered questions…or to that effect, no? correct me if i’m wrong..
about rebuilding faith in god after tragedies of some sort, if we haven’t settled as to why god allowed it, what are we basing our faith on? isn’t our faith supposed to be based on some knowledge of who we think he is? if we don’t know why he allowed it, how are we to trust that he won’t allow it to happen again?
i don’t know if this idea has any biblicla support, but could it be that god is not always so intimately involved in each person’s life? could it be biblically possible that he chooses certain persons with whom he will more directly intervene with and others he simply lets natural order of things, as he designed it, just take place?
example: all the other babies that died during the mass murder of infants during the infant stage of moses and jesus…god obviously intervened in those two men’s lives…but how about the countless other babies that were killed? how do we account for god’s involvement in their lives?
it seems to me that perhaps god isn’t so intrically involved in our lives as we think or like to hope he his…
perhaps much of our duties as followers of god is to just align ourselves to the principles of proper and healthy living as he laid out in natural order/common sense/and the bible, including being part of a community through whom we can be supported through times of crisis.
…sorry this is such a long comment, but i’ve been thinking about this stuff quite a bit lately as well. i’ve especially been interested in aspects of open theism, especially the parts about that god isn’t in control of everything as we are sometime taugth…
anyways, any more of your thoughts on this stuff would be great.
take care yo.
sorry, i know my last comment wasn’t regarding your latest blog.. but to address the topic at hand, i think our society’s value on looks, besides in its exaggerated forms, is perhaps valid, since one’s outward appearance does reflect to some degree his/her inward state, no?
Hey Charles. wow man. this article is so big. It’s the reality of the world we know. i lost 38 pounds in the last 5 months…and people have treated me differently, and I’m not sure that’s a bad or sinful thing. Our pastor once spoke on this, quoting from 1 Samuel…. 15:7′for man looks at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart’.
He said we always focus on God looking at the heart…but the reality of influence is that people look on the outside. This was played out just 11 verses later in 15:18 when David was chosen to his first position of influence…
the servant said, “I have SEEN a son of Jesse” and that he was “skillful in playing, a mighty man of valor, prudent in speech, and a HANDSOME PERSON, and the Lord is with Him.’ Again, we can overspiritualize this, but influence both within the church and outside the walls does hinge on looks.
You’re so on about having a ‘trademark’. David had something that made him stand out, because the servant said, “i have seen” him. Nice man.
and if anyone needs more proof, just look at pictures of John McCain from 2000 and now. Sometimes it takes ‘a little work’ to get ‘big work’.
Thanks for your note Josh! As always, I really appreciate your interaction and honest processing. I will get back to you about your questions in the next day or two…life is pretty hectic today and tomorrow…:)
Great thoughts Big John!
I teach a course on ancient cultures at my college… It is interesting to note that many in ancient cultures like Israel did view physical appearance as something inherently given by God. In other words, height, strength, and good looks were seen a public advantages ordained by God. You can see this is the choosing of Saul as well as your reference to David.
Now, this is not to say that God was fully in on this…Nevertheless, it appears various culture throughout the ages have taken physical looks seriously into the formation of public advancement.
This would be great news (if it were true) for people like you who are strong, tall, and good looking
Love your input… nice McCain reference…interesting.
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