Truth and beauty
Rajeshwari Sharma -
Monday, June 30, 2008 7:22 PM
One of the early proverbs that I picked up from my father included handsome is that handsome does, cleanliness is next to godliness, god helps those who help themselves and several others. As I tried to learn and grasp their meaning, my impressionable mind almost led me to believe that handsome is that handsome does until my best friend in college preferred gorgeous Shilpa to me as his girlfriend. Needless to say that I was heartbroken but I also realised how good looks gave you an edge. Though I have been lucky to escape experiencing any disadvantage owing to lack of beauty, the advantages of good looks have not gone unnoticed over the years.
And I am not alone who feels this way. More than 55% people surveyed in Brazil and India think it is good to be beautiful and you can get away with less work as long as you look good. According to a global survey on beauty by research firm Synovate, even while 67% of all people surveyed say that beauty is primarily about non-physical attributes as many as 40% would change their looks if they could. The survey is based on the response of over 7,000 people in nine markets including Brazil, Bulgaria, Canada, Korea, India, Singapore, Spain, South Africa and the United States covering a range of beauty issues.
The highest daily mirror time goes to the Bulgarians with 31% spending more than 10 minutes a day gazing at themselves followed by 26% Americans, who spend that amount of time looking at themselves. Nearly half of all people would have regular facials, massages or other beauty treatments if money were no object. This was as high as 77% in Brazil (91% of women) and 72% in Spain (86% of women). Americans have the poorest self-image when it comes to beauty with 7% saying they are not beautiful and want to change the way they look, while South Africans (65%) and Brazilians (62%) have the best beauty images of all respondents. Koreans feel that beauty doesn't buy you any extra kudos with around 96% disagreeing that beautiful people do not have to work as hard.
Working professionals who think otherwise could be better off relocating to Korea!