[speeder]

This is actually a field that has been studied scientifically by social scientists and the conclusions are pretty iron-clad. People who are considered to be attractive by physical standards do indeed have large advantages in life, starting as small children and continuing all the way to the nursing home.

One of the studies involved teachers' perceptions of the relative intelligence of school children; they were able to show that they considered the better looking ones to be smarter even when testing showed that they were not, (perhaps there were equal, it was not a huge variance but it held up w/o fail). Exceptionally pretty girls are rewarded every day of their lives, starting as small children, with compliments from strangers and relatives, more people smiling at them, etc. Exceptionally handsome boys may get some of this but it's mostly the much more valuable perception of their abilities by authority figures and others.

Is it fair that people are rewarded so much for something they have zero control over? No, but life is unfair. This is also not to say that a person's looks are the only advantage or disadvantage to have in life but its significant and proven. Do all attractive people have amazing lives? Of course not. Many are cursed w addiction, fatal diseases or other "bad luck" hands dealt in life. My mom always considered her sister's beauty as a curse, that everything came too easily to her and did not properly prepare her for life's challenges. I personally think that my aunt had other problems and this was not her main deal but my mom disagrees w me on it.

For women in particular, who are rewarded in the extreme for their beauty when young, life can be tough when they get older and the beauty fades if they have invested most or all of their self-worth in it or have gotten used to everything being easy because of it. Beautiful people get mates easier, jobs easier, promotions easier, everything easier when other factors are zeroed-out.

As for the science behind this, of course it's true that attractiveness is on a very incremental scale and extremely variable. It's a hell of a lot better to be slightly attractive than homely. Homely people have it very tough in life. It could be argued that it's a bigger handicap than mediocre intelligence. It's been accurately described as the last allowable discrimination; age/race/religion/gender have all been addressed and discrimination outlawed but it's impossible to stop discrimination based on attractiveness. It's just a fact of life.

Interesting topic.