Good Looks Sell and how!!! Yes you read that right.
Before I begin this topic let me warn the readers and the target audience that this topic is a very male centric topic. I know a lot of female readers might be put off by this and I might be labeled an MCP (male chauvinist pig). But what I am about to tell makes quite a bit of sense if u read it with an open mind.
No matter wherever you may be in the world, the truth of the matter is that in this male dominated society, women are not given the kind of opportunities and liberties that men enjoy.
Women, especially in the media are used are props.
The prettier she is the better her job prospects and the more skin she is ready to show the better her chances of climbing the so called corporate ladder.
Let me state a very small example to strength my view.
Look at hotels and the airline industry, no matter the ‘star-value’ of the hotel; if one was to apply for a job there emphasis will be given to the looks of the individual, be it male or female. This particular and most important requirement will be subtly mentioned in the job advertisement as follows:
‘The candidate should be smart and presentable and should meet all other requirements’
At this point I want to ask what exactly is “smart and presentable” and how does one set a benchmark for “smartness” or “presentable”. Obviously a potential hotel receptionist won’t show up for an interview in his/her pajamas so then why this line in almost all adverts?
It’s sad to see women being used as mere show ponies almost everywhere.
Be it media, our films (I am speaking in the Indian subcontinent’s context), music and even our sports (check the IPL’S cheerleading girls).
I personally blame the media in playing a big part on this whole “looking-good” phenomenon.
The media, especially the Indian media is such that it can and does glorify even the most mundane of events while ignoring the bigger picture, for example Kareena Kapoor’s sudden weight loss will become national priority, if and when she does loose weight suddenly!
I deviated somewhat from the initial topic, but the above lines were to present the misleading notion of the media which is quite central to the topic.
Even men are being caught up in this whole ‘sex-show’ with top notch male stars promoting “male-whitening” creams??!!!
Take a glossy magazine, and I am quite sure there will be a picture of a man flaunting his sex-pack abs.
or a scantily clad female model showing off her almost perfect hour glass figure.
(to be continued…)
Author: Imran Rajamiya
