Why Does Success Lead to Physical Attraction?

http://www.manilena.com/rants/michael-phelps-bong-bong-bong/

During the 2008 Beijing Summer Olympics, Michael Phelps won a record eight gold medals for the United States in swimming. I can remember that summer, where Michael Phelps was all anybody could talk about. He soon appeared in magazines like People and Us Weekly alongside famous actors. He had been shot into the spotlight. And almost instantaneously, a wave of girls gushing over him arrived on the scene. But if we take a step back from all the chaos that occurred and actually look at a picture of Michael Phelps, it is quite clear, in my opinion, that he isn’t extremely attractive. In fact, his body structure is quite disproportionate, which actually helps him swim better. But people still think he is good looking, despite this. This just shows the effects of success on our opinions of things. Because Michael Phelps received so much fame and press for his accomplishments, people took notice, and their visions were somewhat clouded. It happens over and over again, and it has probably happened to me at some point. But what is it about success that makes people that much more attractive?

In my opinion, because these people have so much success, we feel that if we can be apart of it, we can feel the pride and honor that they feel. But it shouldn’t be that way. You have to earn success, on your own merit. Not off of someone else’s. Otherwise how can it feel that you have earned anything? This also reminds me off college applications. I have heard numerous stories over the years of people that are the top of their class with resumes stacked with extra-curricular activities. But they aren’t accepted into the top schools. Instead, the children of wealthy families who have connections to either presidents or people on the board of various schools take their places. In my opinion, getting accepted into a school this way is the worst. You haven’t done it on your own. Through those four years of high school, all of our hard work goes into being accepted into a good school. But what if none of that matters, and it was all down to your family. And I’m not saying that this is the case for everyone, in fact it is probably the case for a very small minority, but it is out there. To me it’s sad, because we can’t do anything about it. But I would not feel worthy of the accomplishment and I wouldn’t be able to get gratitude out of it. So if you cant get any of that, the work that you have done becomes worthless.

In The Beauty Myth, Naomi Wolf addresses certain lies about a woman’s rise in power, the first being: “(1) ‘Beauty’ had to be defined as a legitimate and necessary qualification for a woman’s rise in power” (28). We hear so many stories, not knowing if they are true, about women either sleeping their way to the top, or gaining merit based on looks. I hope that this is not true, and Wolf seems to think that it is not. But appearances play such a huge role in society today, that it makes me think that this could be true. The second lie that Wolf talks about is: “(2) The discriminatory purpose of vital lie number one had to be masked…by fitting it firmly within the American dream: ‘Beauty’ can be earned by any woman through hard work and enterprise” (28). This brings us back to Michael Phelps and how beauty was achieved through his success. But Wolf again states that this is a lie. I clearly disagree with Wolf on this point, because I think that it is the truth in many cases, maybe not as often for women, but it has happened.