Preview

What Meets The Eye Analysis

Good Essays
Open Document
Open Document
715 Words
Grammar
Grammar
Plagiarism
Plagiarism
Writing
Writing
Score
Score
What Meets The Eye Analysis
At first, it may seem shallow to care a whole lot about one’s appearance, but according to Daniel Akst’s essay “What Meets the Eye”, we learn that in many ways, appearances actually serve as a source of inequality. In his expository piece, Akst probes into the importance of appearances in our society today; he explores the role that beauty plays in everyday life and and how it influences society. Akst makes numerous interesting discoveries on the role of appearances in society, but several of his arguments don’t seem to be well-argued.
According to Akst, people nowadays are becoming more and more obsessed with how they look. Because people care so much about appearances, the beauty and cosmetic surgery industry have been booming. His research shows that the number of cosmetic surgeries have gone up 24% from 2000 to 2012 (Akst 332). Even the media industry profits off of our insecurities, as their ideals of beauty are becoming more and more impossible to attain. People of all ages spend money buying products that are unnecessary in an attempt to live up to the standards the media sets for us. But why do people spend so much time and effort on their looks?
One of the main reasons that Akst believes that people choose to present themselves the way they do is for status; people may dress a
…show more content…
After doing some more research, I realized that appearance discrimination is very common, especially in the workplace. In his paper, Akst stated that “plain people earn less than people of average looks, who earn less than the good-looking” (Akst 336). However, this seems to be a very subjective means of measurement, which makes his proof seem quite weak. In fact, the entire idea of measuring one’s attractiveness seems to be very abstract and opinion-based, which is why conducting more research from more sources may be

You May Also Find These Documents Helpful

  • Good Essays

    Appearance is everything, the way someone looks, talks, and acts all make up who they are as a person. When someone does something the way they are seen often affects the outcome and consequences of their actions. This is seen very often in both Frankenstein by Mary Shelley and The Unbecoming of Mara Dyer by Michelle Hodkin. The main characters in both of these novels do awful things but their physical appearance, mindset, and whether they are a good or a bad person affects the way they are treated. The way society sees a person's overall appearance too often changes the way their actions are seen and dealt with and how they are treated as well.…

    • 682 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Equal Pay Act Case Study

    • 980 Words
    • 4 Pages

    Discrimination in the workplace doesn’t just affect those who are being discriminated, it also affects the employer/ business. Assuming that the employer wants to be as successful as possible, they will need to be efficient. In order to be efficient you need to have good and reliable employees. This is when it comes down to the hiring process and whether or not you hire based on looks or actual talent (equally). Just because you hire someone who is physically attractive, doesn’t mean they will be good workers and have beneficial effects on your business. Appearance doesn’t mean everything and that is why we have these laws such as Title VII and the Equal Pay Act to protect those who are actually talented, but may not have the right/ best looks to show for it. By overlooking the less desirable looking candidates, you could potentially be missing out on the businesses’ potential profits. That’s not to say though that people who are physically attractive aren’t valuable workers. If physical attractiveness is the only thing you look for, you have less likely of a chance of hiring someone who could be doing positive things for your business, and sooner or later these actions could come back to bite your business in the butt. (S. Friedricks,…

    • 980 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Women these days are constantly being reminded of who is beautiful and what defines beauty. The media and beauty industries have an imperative role in their advertising to promote impossible standards of beauty in society. Many studies have been done to show the effects of the media on beauty image for women. These studies show the effect of media on women today by noting the increasing rate of plastic surgery and how the media negatively affect the woman’s self-image. In 2008 a report that was prepared by the Young Woman’s Christian Association (YWCA) titled “Beauty at Any Cost,” the report stated that the beauty industry is a 7 billion dollar business, that there are 11.7 million cosmetic surgical and nonsurgical procedures combined.…

    • 967 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    There are ethical and moralistic issues regarding the unattainable beauty standards, influenced by the media such as video games and magazines, which strips away one’s sense of individuality and self-worth. In order to maintain the happiness and confidence that individuality brings, one must create their own beauty standard that represents who they are as a person. Camille Paglia, an author, academic, and noted feminist, argues in her article, “The Pitfalls of Plastic Surgery,” that these unrealistic beauty standards are becoming problematic due to the idea that individuals in the corporate world are striving for the same generic look. In the article, “What Meets the Eye,” written by Daniel Akst, a well-known novelist and journalist, it argues…

    • 1359 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Income Inequality Essay

    • 758 Words
    • 4 Pages

    Although it may seem vain, appearance is very important to many employers when searching for employees of all levels. Many search for a specific type of “look,” and will often offer a higher salary to those who fit within their ideal appearance. For instance, what one wears to an interview could affect if she receives a job placement or not. Biases like this are part of the reason for the large pay gap between women.…

    • 758 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    I agree with the author that beauty is one of the important factors which most employers consider. Although , the civil rights act of 1964 that decrees that no one should be denied a job opportunity based on their appearance, such appearance discrimination are built in to our society.Yesterday, I read a news in’’ New York Times” which shows author point of view that people are fired because of their appearance. . A number of cocktails waitress boned together, and took their employer to the court. They alleged that they were laid off because they are too short and not too skinny.…

    • 375 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Good Essays

    In his novel, Eye for an Eye, William Miller traces the origins of justice in talionic societies. In order to explain how these talionic societies began to use currency, Miller cites Aristotle’s philosophical novel, Nicomachean Ethics. Aristotle believes that currency comes out of a need and that need keeps society together, while Miller believes that the types of currency evolved to fit the changing requirements of society. Miller traces the evolution of currency in talionic societies from bodies to body parts to animal parts to tokens to coins. In this essay, I will show that Miller fundamentally misinterprets Aristotle’s source to fit the agenda of his novel. After analyzing how Aristotle’s argument is different from Miller’s, I will explain why the ancient philosopher’s theory is more accurate.…

    • 1692 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Discrimination vs Health

    • 526 Words
    • 3 Pages

    Hiring by looks can cause numerous amounts of issues, both at the governmental level and the emotional level. As Olophius Perry stated in the article, Going for the Look but Risking Discrimination, “If you’re hiring by looks, then you can run into problems of race discrimination, national origin discrimination, gender discrimination, age discrimination, and even disability discrimination.”(Greenhouse 1). Our country specifically was founded on equality and equal opportunity for all. When businesses start hiring based on looks and/or gender, our country’s morals begin to slip slowly through Uncle Sam’s fingers. Discrimination of any sort may also cause a person great emotional damage. Perhaps a hard working, well-kept, person was turned away from a job because of his or her un-attractive face, that person could be so hurt that they commit suicide; while one person gets richer because of this life changing decision they made, another person’s sanity is lost. This type of discrimination is not worth the pain and suffering of one human being in return for fame and money.…

    • 526 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    greek mythology

    • 304 Words
    • 2 Pages

    Susan Sontag insists that sometimes people pay attention only to their outer beauty than the inner beauty. As I mentioned in the essay, I too think that the reason why more and more people are willing to get a non-medical purposed plastic surgery is because they only pay attention to their appearance and care about how other’s may think about their outlooks. The author maintains that it is partially due to the social influence. People nowadays are prone to the public TV shows, commercials and movies that aim to grab the audience’s attention by projecting the what is to be thought “idealized” female and male performers. Her theory of the origin of our obsession with beautiful women explained how most women including me behave in certain ways.…

    • 304 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    A lot of research has been made over the last decade or so all showing that lookism is an actual problem and some of the perceptions that are based on it. The results of the studies all show that attractive people receive preferential treatment, starting from school where unattractive kids are the subject of bulling, where as it has been proven that on average attractive children are evaluated higher. The report also discusses the implications of above and below average good-looking people in their social lives and how that affects them as employees.…

    • 2745 Words
    • 11 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    Why do people have to be beautiful on the outside just to be a "good" person? Why can’t people be beautiful physically as well as inner beauty? People underestimate the things the naked eye sees. People often look at peoples appearances and don’t really search for who they are. Instead, they look at what is presented despite whether they what to know who the person truly is.…

    • 428 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Good Essays

    Throughout history, people have been obsessed with the idea of perfection and a society without any defects and flaws that they are willing to pay any price just to achieve it. What do you think is the main cause why millions of people spend great portions of their money for make-up kits and various beauty products? Why do they visit beauty salons, cosmetic surgeons, and gyms as much as possible? Why do you think people spend long periods of time fiddling with their hair and painting their faces with make-up? Yes, this is all because of perfection: their struggles of achieving it. People have always wanted to have a beautiful face, perfect body shape, and fair skin complexion – all of these at once, and they are ready to pay any price. Just a little hair that grew out of place or a pimple on the face that came uninvited – it would be…

    • 2012 Words
    • 9 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Stereotypes

    • 823 Words
    • 4 Pages

    As everyone know, a good-looking people attract interviewers, get hired faster, are more likely to make more sales and get more raises. According to Daniel Hamermesh, an economics professor at the University of Texas in Austin, points out the benefits in his book, "Beauty Pays: Why Attractive People Are More Successful." that “attractive people seem earning an average of 3% to 4% more than a person with below-average looks. That adds up to $230,000 more over in a lifetime of the typical good-looking person. Even an average-looking worker is likely to make $140,000 more over a lifetime than an less attractive worker.”…

    • 823 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    In conclusion, discrimination on the basis of appearance is not different than discrimination on the basis of race, gender, class, disability and sex as beauty standards are pernicious. The unfair advantage attractive individuals receive more job offers, better advancement opportunities, and higher salaries. Through the statistics shown in The Beauty Bias, appearance-based employment discrimination exists, where can we go with it? Creating legislation to support the disadvantages unattractive individuals face would decrease appearance discrimination, employers have towards their employees. Individuals deserve an equal opportunity to substantiate their potential and dedication without being discriminated upon on an irrelevant matter such as…

    • 107 Words
    • 1 Page
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    Notes

    • 259 Words
    • 2 Pages

    Todays media has created expectations to what we seem is “beauty”. But not only beauty from within the inside but just flat out physical apperience. People now a days have become extremely obbosive with trying to fit into this image,believeing that beauty is a huge factor in life.…

    • 259 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays