Most women in the U.S. wear some amount of makeup, whether your full face is decked out with or a mere swipe of lip gloss. Ladies, we know that makeup can make most of us feel prettier and more confident, but does it make us more successful?
claims that women who wear more makeup appear more "competent" -- and, therefore, have advantages in the workplace. The study was developed by a team comprised of researchers from Massachusetts General Hospital, Dana Farber Cancer Institute, Boston University and Proctor & Gamble. Their research apparently revealed that when participants looked at a female face for 250 milliseconds, women who wore color cosmetics rated higher in attractiveness, competence, likability and trustworthiness. The study led to the conclusion that women who wear makeup are more competent, and have a higher chance of finding work and being successful in their careers.
Professor Linda Blum, interim director of the Women’s, Gender and Sexuality Studies at Northeastern University, recently slammed the study saying:
This is a distraction that individualizes bigger problems. Whether or not a woman chooses to wear makeup and how much she chooses to wear is not going to override much larger social economic problems, such as the shrinking pool of good job opportunities or the persistence of great economic and racial inequality in America. We need to address these issues on the larger policy-making and economic level and not blame the individual or make her feel as though, for example, that she is unemployed because she is not attractive enough or didn’t work hard enough on a makeover.
[via
ABC]
This study... makes no sense to me. How do you just assume because people wear makeup that they're automatically more competent than someone without makeup? How is a woman more trustworthy just because she may dab on more blush and eye shadow than me? And besides, aren't there better studies to spend time and energy on anyway? This one seemed like a huge waste.
What do you think Lovelies? Does makeup make someone more competent and successful? Or was this study a complete waste of time?
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Comments (47)
It's not makeup. It's just that attractive people are generally more successful, and makeup (most of the time), makes you more attractive.
It's a biological thing, duh.
First of all in a biological perspective The goal in life is reproduction. And when it comes to reproduction you want the best genes for your offspring, which includes physical appearance. Just take a look at the animal world. Why do peacocks have suchelaboratr feather displays? O attract a suitable mate. In a pride of lions, THe strongest lion takes over and the loser is then an outcast. It really shouldn't come as a surprise that the results came out the way that they did if you ask me. It makes sense.
@ moon: yes exactly.
I think most girls believe that wearing make up will make them more confident, in a "look how nice my skin is, how big my eyes are with this eyeliner, how seductive my eyeshadow is."
but
in my opinion, girls who don't wear any make up are the most confident ones. they believe in their natural beauty, and believe that they don't need any make up to enhance their beauty.
No, makeup does not make you more successful.
You can have a full face of makeup and still be completely incompetent. If you're so obsessed with your appearance that you're touching your make up all the time, I don't see how you'd be getting much done at all.
And as far as being attractive goes, I wish we'd focus less on makeup. I don't wear makeup and I happen to think I am quite attractive.... my boyfriend thinks so too:)
Perhaps wearing makeup makes you seem more put together or attractive to some people, but just remember... looks can be deceiving.
I agree with the original poster. This study seems silly to me...
@prettykay04@xanga - i agree... :) i can go out in the rain without worrying that my makeup is smudged. And I'm def confident.
@lttlegel - True. Looks can be deceiving.
OP:
Not necessarily. I've never really worn make up at work and I turned out to be a great worker. Sometimes it's not needed.
they only looked for a very short time. it wasn't exactly a thought out assumption, so I don't think you can "fix" the attitude here. it's simply how the women were initially perceived
I think this study was a HUGE waste of time. It seems like scientists are coming out with more "studies" similar to this one, to distract us from our failing economy. Professor Linda Blum got it right.
well i think big picture wise. if they're putting on makeup chances are their dressing better and caring more about outside things in general. as well as hopefully a good personality. all part of the package. so i do think it increases chances since most people wouldnt hire someone who wont even dress or look the part.
@MoonFaeEyryan@xanga - This girl is correct. Looking attractive helps both men AND women look more competent, trustworthy, and a whole bunch of other positive things. It's just because we evolved to prefer attractive people.
This also just a prime example of a feminist misinterpreting everything in order to find some sort of pro-woman argument against it. When the hell did the researchers state that makeup ruined the economy? WHEN DID THEY EVEN SAY THAT WOMEN ARE JOBLESS BECAUSE THEY'RE UGLY -____-
I wish feminists would just accept that humans can't help subtly favoring attractive men and women. Even babies and small children favor attractive people. The world's not out to get you. Really.
@lttlegel - yes! and I have friends who look totally gorgeous with make up , almost model like. but without make up, they look like two different people. I don't want to others to be like "wow you look better in pictures!" i want them to tell me, "wow you look great in person AND in pictures!"
and obviously some make up have some horrible chemicals in it to make your face look even more tired without it. and hey, we can at least save a buck here and there to buy other things!
@LightBlue21@xanga - Oh please. If anything this study told us that people make snap judgements on you based on how you dress and if you want to look successful (even if you are not) just dress up. We already knew that, even before the first scientific study came out that proved it.
@theflowerstem@xanga - My bad. Yeah, it does seem that a lot of psychology research is common sense. It's not a "real science." Care to churn out a few new, but obvious theories? :) I am actually really interested.
@Ashley Nicole Anders@facebook - Mm I guess the results of the study don't tell us too much since makeup on women simultaneously makes us more attractive and look more put together, both of which lead to good first impressions.
But makeup really does make women look more attractive, albeit having only a minor effect when men use it. I don't really feel like there is additional pressure on women - they simply have more options when it comes to making themselves look more attractive. The best a man could possibly look would be with minimal makeup, so applying makeup to men would offer them minimal success in the workplace. I don't think this is a standard set by society, merely a limit of what makeup can do for men.
Jeezus I really need to work on coherent, concise arguments... >:0
I think this is mostly true. I do feel more confident and am treated differently when I am dressed for success with makeup. I even find that strangers try to cut in front of me in line and do other rude things when I look slobby with no makeup.
What a silly study. One can have their face painted like a model's, but can't even find the power button on her computer. Knowing how to put on makeup does not make a person more competent (unless she is a makeup artist) at her job. Succeeding in one's career usually involves doing many other things well, like communicating, organizing, being resourceful and innovative (among other things).
@Ashley Nicole Anders@facebook - I agree that this "study" is biased because Proctor and Gamble funded it. Silly notion that makeup makes a person more successful.
Ooooh - a piece lifted from Corporette! At least you're not harpooning JUST Jezebel anymore.
Not one thing in this study said "more make-up = greater success." The conclusion was that UP TO A POINT, women who wear more make-up tend to be PERCEIVED as more competent/successful. Past that point, and they're perceived as overly intimidating. There is a difference
Note that it said "appeared more competent." Yeah, the attractive female with makeup on is generally a lot more confident than the shy, virgin-faced girl in the corner. When you're confident, people think you know what you're doing. Success!
if I was interviewing people for a job and a woman wore lots of makeup to the interview, I'd think that she is high maintenance and will probably spend on average more time in the bathroom retouching her makeup than the others, so productivity will be disrupted. not necessarily true for all but that's my first impression
my coworker wears makeup and I witnessed her retouching her lipstick, fixing her hair, clipping some of her nails, not even in the privacy of the bathroom, and basically, she spends more time preening herself while at work than the other low maintenance employees. so in some cases, it doesn't make them necessarily more competent, but they are probably more self absorbed and distracted by their own appearances and it disrupts work productivity and yep, that means they aren't that competent:D there are exceptions of course. this was just one example. appearances matter to an extent.
is that whole obsession with beauty again. not to say you have to wear makeup to be pretty - i think it just makes you look more noticeable. and alluring i guess. i mean, if it's shiny, don't u go towards it.
i think it's more the fact that you took the time to get yourself ready and want to present yourself well in front of others. when you go to an interview, you don't show up half dressed with wrinkled shirts and pants or skirts. you show up well dressed and presentable.
for me, i always want to be presentable. with my current employer, you never know who's going to stop by so you always have to be ready.
Yikes, put down the pitchforks everyone! It's all about perception. First impressions. It's not that make-up suddenly makes you competent. Of course it doesn't. Women who wear make-up (key word) APPEAR more competent. Why? Because they look like they GIVE A DAMN. Imagine going to your office job in ratty jeans and sneakers. Are people going to take you seriously when you look like a vagrant? Are people going to believe you give a crap about your job? NO. If you're dressed nice, but your hair is greasy and tossed up in a sloppy bun, are people going to believe, at first glance, that you can handle responsibility when you clearly can't even handle a shower?
I'm being facetious here, but the point is, some under-eye concealer and a swipe of mascara can really make a world of difference. You can look more awake. Alert. Refreshed. Polished. You don't have to be a supermodel to be successful, that's not the point. But you DO want to put your best self forward, and your appearance is part of that. Not everyone wants to hear it, but it's true.
@TropicalOceanSunset@xanga - You can look all of these things without makeup, which would make the requirements to be taken more seriously and to be perceived as more competent gender-equal. You can also look really sloppy WITH makeup on as well.