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In Yiddish, a "looks-challenged" person would be called a "mieskayt."
I grew up hearing these Yiddish expressions:
1. "A shaineh maidel iz a karanteh shtikel s'choireh." (A pretty girl is the kind of goods that's always in demand.)
2. "A shain ponim kost gelt." (A pretty face costs money.)
3. "Vos toig shainkeit on mazel?"
(What use is beauty without good luck?)
4. "Ven nit di shaineh maidlech, volt men
gehat dem yaitzer-horeh in der'erd."
(If not for pretty girls, temptation would
be unheeded.)
5. "A miesseh moid hot feint dem shpiegel."
(A homely girl hates the mirror.)
Professor Daniel S. Hamermesh of the Univ. of Texas, studied whether ugly people are discriminated at work. He wrote several books. One was titled, "Beauty Pays: Why Attractive People Are More Successful." Note: The Yiddish word for successful is "matslakhdik."
In another book, "Beauty Pays," Hamermesh says that, over a lifetime and assuming today's mean wages, a handsome ("sheyn") person working in America might on average make $230,000 more than a very plain one.
"Economics" adds, "There is evidence ("raye") that attractive workers bring in more business, so it often makes sense for firms to hire them."
The New York Journal of Books said, "If you live in the west and have lately looked at any magazine, watched any television, seen any movie, common sense ("seykhl") would dictate that those who are better looking accrue the benefits of such a genetic roll of the dice."
Economist, Hamermesh states that the attractive are more likely to be employed, work more productively and profitably, receive more substantial pay ("skhires"), obtain loan approvals, negotiate loans with better terms, and have more handsome and highly educated spouses.
Q. What should a "ferprishte ponim" (pimple-faced) youngster do when applying for a job? When dating?
There's a relatively new term being used today: "lookism." Since 2000, dictionary writers have included the word "lookism." It's defined as: Discrimination or prejudice against people based on their appearance. Someone who engages in such behavior is called a "lookist."
Tom Fudge says that "lookism" happens in retail work, in clerical work, and in all sorts of other industries. And Nancy Etcoff, a psychologist at Mass. Gen. Hospital, said, "We face a world where lookism is one of the most pervasive but denied prejudices."
In Barre, ME, a workshop was held on the topic, "Today's Pressures: Drugs, Alcohol, Sex and Lookism."
Washington, D.C. is one of the few cities that prohibit discrimination based on "personal appearance." Why hasn't the law addressed this issue except in isolated places? Because it's "shver" (difficult) to define precisely what is meant by "good looking." Some stores have been accused of having a "Looks Policy"--which resulted in a virtually all-white crew on the sales floor. What a "shande" (shame)!
What about a person's "inner beauty"? Let's see what Rabbi Shmuley Boteach has to say about it:
"But Esther [the Jewish Queen] is a woman possessed both of outer and inner beauty, a heroine who exhibits uncommon wisdom, courage and dedication to the helpless. In short, she is a woman of outstanding character and her story is that of the triumph not only of the Jews over their enemies, but also of a woman's ability to win over a man with her brains rather than her bust."
Shmuley continues, "At my weekly Sabbath table, where I host many singles, I watch as the men immediately dismiss even the most interesting women with the warmest hearts if they lack a bombshell body.
If she's short, she's out, and if she's
overweight, well, that's the kiss of death.
I'll set up men with women who I know to
be attractive and charming, only to have the guy call me back the next day and
complain of a lack of chemistry, by which
he always means, 'She wasn't pretty enough.' The poor woman never had a
chance. Before she opened her mouth, her
body did her in."
(Source: Online Edition, Jerusalem Post,
March 15, 2006.)
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Marjorie Wolfe says, If you call out to someone you consider in any way attractive (think Tom Cruise, Brad Pitt, George Clooney), you are a "lookist."
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