The Advantages of Being Beautiful



The other night, my daughter and I took our dog Lola with us to the frozen yogurt place in our
neighborhood.

In the 20 minutes we were there, no fewer than 15 people gathered around Lola, to exclaim over her, to pet her, to take pictures, to ask how much “a dog like that” costs.

She loves all this.

And it’s not uncommon. Sometimes, when I am walking her, people will roll down their windows and yell, “Hey, Lola!” as they drive by. I don’t know these people. How does Lola? I am beginning to wonder if she goes out without me sometimes.

Lola is not an exotic dog. She’s a standard poodle.

But she is exceptionally beautiful. I can’t put my finger on exactly why. She is very well proportioned. She is bursting with health and vitality. At seven, she bounces around like a puppy. And her personality may be part of it. Lola is an extrovert, super interactive, with a very expressive face, which, when she gets someone to pay attention to her, generally expresses sheer delight. I really do believe Lola has charisma.

All of this comes naturally to Lola – and she benefits greatly from it. She is showered with love and attention, even from complete strangers.

There’s a lot of information out there about the very real advantages of being physically attractive, such as this Huffington Post infographic. And it builds on itself: from birth, attractive children are given more positive attention, including higher grades, so as adults, they are confident, which only adds to their attractiveness. And then there’s “the halo effect”: people tend to assume that attractive people are nicer, more honest and upstanding (even though they are not) and smarter (there’ssome evidence that, on average, they may be).

But it’s just happy luck, at least for the person or dog so blessed. Just ask Lola.