Gender and the returns to attractiveness

Beauty, Effort, and Misrepresentation: How Beauty Work Affects Judgments of Moral Character and Consumer Preferences

“…Given the incentives that physical attractiveness provides, it is natural that women invest significant effort to enhance their appearance. Indeed, recent research suggests that grooming plays a larger role in the beauty premium than previously anticipated (Wong and Penner 2016). While prior research has focused on identifying various forms of beauty work (Kwan and Trautner 2009) and how women can use beauty work to achieve status and other social and professional rewards (Segal-Caspi et al 2012;Wong and Penner 2016), our research focuses on perceptions of beauty work itself.…”

“…Indeed, recent research suggests that grooming plays a larger role in the beauty premium than previously anticipated (Wong and Penner 2016). While prior research has focused on identifying various forms of beauty work (Kwan and Trautner 2009) and how women can use beauty work to achieve status and other social and professional rewards (Segal-Caspi et al 2012;Wong and Penner 2016), our research focuses on perceptions of beauty work itself. To our knowledge, we are the first to show that the amount of effort exerted on certain types of beauty work is seen as diagnostic of a woman's moral character.…”

“…In contrast to prior research conceptualizing beauty as a biological, fixed trait (Langlois et al 2000), recent studies acknowledge that physical attractiveness can be changed and enhanced in many ways through beauty work (Etcoff et al 2011;Kwan and Trautner 2009;Wong and Penner 2016). Kwan and Trautner (2009) describe how women are "held accountable" for norms dictating how their hair, skin, or body shape and size should look, and engage in beauty work to achieve these ideals.…”

“…While earlier conceptualizations of effort in marketing and psychology have not focused on beauty work as a form of effortful behavior, research in organizational behavior and sociology has documented the high effort or "labor" that some people engage in to enhance their appearance (Witz, Warhurst, and Nickson 2003;Wong and Penner 2016). The practices women perform to enhance their attractiveness can involve high levels of physical and mental exertion, such as strenuous exercise to achieve a slender figure, meticulous skincare regimens, or simply time-consuming make-up and hairstyling practices.…”

Arranged Marriage: Could It Contribute To Justice?

“… For example, professional women who do not wear makeup suffer professional costs. Wong and Penner () concluded that a salary bump is explained by an increase in socially constructed attractiveness. One can also interpret the results to support the more general claim that women who conform to social expectations are rewarded.…”