Being attractive is usually seen as a positive thing in our material world. Most discussions involving hot employees and their jobs used to suggest the same. While I wouldn't suggest the prevailing trend has reversed, many have suggested the opposite may be true in some cases. Everyone recalls the Citibank employee who was 'fired for being too sexy.' I refuse to get into a lengthy conversation about it, as we definitely don't have all the facts, but it is an interesting case you should become familiar with.
Elizabeth Bromstein recently wrote a great blog on Workopolis about whether or not being hot could prevent you from being hired. The blog also discusses the idea of competition among same-sex employees, as well as a myriad of other interesting sexual statistics.
The most interesting profession in regards to sexuality has got to be that of a teacher/professor. EVERYBODY has had a teacher-figure that they were attracted to at some point in their education I'm sure. They were, or maybe are, often the topic of idle, or not so idle, chatter amongst your peers and yourself. High school teachers are a natural target for this sort of attraction, considering hormones and puberty. Beth Aviv recently wrote a great article for Salon Magazine concerning”hot young teachers.” The perspective is a fresh one, as it is told from the view of a not-so-young, and not-so-hot group of teachers, who are struggling to find jobs when stacked up against this new wave of female teachers.
I want to mention another struggle female employees are having due to their attractiveness; namely, attractive female professors. Dr. Ebony Utley wrote an article concerning the way some of her male students don't show her enough respect, and ask her out on dates even. I found this curious, but not altogether surprising. The most surprising part was how much this apparently shocked her, even though she talks about how important sex appeal is in an article in the Chronicle of Higher Education, which discusses attractive professors.
This issue doesn't just apply to female professors, as you'll notice from reading the Chronicle of Higher Education article linked above. Dr Gary A. Hoover actually moved 45 minutes away from the campus he teaches on, just so he would not run into any of his potential students and create an awkward, and potentially ethically-ambiguous situation.
The opinion on whether attractiveness is a burden or an asset is still on-going. Among professors, some just find it flat out hilarious either way (as referenced in the Chronicle of Higher Education article). One professor actually thought it was a joke when he heard he had been named to the famous Lemondrop list for hot male professors. There is a co-ed version of the list here.
What are your thoughts on attractiveness in the workplace? Does it hurt or help your career? Are professors and teachers in a unique situation with this dilemma?
Andy Veilleux 
This was very interesting Andy.. got me thinking about quite a few things.
You mention that the teacher/professor role is one of the most interesting professions in regards to sexuality. I agree with you, high school students can easily target their teachers because of their physiological hormonal changes. But beyond high school, the sexy professor is an image that continues to be portrayed in the media. This profession, among many other professions (mostly female dominated professions, might I add) are stereotyped and fantasized about. In my opinion, there is nothing wrong with being perceived as sexy, unless that is your predominant image in the workplace.
Not to get off topic, but from a nursing background, the global media’s constant linking of sexuality to the profession only reinforces the stereotypical “naughty nurse” image. One might say that this stereotype is outdated and that everyone knows that nurses don’t really dress/behave like that; however, this long-standing inaccurate image has many negative effects on the already suffering profession.
Similarly to what you’ve mentioned Andy regarding the experiences of female professors, these sexual views of nurses can foster sexual abuse in the workplace and contribute to general disrespect (both from coworkers and patients). Additionally, (this might sound extreme but) these views ultimately contribute to the underfunding of nursing research, clinical practice and education. Why would health care decision makers provide resources to a “degraded” profession. Think about it, the existing lack of resources in nursing was a result of the government, health care decision makers and public who have determined how important nursing was relative to other things needing resources. With an existing global shortage of nurses, these negative views combined with intense training, and stressful work conditions only deter skilled men and women from entering AND staying in the profession.
thank you very much for your unique perspective Mel! Nursing is definitely a profession that falls into this category.
Hmm, I am all for female equality and the right to dress the way that you want. The whole issue with the woman who got fired for “being too sexy” is kind of ridiculous though. It’s self proclaimed, and in every picture taken of her from the side she’s posing like a centerfold girl haha. She’s only reinforcing an idea that she stated herself, even though I doubt this is why she was fired. She’s very hot, but the fact that she has massive implants doesn’t help if she’s not looking for derogatory remarks (if you get ’em in this day and age, people will assume that you are seeking sexual attention, which is perhaps true in many cases).. Her clothes weren’t slutty, they were just very form fitting making her look like she’s ‘bust’ing out of her top, hence sexiness. The way she holds herself is another factor that other people unconciously use when determining how she wants to be treated.
On to the actual topic though, being sexy would have it’s ups and downs, mostly ups. You can get a job by being pretty, cute, hot, but you will NOT get a job being ugly. Already that’s one advantage over the non-hot people. You also have a great life overall, being accepted socially and sexually by people of opposite sex (as long as your personality is at least decent). Sometimes it could be harder to gain acceptance from the same-sex though if you’re goodlooking, but that’s another discussion.
The only thing I can see as an advantage for normies or uglies is that they have less attention towards them and can therefore work on the job at hand more thoroughly. Less distractions = more work done. I doubt you can lose your job by being pretty/beautiful, but notice how pretty/beautiful doesn’t mean the same as sexy. Sexy is only a form of dressing and holding oneself. Of course if you dress “inappropriately” (which is a whole other discussion in itself, since I personally don’t agree with dresscode crap at work) and/or walk around bending over or sitting on people’s desks, you might get a slap on the… wrist… and be told to change your work wardrobe/attitude. Unless you refuse to comply to your workplace policy though, you wouldn’t lose your job over it.
My friend was a teacher for awhile though, and he had college ladies want to hug him and he couldn’t due to the laws and policies of the schoolboard. As mentioned before, I think it could be a distraction, but nothing more for someone who has a good head on their shoulders. One major distraction in a highschool I’m sure would be hearing your name whispered up and down the halls (oh yeah, I remember participating in a little myself and I’m sure you do as well :P). But every teacher knew this was coming as soon as they signed up to teach at a highschool: Regardless of whether you’re hot or not, the kids WILL talk about you. They’ll discuss whether they like you as a teacher, then progress to discussions such as if they would ever ‘bang’ you, how ugly/hot you are, etc etc. They’re full of hormones and stuck in a place that (for most) doesn’t interest them, what do you expect?
Humans are very sexual animals, I think it’s funny how people always try to subdue their primitive nature. Then again, if we didn’t perhaps we’d never get things done, haha.
In conclusion, if I were that ‘bank lady’, I would be damned happy being that good looking, but I wouldn’t have gotten implants to, shall we say, emphasize hotness.. 😛 Overall hot>norm>ugly in pretty much all areas of life including the workplace.
Sad, but true..
Thanks for the comment Tarra. I agree with you, being sexy seems to be a more positive than negative thing for people in the work place. I remember doing placements in classrooms, and coaching girls high-school soccer… there were definitely a lot of awkward, unwarranted moments hah. It’s funny, when I originally wanted to be a teacher, a lot of the replies I got involved how the person thought I would be a “hot teacher.” Thankfully, more of the comments centred around whether or not I would be a good teacher. It’s definitely a fascinating topic, and one could go on forever about the many side-topics of it. 🙂