Dear Prudence: The Curse of Beauty

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Dear Prudence The Curse of Beauty Colleagues think I benefit from being super hot—but I work really hard! By Emily Yoffe Posted Thursday, Nov 17, 2011, at 12:25 PM ET Get Dear Prudence delivered to your inbox each week; click here to sign up. Please send your questions for publication to prudence@slate.com. (Questions may be edited.) Got a burning question for Prudie? She'll be online at Washingtonpost.com to chat with readers each Monday at 1 p.m. Submit your questions and comments here before or during the live discussion. Dear Prudence, I've been blessed with good looks, which I work to maintain for my own self-esteem. The trouble is that people attribute what I believe are earned accomplishments to my appearance. For instance, I recently began a career in sales and in my first month grossed more than all of the other new associates combined. I worked hard to do this and dressed professionally and appropriately (my attire has not been a point of contention), but a number of people have commented that my success is due to my looks. I won't deny that my appearance could not have hurt, but I find these comments hurtful. Thus far, I've responded by stating that I'm just a workaholic, but the comments persist. These types of comments pervade my day-to-day dealings, as well: "Oh, the handyman only helped you because you're pretty." How can I discourage or deflect these comments? —Hard Worker Dear Hard, I suppose quoting the line from the old Pantene shampoo commercial, "Don't hate me because I'm beautiful," is not going to ameliorate this situation. It's great ... To continue reading, click here. Join the Fray: our reader discussion forum What did you think of this article? POST A MESSAGE | READ MESSAGES Also In Slate The Tea Party Is Making the Supercommittee's Miserable Task Even Worse Why There Are So Many Female Spies on Television Peter Nadas' New Novel Contains a 200-Page Sex Scene	Advertisement
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