Wednesday, August 17, 2005

Beauty... or brains?



"If she weren't a model... She would probably have been employed with a software company, ingeniously developing code for a software package!"

That's not a statement one hears too often... but there it is. 21 year old Mashoom Singha is a first class engineering graduate from Mumbai who has just hit the glamour scene. That's her pic and soundbyte from a recent issue of Midday.

Mashoom follows in the footsteps of Shefali Zariwala, the babe whose claim to fame - besides the 'Kaanta Laga' video - was the fact that she was a student of Sardar Patel College of Engineering. One of the 'most wanted' tech schools in Mumbai.

So what's the big deal? Don't tons of engineers usually end up doing something quite different from their original course of study anyways? The Elex gold medallist may eventually market credit cards while the mechanical or civil dudes chooses to write software. Why does the odd grad entering the glamour world cause a collective ripple in the engineering student community?

Books vs looks
It all boils down to well-established stereotype: Beauty and brains do not co- exist.

As in people are either beautiful, or they are brainy (in conventional, IQ terms) Rarely, if ever, do both qualities converge in a single human being.

Folks who clear intense entrance exams to 'most wanted' professional courses are like Pentium 4 PCs. Considering the chip on their shoulders, they ought to bear the same blue sticker: 'intel inside'.

Intel junta are endowed with faster processing speeds and can handle a lot more data than the average bloke. But if there's one thing they generally lack it's drop dead gorgeous good looks.

Why, I wonder? Is it God's way of balancing the universe? Kabhi khushi, kabhi gham. Brains zyaada, toh beauty kam?

As one IITian puts it, tongue firmly in cheek: “There is nothing wrong with the intelligence of girls in our country. It's just the fact that the government does not want us to get distracted so they intentionally select very few average looking girls in IITs (based on the photo they send for JEE) irrespective of their performances.”

Well, well, well. The striking thing is how most discussions on looks - or lack of them - centre on the female of the species. The average female IITian may not be Miss India material - neither is the average male IITian likely to be a finalist at the Gladrags supermodel contest!

But then again, different standards apply. Take a profession where looks are extremely important, such as airline cabin crew. The air hostesses - bar Indian Airlines - will invariably have twinkling eyes, near-perfect teeth and flawless complexions. The stewards will fulfil the height and weight criteria but rarely outstanding in the attractiveness department.

Nothing even half as dishy as the average waiter in Kashmir. Sigh!

Blondes prefer gentlemen

There are a multitude of theories that come to mind.

Firstly, it could be that those who are born beautiful - especially girls - have less incentive to slog and make it through entrance exams. They have enough opportunities, enough self-esteem and enough admiration from the world already.

Conversely, those who are lacking in the looks department would compensate by trying to gain coveted qualifications.

This works especially well for men. Because women generally look for 'high status' when choosing mates. As researchers Satoshi Kanazawa and Jody Kovar of the London School of Economics point out," More intelligent men are more likely to attain higher social and economic status than less intelligent men".

So even though they may be unappealing looks-wise, an IIT/ IIM/ H1 B visa holder who's 'doing well' in life will have tipped the scales adequately in his favour.

On the other hand, conclude the researchers, "Brains are a plus for beautiful women, but they aren't the main attraction.".

In fact women who are beautiful and brainy often try to play down their intelligence. Watch Aishwarya Rai giggling and you’ll know what I mean… How do I conclude she has brains in the first place? Well, I’m guessing she didn’t into architecture school by fluttering her blue-green eyes!

A bonafide career path
Besides, women have to contend with what Dan Ondrack - a professor at the University of Toronto - calls the "Boopsey" effect: If women are too gorgeous, people assume they are airheads.

So why battle these prejudices? Had Mashoom and Shefali decided to go join Infosys or TCS, can you imagine how much harder they’d have had to work at:
a)Proving they were as smart and capable as anyone else
b)Fending off unwanted admirers.

Whatever their reasons for getting into engineering in the first place, it makes perfect sense for them to garb this chance to opt out. And get paid simply for looking good.

Although I must add, ‘looking good’ on a sustained basis is no mean task. It’s not just genius that’s 99% perspiration and 1% inspiration. Much the same applies to beauty.

Va va voom involves spending hours in curlers and under blow driers. Painting on make up, panting in gyms. Constantly worrying what to wear and what not to eat. All of which sounds like harder work than using your brains, to some of us…

But given that you’re ok with that kind of thing – and you get the right break – it is possible to have a ‘career’ based on looks. Not just a few years of timepass.

You can begin with modelling, easily get into television and if lucky - Bollywood. And a few years down the line - if you play your cards right – no more do you necessarily fade away.

Former stars – both major and minor – have plenty of earning opportunities. From starting up choreography and grooming schools to cutting ribbons for designer sari showrooms. They make guest appearances in films and much touted 'comebacks' on K soaps. And at the very least, rake in the bucks hawking miraclulous products on late night television.

Which means that the conventional wisdom, which says ‘get a degree, get a qualification’ is not necessarily any good. After a decade as a model and minor actress, can Aditi Govitrikar expect to ever ‘fall back on’ her MBBS degree?

No, because it’s experience – and not mere degrees – that count. The doctors who graduated with Aditi would have racked up

Marriage as a career
And let’s face it, marrying and ‘settling down’ is also a valid career choice for women. Even those with the fanciest of degrees.

So, beautiful girls who intrinsically know they are ‘in demand’ in the marriage market may choose – and even be encouraged – not to be overly intellectually qualified.

High status (intelligent) men + Beautiful (not completely dumb) women = Offspring with both beauty and brains.

And there you have the question once again – especially relevant if you are a woman: Should you cash in on your dimaag or your derriere?

It’s a beautiful dilemma...

23 comments:

  1. As a woman, one who turned from fat-sloppy to sporty-fun, I feel a good looking woman gets more male ego involvement than a genuine interest in her personality/intelligence.

    Should you cash in on your dimaag or derriere. I think one should cash in on personal skills, career choices, talents, interests and motivation. You need a dimaag to make the choice and the derriere to get to work.

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  2. Getting into Eng/Med/MBA courses mean discipline, patience & steady hardwork for years together, even with the various quota systems in place. Same goes for house-management. And this does require intelligence.
    'Bursts of genius' alone do not imply intelligence.

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  3. hehe
    good post, a very valid point, first things first, engg teaches u to do what u want when u wana do it, depends of course on ur bits between the ears, cos if u dont have that, then u aint got nothing, but then again, the lack of girls is a serious issue, much more serious when compared to world peace :). I dont want world peace, cos u wont get it, but try and get more gals

    and i dont knw wats the big hassle, if a girl can manage a first class and a software job (many non engg students can clso, but its still decent), she should be praised for she dared to be unique, for eg, Ramgopal verma happens to be a engieer, Mani ratnam an MBA, shekhar kapur even studied CA, but they are hardly doing what they learnt. Even brad pitt measured in journalism, and here's where i disagree slightly, for in due course of time or maybe longer, there would be people who become Gladrags from engg, how much is open to speculation. but one must also understand that engg these days is more becos of the hype and the lure to earn big money, supposedly becos of the better oppurtunities, doesnt always work that way, however.

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  4. Hey Rashmi;
    Interesting post but it does not always have to be this or that.I know sefali personally.........she used to be my classmate.And by the way ...yes SPCE IS the BEST tech coll in mumbai.
    Well Sefali completed her 12th standard and then dint score too well and hence opted for DIPLOMA engg college.Thereafter when in degree she used to be at the tail end of scorers in our class; she rarely attended college...and her image was....well i'll avoid that.But none of us never had a sensible conversation with her.Thereafter...in our last year...she got engaged and she left college...our BE year midway....and so she is not a certified engineer.

    About the blog, me as a woman would always like to marry someone who'd be aroused by my mind, my views and not by my looks.I'm not exactly Angeline Jolie...but i think im not bad to look at....that apart i know a lot of "academically" ranking students who are drop dead gorgeous.So i dont understand why it has to be looks or brain...It can be,and i think it should be both.Getting into in an engineering college or even an architechtural college..is easier than what all of us percieve...esp if ure rich.

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  5. Mix Beauty and Brains, and you get Trinity... the super cool geek babe who can kick-ass a Ducati in oncoming traffic, oh, but wait a minute... that was inside the Matrix.

    Then is our usual puzzle solver, relic hunter, tomb raider Lara-ben, but wait... she's a fictional character too..

    OOps.. before I bring in more flame points, I stipulate that beauty and brains do co-exist, as my friend here Sunny points out about Paris Hilton, I would like to point that:
    ********the p**n star Asia Carrera, is a MENSA member, and geek enough to hand code her own website..*********.

    Thats in your face for all those who say that such babes dont exist. (I'm an IITian too, and I must say you just cant quote something we talk on Mess tables in relevent topics such as these.. )


    As for the question of dimaag or derriere, I'd say go for the dimaag, I need someone to talk to when I grow old, Derriere will only get you so far. (I know I am not Micheal Douglas, who can still chaapofy a Catherine at his age)

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  6. Sorry the spelling is Shefali...my mistake

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  7. Hey Rashmi, nice post.

    One of the guys in the last post said that IITians/enggrs in general are fattus when it comes to girls. First I would like to express my views on this.

    I agree that the IITians/Engineers as a whole do not flirt as much as the guys from other colleges. But my experience tells that most of them would rather settle for one girl than with one that flirt aimlessly and may succomb to temptations even after marriage. In other words, most IITians I know of would rather have arranged marriage than love marriage.

    And I don't say this because they have little choice. Its because they know that its better to be loyal to one girl than marry one with whom you can't even be sure that the children are yours. Statistics speak that arranged married girls are more loyal, and wisdom speaks that they should be given preference for marriage.

    One good thing about Indian society is that there are still girls with both "beauty and brains" reserved for arranged marriages, and its something only the qualified can tap. While I have seen/heard many cases that girls with only "beauty" flirting with IITians to "catch" him, I have seen/heard more of the mothers of daughers telling IIT guys how good her girl is (hoping they are intelligent enough to understand what they mean). Though this might not be true for the whole country, atleast in Bengal, the trend is that the mothers are more desparate and will try to win over any guy from IIT Kharagpur or Jadavpur University for their daughters.(I am expecting many hate mails for stating this.)

    I agree with Komal, and in fact any girl who has brains would definitely want to be with a person who can give her emotional and economic support rather than who has done nothing but flirt.

    In the end I would like to quote something from our Mess Table Talk (something for which I can get killed by my friend Chintan):

    Suggestion by a senior to a junior:Don't marry until four years after passing from IIT. 'Coz during that period, every girl you see will look beautiful.

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  8. the original draft contained the words "possibility of offspring with beauty with brains"... :) it somehow got edited by me.

    komal, thanks for the background on shefali.

    as fa as 'intelligence' goes I agree there are several kinds of intelligence... at some place i have therefore specified 'conventional iq' which is what entrance exams to professional courses generally test!

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  9. I dont think that girls in the IIT's are all that bad in looks. In fact the best looking women I have seen in my life are in the software firms(Infy and CTS to be specific). And I think the low girls ratio in IIT just reflects the difference in the numbers of guys to girls who can crack exams. As far as I can recollect, I have been collecting statistics of number of girls who have performed better than me in exams versus number of guys who have performed better since my 8th standard and I have seen that for every girl who has performed better than me, there have been 200 to 250 guys who have performed better than me. So if cracking exams is an indicator of intelligence, then maybe the IIT system is pretty fair in the number of guys and girls admitted.

    Regarding the funda of good looks, I guess most of the girls in the glam industry with good looks these days have attained them artificially except some women of those days like Hema Malini. And if those girls have actually taken the effort and the money to attain those looks I guess their focus would have been the glam industry initially itself and so it is unlikely that they would have actually done all the studies which they claim they would have done had they not entered blah blah blah.

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  11. Umm, at the outset, I'd really like to know what makes you think that an Engineering college seat guarantees intelligence? I've been through it for four whole years, and you can take my word for it, it doesn't. Not a single blighted grey cell. Any old "airhead" can stumble through engineering (or keep stumbling forever) in Bombay. Err did she HAVE a job with a software company? Did she complete her engineering?

    Your post maybe significant in a way, but I'd rather you come up with examples from spheres of life that demand "real" intelligence. I have a case in point - Shereen Bhan. Ahem!

    PS: I am a computer engineer and I worked on sickening software for a year. Now I am an automobile journalist. Because I feel passionately about cars. Much the same way as young lady here feels about modelling perhaps? :)

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  13. Some people are confusing correlation with causation. When I said by correlation enggrs/IITians are fattus , I didnt mean that by definition they are fattus.

    Arranged marriages are good, not by definition, but by correlation.

    On a different note, Aish's taste (going by her long list of weird boyfriends) doesnt give her brain a very good rating.

    Phew!

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  14. Rashmi,

    Nice post focussing on a very prominent issue of present day. The comments are also interesting. I think that just getting into an E-school does not certify your level of intelligence, especially will mushrooming private Engrg colleges. You just "buy" a seat in these colleges. If a good looking girl has got brains also then she can very well decide what profession to choose from available options..modeling or the tech career. But if she has just got brains and no looks then she has to make a career for herself.

    With the education system we have in India, where we have to decide our career/profession right from class 11 or just when we get into university, sometimes one can make a wrong decision. The comments like "girls with both "beauty and brains" reserved for arranged marriages" and "arranged married girls are more loyal" cant be universally applied like Newton's Law of Gravitation.

    Comments by girls abt themselves like "I have a decent face and i do recieve a lot of undue attention but when it comes to work" and "I'm not exactly Angeline Jolie...but i think im not bad to look at...." are prospective case-studies ;-) ;-) ..post ur pics pls.

    Looks does matter.....a lot to catch the inital attention...esp if its for a girl..!!!

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  15. 'Bursts of genius' alone do not imply intelligence.
    But Bursts of genius is exactly what the world needs. The theory of Relativity was just a burst of genius. and so were many of the great inventions/discoveries.
    And btw, there ARE girls that who are beautiful and smart. I know one actually. I think the reason that beautiful girls don't end up being smart is that they are way in over themselves. If parents teach their children that looks are not very important, even beautiful girls can become smart. And smart beautiful girls are the best people to be(friends) with.

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  16. One more thing, I forgot to mention earlier...

    Supermodel Cindy Crawford (Revlon, Omega etc) was in the Chemical Engineering program of Carnegie Melon University, when she started modeling. She withdrew from University and jumped into it fulltime. Today she is not only a supermodel, but a successful businesswoman also. She herself manages her stuff...including business.

    "Beauty with brains.."

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  17. An engineering degree, especially from Mumbai University , doesn't always imply intelligence - often it is about donkey's labour.I don't mean to degrade the genuinely talented people here (even though their marksheets may often say otherwise),but that is just the way it is.

    I personally find a woman more attractive if I'm able to have intelligent conversations with her.And speaking of beauties with brains, you might wanna check out http://www.danicamckellar.com .

    It's the official website of Danica McKellar, the girl(now woman) who so endearingly played the role of Winnie Cooper on the hit show 'The Wonder Years'.(Am I the only one who loves that show?)

    http://phoenix2100.blogspot.com

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  18. The stewards will fulfil the height and weight criteria but rarely outstanding in the attractiveness department.

    Rashmi, you obviously haven't travelled by Jet Airways. Their stewards are so pretty - yes, I mean pretty, not handsome or good-looking - it's almost repulsive.

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  19. I believe special attention for those who succeed both in beauty and brains is gratuitous. Certainly people believe it's contrary to the less substantial law of beauty with brains. But according to me if some graduate succesfully creates a magnetic career in modelling it is only germane to laud her for the success but not for the background she shares. As someone pointed out about Shefali, success if often falsely ascribed to them just because they happen to have a portion of their life involved in it. In short the credit is mostly not true. Now anything close to Asian Carrera. That is something I can really appreciate because Mensa according to my knowledge is surely a renowned organization.

    This reminds me of a bit of a humor I digested during a Biology class in my IXth standard. Once a famous dancer Isadora Duncan approached Bernard Shaw for progeny because she wanted the offspring to have her beauty and his brains. In his retort, Shaw quickly remarked raising doubts about the result occuring the other way round i.e. possessing his beauty and her brains. (PS: Though it's still controversial whether the female was Duncan or the actress Eleonora Duse it is pucca that both of them were beautiful.) Therefore your initial draft would have made more sense than the one which now appears in it's place.

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  20. You might like to use in the future there are processors like AMD Athlon,opteron which come with 64bit and their logos are really beautiful.They outperform Pentium's.
    and one more thing..I heard that Monroe is a very intelligent lady..but people with a blend of talents are rare.

    Prassu

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  21. Hi Rashmi and Komal,

    Please see the link about Shefali Zariwala on Wikipedia.

    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shefali_Zariwala#Dancing.2Fmusic_videos

    She must be an engg. grad.

    -Almost_crazy

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  22. i think most of you who commented here...are stupids..or people who dont have any time..after 33 even aishwarya rai is granny...youth curry..that is also..indian masala curry...beauty is all upto ur perception and percentage of ur likings of that person..this is psychological..i have prove..if u like a person.though the person looks okay?! u feel the one is beautiful..and if u dont like someone from the beginning...even she looks "shereen bhan" or "angelina julie"(i personally feel angelina is not at all beautiful,but pretty and attractive) u might feel the girl looks ugly..and vive versa to boys..so guys and girls..its a very controversial topic..dont waste time on postings(even i am wasting)..beauty lies in ur eyes...find the truth and message me..prathipa_2002@yahoo.com

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  23. oprah!!!! is she beautiful???..god heavens..the woman earning so much .... and got a attractive way of speaking and talents..thatswhat matters...and who told aishwarya rai got brains...In my life,if i even met a woman with excellent beauty and a 0% brains is aishwarya rai..she dont have boldness,confidence,talent,intelligence etc....she is really highly overrated..most of my fellowmates do agree with me..iam sure.All she got is her beauty. And without the above mentioned stuffss..even ash had to marry a person like abhishek to tie up the bachan tagline...hehe..beauty is intoxication and u cant live with that for ur whole life..life needs money and true virtue..that is love,caring and peace....

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