Discrimination--Weight/Age/Hotness/NotSoHotness ???

I can sympathize with some of the stories on here.

I've had former employers, bosses of mine whom I greatly respect, tell me long after I'd been hired that they originally thought I'd be somewhat of an "airhead" because I have an extremely "high pitched, cute" little girl voice and look like I'm 17. I'm 23 years old, for the record. Oh, also people have doubted my knowledge and opinions because of my physical appearance, too. They assume because I'm young and have this "girl next door" thing going on that I'm not authoritative, etc.

Drives me absolutely nuts. Right now, I'm having a difficult time with my outside sales position. I sell wine wholesale to restaurants/bars, etc. People assume that just because I'm barely over the legal age to drink, that I know NOTHING about wine. Sorry, sir, I actually have a wine education certificate... the same one YOU do. So, let's cut the crap and talk about this Cabernet Sauvignon like adults, okay?

It's hard to overcome, but if you kill people with kindness, and believe in yourself, they'll realize they're idiots for forming a preconceived notion about you in the first place. Luckily, nothing I've experienced is illegal or completely awful, so it's a fairly easy thing to overcome for me. A huge annoyance, though.

When i was in school yes i had looks discrimination i was not thin, pretty, or popular so the teachers were often *kitten* to me LOL that and my mom was labeled the town *kitten* but aside from that i have never had look discrimination in getting a job or keeping a job. One thing i can NOT stand is "friend" discrimination, oh you deserve this promotion because we have been friends for so long! Or age discrimination "oh no you cant be a manager your only 19 who cares if your over qualified and had out standing job performancr your younger then me so im hiring outside the company."

I used to get that all the damn time, friend, family, age, ect looks noo not so much i wouldnt compromise my job trying to get around the dress code though so i suppose i never gave the opportunity for that kind of discrimination.

One of my bosses got burned bad by friend discrimination. She became really close with an underling of hers, the girl with the least seniority in the entire office, hanging out after work at bars and such. New girl was 22 and boss was 42. Well, when a coveted position opened up she gave it to her new buddy, thoughly pissing off all the more qualified employees that had been there longer. The position the girl had gotten was HR manager, our company spent a whole year sending her to HR courses and teaching her the job and as soon as she was certified in everthing she walked out (not even 2 weeks notice) to work for a company that had headhunted her during her training (told her when she was done training give them a call, which she did). My boss got chewed out by her boss so so bad "How dare you let your mid-life crisis affect your judgement at work" and such.

It was epic

Yes, there is such a thing as being treated better because you look friendly, pretty, and confident. However, in places I have worked the coworkers and managers did not treat the "ugly" or "less desirable" people any worse, by ignoring, dismissing, talking down, or treating as a lower position. I have found the discrimination goes both ways, and often prettier people have to be EXTRA nice/outgoing/helpful to others before they are trusted or liked. As a fairly reserved person, people often assume I am stuck up for no good reason.

Also, looking "young and pretty" is not really a good thing in most careers. You are treated like a naive, airhead, or spoiled kid at first glance, in many cases.

I look very young for my age, and am very short, and average-to-pretty (depending on how much effort I put into my outfit/makeup/hair), and have been thin-t0-average weight all my life. I have been the object of other FEMALE (almost never male) coworkers gossip, scorn, and patronization in nearly every job I have had since college. I have found that both men and women will treat me as a child or dumb unless I work VERY hard to show them I'm a responsible adult and expect to be treated as such.

I am consistently treated as a teenager, when I am getting darn close to 30! At my last job, I was accused of being an incompetent, young, spoiled "girl" (not woman) just because I had a college degree and was willing to stand up for my rights as an employee with our manipulative, questionable manager. The older women thought I would be a young, easily-controlled coworker, and they refused to treat me as an equal even once they found out how old I really was (mid-20's). Mind you, most of them had not been with the company much longer than I had (2-4 months tops). They said me as "spoiled" and a "princess" because I made it clear to them and the manager that I would not be taken advantage of, and for example, work off the clock at an hourly job. Clients sometimes questioned my ability to do my job because I looked so young. At my current job, people constantly ask me how old I am, and loudly proclaim astonishment when they hear the answer (if I decide to tell).

In general, I think that the real discrimination is against introverted, reserved, or shy people (three separate types of people, btw), and the bias is toward super-outgoing, ambitious, friendly people who dare to ask or demand what they want. And, attractive people have probably experienced a lot more positive interaction with people/society from birth, so they have less reservations asking/demanding things from others.

violating a dress code and getting called on it is not discrimination. Age discrimination in the workplace is common, but difficult to prove. I think attractive people tend to push the envelope when it comes to breaking rules. It is learned behavior...a sense of entitlement. They do it because experience has shown that they will get special treatment. I am generalizing

jwdieter: Security guards don't follow me around while I'm shopping because nobody thinks I'm trying to steal stuff.

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haha! yes, old age has its perks.