Did being unattractive hurt your career?

[smartnurse1982]

While I'm not trying to be a troll, I sometimes feel that for me, that may be true.

It's not my weight, it's my face mostly. I have had coworkers and pts complain about my face, saying I looked mean. One just told me I was ugly. I don't purposely look mean, it's just the way my face is.

I'm thinking I have a neutral face, but apparently it looks mean to others. One time, I had an interview at a ltc facility and the nursing supervisor came out, looked at me, and went back into his office. No hello, nothing.

[DoeRN]

ugh... the mean face or smile more nonsence....nothing to do with being ugly or unattractive... both types of women get that. do men? are these stupid obnoxious comments made to men whose neutral face looks less than chipper or just to women? only certain people get these comments even some that never smile don't get them. when theytell you to smile either glare at them or reply , " say sething amusing!"[/quote']

I agree. I don't smile a lot but that doesn't mean I'm not happy. People tell me to smile all the time Darn it I don't want too!! I'm not going to walk around with a silly grin on my face all day. Plus it would clash with my personality. I'm very stoic and aloof so people would think I was crazy if I had a smile on my face when I'm really indifferent about a situation.

So yes my outward appearance may hinder me somewhat but I'm not going to change my whole personality or face that I've had for almost 40 years.

Sent from my iPhone using allnurses.com

[SwansonRN]

I don't think it's unusual for a sick, elderly, or even very young pt to say something inappropriate or insulting about their nurses' appearances. One of my patients told the nurse helping me boost her in bed that she needed to wash her face because she had adult acne. No filter.

For a laugh google the term 'b*tchy resting face' it's a common malady

[newrnltc]

googled that video. hilarious!

[anotherone, BSN, RN]

I don't think it's unusual for a sick, elderly, or even very young pt to say something inappropriate or insulting about their nurses' appearances. One of my patients told the nurse helping me boost her in bed that she needed to wash her face because she had adult acne. No filter.

For a laugh google the term 'b*tchy resting face' it's a common malady

Almost all oriented people that say this say it because they get some sick pleasure of insulting a person who can not reply in kind ( fear of getting fired etc). what if the nurse replied, "well, you should look into botox for those wrinkles" say it with a smile. or "thanks for your unsolicited advice" said with an obnoxious smile........ working as a nurse and interacting with so many people you really see how disturbed the population at large can be..........

[MrChicagoRN, RN]

I have a face that sometimes looks serious, and a dry sense of humor, but by working to smile and being outgoing and supportive, that isn't an issue

[anotherone, BSN, RN]

googled that video. hilarious!

" i couldn't be happier to earn a living in customer service" hahah it is a funny video

[HeatherGurl84]

Beauty comes from within, I just wish the world would remember this.

[Tinker88]

Sometimes my forehead looks tense when I'm reading something very interesting or watching an action movie. I'm only 24, but if these lines begin to stay like that later in my life, I may get Botox injections! They are supposed to relax the tense facial muscles. Some people go overboard with those though. I've seen people who can't even smile or move their eyebrows. You don't want a dead face!

[RixMix]

I'm a tall guy and always considered myself quite attractive... but at my last job, a coworker said I had "dead eyes." It made me feel ugly and like I had no soul. I still haven't recovered emotionally from it. I have partial seizures which cause light sensitivity and my eyes are always kinda squinty due to my condition, so it's not something I can really fix. It's now a cloud over my head all day every day. People can be very hurtful, I hope you recover this soon.

[#NurseB]

I'm a tall guy and always considered myself quite attractive... but at my last job a coworker said I had "dead eyes." It made me feel ugly and like I had no soul. I still haven't recovered emotionally from it. I have partial seizures which cause light sensitivity and my eyes are always kinda squinty due to my condition, so it's not something I can really fix. It's now a cloud over my head all day every day. People can be very hurtful, I hope you recover this soon.[/quote']

That's a terrible thing to say. People often hurt others like that when they are insecure with themselves.

[Amnesty]

Look, somebody is going to call me a meanie for saying this, but I'm still going to say it: Get thicker skin, people. No, it's never nice when people say negative things about you. But you can't let it bother you. I, too, have a natural neutral facial expression that people find "angry" looking. My thinking face makes me look mad, too. If it bothered me that people thought that, I'd change it. It doesn't, though. Anyone who is around me for longer than a day realizes I'm very friendly and hardly ever angry. I get that you don't like people making assumptions, but you can change your facial expressions if you don't like what they portray to the world. I wouldn't expect the world to change their perceptions for you.

[pasti.kurnia]

I really understand what u feel, sometimes we need to evaluate ourselve for better. Sometimes we did'nt realize our face looks not on the mood, lets manage it better then to be more cooperate with ourselve..