Beauty Is Currency: Laywomen's Perceptions of the Social and Instrumental Functions of Physical Attractiveness

This research explored how laywomen perceive and prioritize the functions of physical attractiveness, with particular attention to how sociocultural beliefs and structural inequality, such as gender earnings disparities, shape these views. Study 1 employed a qualitative approach to examine women's beliefs from both third-person (Study 1a) and first-person (Study 1b) perspectives. Most participants viewed attractiveness as a valuable asset across domains such as mate selection, employment, and social relationships, while a minority expressed more limited or skeptical views, often describing themselves as having average attractiveness. Study 2 used an experimental design to test how women prioritize the mating versus job-hunting functions of attractiveness when exposed to high or low gender earnings inequality. Results showed that while attractiveness was generally seen as beneficial, prioritization patterns depended on traditional gender ideology. Women with weaker traditional beliefs were more likely to emphasize the labor market utility of attractiveness, especially under high gender inequality. In contrast, women with stronger traditional beliefs showed no clear preference. These findings suggest that women's instrumental use of appearance is shaped by sociocultural beliefs and structural inequality.