Even when attractive women are performing at the top of their game, studies show that beauty can be its own glass ceiling. Pretty women tend to be seen as too feminine and thus unsuited for most leadership positions that are associated with masculine traits—one reason, perhaps, why so few women CEOs control Fortune 500 companies or Wall Street firms. Attractive professionals face more subtle 26)snares as well, like unwelcome sexual 27)come-ons, and assumptions about their lifestyle and sexuality.
即使有魅力女性在工作上表现优异，然而一些研究却指出美丽也会是一种“玻璃天花板”。人们倾向于认为，漂亮的女人过于女性化而不适于担任一些需要男性特质的领导职位——这可能也是《财富》500强企业或华尔街证券公司中极少有女性担任首席执行官的一个原因。漂亮且有专业实力的人可能会面对 更多隐秘的陷阱，比如让人厌烦的性暗示，还有关于她们生活方式和性方面的种种猜疑。
Beautiful men may face a similarly hard road. People might assume they're dumb, say they sleep around, and accuse them of being bad fathers. But if this is the case, it seems to be as yet unknown to science. 28)The bulk of research on the benefits and drawbacks of attractiveness focuses on women, at least so far. As the objectification of men's bodies increases in advertising and media, it's likely that more research will address the anxiety caused by beautiful men.
面容俊秀的男性也可能遇到同样的难题。人们会觉得他们愚蠢不堪、到处拈花惹草，更指责他们不是好父亲。不过，这种情况即使真实存在，也尚未获得科学研究的证实。因为大量关于吸引力的优劣势研究都集中在女性身上，至少到目前为止如是。随着男性的身躯更多地在广告和媒体上被物化展示，关于英俊男性所带来的焦虑感的研究也应该会越来越多。
I'm not saying that looks don't matter. But the doors of success swing open widest—and most smoothly—when real skills, hard knowledge, and genuine experience pull the handle. (If you don't believe me, ask yourself where the most attractive people in your high-school class are today.) That's why it's best to fold up your peacock feathers, if you're lucky enough to have them, and strive for an appearance that is merely a vehicle for attributes that actually get better with age. Physical beauty may help you get your start, after all, but it can also turn people against you—if you try to get too 29)cute.
我不是说长相不重要。但如果以坚实的技能、牢固的知识以及真正的经验作为拉门把的工具，那么成功的大门就会敞开——而且毫不费劲。（如果你不相信我，你可以看看高中班里那些最漂亮的人们现况如何。）所以，这就是为什么我们最好收起漂亮的孔雀尾屏，假如你有幸拥有它们的话，而去追求能真正随岁月沉淀而散发个人气质魅力的外表。毕竟，美丽的容颜也许能让你有一个好的开始，但如果你过分做作的话，它也会让人们离你越来越远。
