Holding a master's degree, speaking several languages, working as an engineer, and possessing extensive general knowledge are all particularly eloquent signs of intelligence. However, being knowledgeable isn't very flattering for women. Those with higher IQs seem to have lower beauty standards, or so suggests a very serious study. The myth of the airheaded, snobbish woman, interested only in makeup, persists in people's minds.<\/p>\n
In pop culture, witty women who make their fortunes from the pages of books, play chess, and attend conferences all share a typical look. They sport large glasses, outfits that are the epitome of banality, and perfectly parted hair.<\/p>\n
Take Velma in "Scooby-Doo," for example: she has a big turtleneck, a severe bob, and rectangular glasses. Conversely, the women who are courted and who flirt with beauty standards<\/a> are considered shallow. The only discussions they have revolve around American football players or their next fashion purchase. In short, an intelligent woman is necessarily ordinary, while a beautiful woman is always uncultured. These prejudices, which imply that women can't have it all, are deeply ingrained.<\/p>\n In the collective imagination, a woman considered "beautiful" cannot possibly have Einstein's brain; it seems almost mathematically certain. It's as if beauty and intelligence couldn't coexist in women. In men, intelligence is an undeniable quality, while in women, it's a strong turn-off. And no, this isn't just a feeling. A study<\/a> conducted by researchers from Washington State University and the University of Colorado has confirmed it.<\/p>\n The findings of this study are not encouraging. The 200 participants were tasked with giving their impressions of a panel of women based solely on photos of them at work. And they seem to confirm the theory that "the more educated you are, the less attractive you are."<\/em> The majority of respondents stated that the women deemed most attractive appeared less honest than the others. They were also perceived as less trustworthy and more likely to be fired.<\/p>\n Men, when they show signs of intelligence, score points and gain charisma. But according to this study, the opposite is true for women. Why? Certainly because, since the dawn of time, women have been portrayed as inferior, naive, irresponsible, and superficial. Remember that era of the objectified woman, the age of "you're beautiful, but shut up."<\/em> Unfortunately, some vestiges of that remain.<\/p>\n However, the most plausible explanation, according to psychologists, is called the dilution effect. We tend to think that a person or thing that does two things at once will be less efficient than someone who specializes in only one. In short: if a woman spends her time with books by Voltaire, listens to historical podcasts, and watches Arte, she can't possibly be at her physical peak either.<\/p>\n According to a collective mindset, women can multitask\u2014it's even required\u2014but they can't possess all the qualities at once. Men have that privilege, but their female counterparts must be content with just one strength. Naturally, with such a mentality, women who excel at what they do<\/a> , who are elegant, and who, on top of that, have a sense of humor, are seen as threats. They inspire mistrust and attract gossip. And this isn't the result of some feminist conspiracy.<\/p>\n A study published in the journal Personality and Social Psychology in 2015 confirms this. Following an IQ test, the men who took the test met women who had undergone the same brain examination. Surprisingly, they appeared less attracted to and significantly more distant from the women who had scored higher than them. This is simply a vestige of the patriarchal era, a time when women were pawns on the chessboard, not queens capable of asserting their authority.<\/p>\n If intelligent women aren't appreciated for their true worth, it's because they embody everything men fear. That doesn't mean you should suppress your intellect, though.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Holding a master's degree, speaking several languages, working as an engineer, and possessing extensive general knowledge are all...","protected":false},"author":8340,"featured_media":428687,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"disable_msn":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[5678],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-428682","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-societe"],"image":{"medium":["https:\/\/www.ma-grande-taille.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/femme-intelligente-manque-consideration-200x113.jpg",200,113,true],"large":["https:\/\/www.ma-grande-taille.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/femme-intelligente-manque-consideration-500x281.jpg",500,281,true]},"custom":{"td_video":"","featured_image":"https:\/\/www.ma-grande-taille.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/femme-intelligente-manque-consideration.jpg","author":{"name":"\u00c9milie Laurent","avatar":"https:\/\/www.ma-grande-taille.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/11\/cropped-2f5d8c00d5d5c27f8ce4d9b3f9015467-96x96.png"},"categories":[{"term_id":5678,"name":"Society","slug":"societe","term_group":0,"term_taxonomy_id":5846,"taxonomy":"category","description":" The Society section of The Body Optimist unpacks the debates that shape women\u2019s lives: equality, discrimination, beauty standards, social ties and the place of bodies in public space. Its analysis, first-person stories and practical advice are for anyone who wants to understand the pressures of everyday life and push back, with an inclusive, body-positive and judgment-free perspective.<\/p>\n Beauty standards are a social issue because they are neither natural nor universal: they shift from one country to another and from one era to the next, as our article on how beauty standards differ around the world<\/a> shows. Yet these ideals of thinness, youth and flawless skin have very real effects: comments starting in childhood, pressure to watch your weight, unequal treatment at work and in health care, online harassment. Recognizing that a norm is constructed helps you take a step back, spot the messages designed to make you feel guilty and choose what you want to keep. That is the common thread of this section: connecting individual experiences to the collective mechanisms that produce them.<\/p>\n If you experience discrimination or online harassment, the first step is to keep evidence, then to turn to the right people, who will depend on the country you live in:<\/p>\n Born from a plus-size fashion site, our magazine looks at social issues through the lens of the body and representation. We give a voice to the people most affected, we explain the words before debating them (sexism, fatphobia, trans identity, consent) and we favor practical ways forward over outrage alone. Our articles start from everyday experiences to shed light on broader patterns, without moralizing or pitting women against each other.<\/p>\n Discrimination is unequal treatment based on a characteristic protected by law, in a specific area such as employment, housing or access to goods and services. Protected grounds vary from country to country, but they often include sex, race or ethnic origin, disability, age, religion, sexual orientation and gender identity. Some places also protect physical appearance or weight.<\/p>\n Intersectionality describes how several forms of discrimination can overlap in the same person and reinforce one another. The American legal scholar Kimberl\u00e9 Crenshaw coined the term to describe the experiences of Black women. A woman who is both fat and lesbian, for example, may face sexism, fatphobia and homophobia, which compound one another rather than simply adding up.<\/p>\n Diet culture is the set of beliefs that equates thinness with health, success and personal worth. It shows up in foods labeled \u201cgood\u201d or \u201cbad,\u201d compliments on weight loss and the shaming of fat bodies. Our magazine prefers a weight-inclusive approach to health, at every size.<\/p>\n Want to go further? Our Culture<\/a> section explores how bodies and identities are portrayed in movies, TV shows and books, and our Psychology<\/a> section supports you with self-image, confidence and emotions.<\/p>","parent":0,"count":1536,"filter":"raw","cat_ID":5678,"category_count":1536,"category_description":" The Society section of The Body Optimist unpacks the debates that shape women\u2019s lives: equality, discrimination, beauty standards, social ties and the place of bodies in public space. Its analysis, first-person stories and practical advice are for anyone who wants to understand the pressures of everyday life and push back, with an inclusive, body-positive and judgment-free perspective.<\/p>\n Beauty standards are a social issue because they are neither natural nor universal: they shift from one country to another and from one era to the next, as our article on how beauty standards differ around the world<\/a> shows. Yet these ideals of thinness, youth and flawless skin have very real effects: comments starting in childhood, pressure to watch your weight, unequal treatment at work and in health care, online harassment. Recognizing that a norm is constructed helps you take a step back, spot the messages designed to make you feel guilty and choose what you want to keep. That is the common thread of this section: connecting individual experiences to the collective mechanisms that produce them.<\/p>\n If you experience discrimination or online harassment, the first step is to keep evidence, then to turn to the right people, who will depend on the country you live in:<\/p>\n Born from a plus-size fashion site, our magazine looks at social issues through the lens of the body and representation. We give a voice to the people most affected, we explain the words before debating them (sexism, fatphobia, trans identity, consent) and we favor practical ways forward over outrage alone. Our articles start from everyday experiences to shed light on broader patterns, without moralizing or pitting women against each other.<\/p>\n Discrimination is unequal treatment based on a characteristic protected by law, in a specific area such as employment, housing or access to goods and services. Protected grounds vary from country to country, but they often include sex, race or ethnic origin, disability, age, religion, sexual orientation and gender identity. Some places also protect physical appearance or weight.<\/p>\n Intersectionality describes how several forms of discrimination can overlap in the same person and reinforce one another. The American legal scholar Kimberl\u00e9 Crenshaw coined the term to describe the experiences of Black women. A woman who is both fat and lesbian, for example, may face sexism, fatphobia and homophobia, which compound one another rather than simply adding up.<\/p>\n Diet culture is the set of beliefs that equates thinness with health, success and personal worth. It shows up in foods labeled \u201cgood\u201d or \u201cbad,\u201d compliments on weight loss and the shaming of fat bodies. Our magazine prefers a weight-inclusive approach to health, at every size.<\/p>\n Want to go further? Our Culture<\/a> section explores how bodies and identities are portrayed in movies, TV shows and books, and our Psychology<\/a> section supports you with self-image, confidence and emotions.<\/p>","cat_name":"Society","category_nicename":"societe","category_parent":0}]},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ma-grande-taille.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/428682","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ma-grande-taille.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ma-grande-taille.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ma-grande-taille.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/8340"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ma-grande-taille.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=428682"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/www.ma-grande-taille.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/428682\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":428960,"href":"https:\/\/www.ma-grande-taille.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/428682\/revisions\/428960"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ma-grande-taille.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/428687"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ma-grande-taille.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=428682"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ma-grande-taille.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=428682"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ma-grande-taille.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=428682"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}} Persistent prejudices that conflate beauty and knowledge<\/h2>\n
When female intelligence frightens men<\/h2>\n
What you\u2019ll find in the Society section<\/h2>\n
\n
Why are beauty standards a social issue?<\/h2>\n
What can you do about discrimination or online harassment?<\/h2>\n
\n
Our approach: connecting the personal and the collective<\/h2>\n
Articles to start with<\/h2>\n
\n
Frequently asked questions<\/h2>\n
What counts as discrimination?<\/h3>\n
What is intersectionality?<\/h3>\n
What is diet culture?<\/h3>\n
What you\u2019ll find in the Society section<\/h2>\n
\n
Why are beauty standards a social issue?<\/h2>\n
What can you do about discrimination or online harassment?<\/h2>\n
\n
Our approach: connecting the personal and the collective<\/h2>\n
Articles to start with<\/h2>\n
\n
Frequently asked questions<\/h2>\n
What counts as discrimination?<\/h3>\n
What is intersectionality?<\/h3>\n
What is diet culture?<\/h3>\n