Good Looks Do Matter by Rita Panahi

            Rita Panahi's opinion article 'Good Looks Do Matter', appearing in the Herald Sun, on Monday, August 19, 2013, draws attention to the issue of people'e appearances, and contends that in today's society, good looking people "do better in life" than their "plain counterparts". Panahi argues to her numerous audiences, including parents, women and employers, that not only do attractive people do better in the workplace, but they are also more intelligent, better looked after as children, and lead an altogether happier life. She also employs various persuasive techniques, such as statistics, expert opinion and cliches, as well as factual, informative and humorous tones to reinforce her arguments.
             Panahi uses a variety of persuasive techniques to argue that more attractive children are better looked after. Her use of expert opinion and statistics, as well as appealing to family values in order to better connect with the parental audience, helps Panahi to make more of a lasting impact with her arguments. Using evidence from a study by the University of Alberta, she draws attention to parents' preferential treatment of their "pretty progeny" over their less attractive children. Though stating that all parents do this subconsciously, she immediately draws in parents by forcing them to consider how they treat their own children, while also positioning children with siblings to consider how they themselves have been treated by their parents. Panahi continues along this shocking line of information by further stating that not only do parents treat their attractive children better, but they also take more care with them, observing them with "greater vigilance". While the "ugly ducklings" were allowed to "wander away", attractive children were three times more likely to be strapped into the shopping trolley and watched more closely.