In Silicon Valley, some men say cosmetic procedures are essential to a career

The Washington Post ^ | 7:41 am PST, Thursday, January 9, 2020 | Peter Holley

[1raider1]

Lounging at an outdoor cafe just outside downtown San Francisco, his athletic frame filling out a slim-fit button-up, a talkative tech worker named Daniel detailed the many ways he's optimizing his existence. Only the previous week, he says, he returned from a 10-day trip to Italy's Amalfi Coast. Before that, he boasts, he journeyed to a yoga retreat and juice cleanse in Bali, the perfect setting to unload the stress he absorbs working at a well-known tech company in Silicon Valley. After ending a five-year marriage and shedding 10 pounds of subcutaneous fat several years back - his sun-kissed body now carb- and toxin-free - Daniel has reemerged a new, seemingly younger man.

[1raider1]

Remember the "Twilight Zone" episode in which people, upon reaching adulthood, would have cosmetic procedures to have their bodies reshaped into "perfect" ones, for appearance's sake? The premise was that it was for purely vain reasons. I believe we are entering and, in the case of the entertainment industry, where if you lose your looks, you lose your job, have arrived in that zone. Today, I read an article where this phenomenon is occurring in the tech industry (mostly in silicon valley) and it is not driven by vanity, but by the fact that there is a powerful force there that has an obsession with youth and the supposed idea that the "elderly" (those over forty) are not innovative enough in their thinking. This is leading some, both women and men, to have procedures that give the outward impression of youth, thereby, preserving their employment opportunities. So, while the search for the "Fountain of Youth" continues, it is being driven by, as always, economic rather than esthetic reasons. Is this an omen of what is to come in all areas of employment in the future? Here's a link to the article. Kind of spooky to me.

[Jan_Sobieski]

I would like to see these soy boys fight the Germans, Russians, or even the Iranians.

[Regulator]

Just never call it Age Discrimination

The SJW’s of the Silicon Slum would never be guilty of that Oh No Never

They’re above reproach....they think ALL the correct thoughts

[Chode]

Patrick Bateman: I live in the American Gardens building on West 81st street. My name is Patrick Bateman. I'm 27 years old. I believe in taking care of myself, and a balanced diet and a rigorous exercise routine. In the morning, if my face is a little puffy, I'll put on an ice pack while doing my stomach crunches. I can do a thousand now. After I remove the ice pack, I use a deep pore cleanser lotion. In the shower, I use a water activated gel cleanser. Then a honey almond body scrub. And on the face, an exfoliating gel scrub. Then apply an herb mint facial mask, which I leave on for 10 minutes while I prepare the rest of my routine. I always use an aftershave lotion with little or no alcohol, because alcohol dries your face out and makes you look older. Then moisturizer, then an anti-aging eye balm followed by a final moisturizing protective lotion. There is an idea of a Patrick Bateman, some kind of abstraction, but there is no real me. Only an entity, something illusory. And though I can hide my cold gaze, and you can shake my hand and feel flesh gripping yours and maybe you can even sense our life styles are probably comparable, I simply am not there.

[Retrofitted]

Don’t worry; they’d do just fine against them. See, here’s what the article says:

“Celeste Hirschman - a sex therapist and relationship coach whose work with cerebral tech workers includes a form of playful grappling designed to reconnect men with the sensation of physical touch...”

So they can playful grapple the tofu outta those nasty people!

[Carriage Hill]

“...give the outward impression of youth, thereby, preserving their employment opportunities...”

If you’re a mediocre or lousy employee, “the youth look” won’t help negate that. I’d rather have one good over-40 employee, than 10 youthful idiots.

[Phillyred]

Yes I remember that Twilight Zone episode and the irony was they were all altering their beautiful faces to look like pig faces.

[texas booster]

After ending a five-year marriage and shedding 10 pounds of subcutaneous fat several years back - his sun-kissed body now carb- and toxin-free - Daniel has reemerged a new, seemingly younger man.

He's gay, Jim.

[Jamestown1630]

I like men to be clean, clean-cut, and neatly dressed; but when a man pays too much attention to that stuff, it seems a sign of insecurity and ‘striving’.

The men I work with look very nice when they wear their suits and ties and take special care with appearance; but I like them best on ‘casual Fridays’.

[nesnah]

Film Actors Guild wannabes.

[PGR88]

[1raider1]

You’re thinking of “The Eye of the Beholder”. The one I’m referencing is called “You Look Just Like Number 12.

[Grampa Dave]

My Dad, Grand Dad and Father in Law probably rolled over in their graves when I read that.

They shaved with the old Gillette double edge razors in the morning with BarbaSol shaving creme. They rinsed and dried the razor blades with toilette tissue after using it.

My Dad and Grand Dad used Brylcrem, and my FIL had a GI flat top and he used Butchwax.

After breakfast and coffee, they brushed their teeth with Ipana tooth paste and gargled with Listerine. After dinner,they brushed their teeth and again used Listerine to gargle.

When my Dad turned seventy, he cut himself too much with the regular razors. I bought him a two headed Norelco and showed him how to use it. He kept the Gillette razor to even up his side burns. He left me a note in the razor box/case, “Saying: ‘Thanks. I might have bled out if not for this.’ Love Dad.

I still have that Norelco in its original case in a drawer with special things from him and my Grand Dad.

[Jamestown1630]

You need a nice cup of ‘Instant Smile’!

[sphinx]

Sounds pretty gay to me. Referring here to the workplace culture, not any particular individual, but if too much of the chain of command is gay, looking older probably ranks with having kids and going to church on the suspect scale.

[sphinx]

… As opposed to a culturally old-fashioned company where most everyone over the age of 30 is married, and most of the managers have a couple of kids and spend their weekends on the sidelines watching their kids play sports. People with children usually aren’t afraid of looking like adults.

[1raider1]

You need a nice cup of ‘Instant Smile’!

Maybe. My point was to start a discussion about how many of the things that will determine how we conduct our lives will be driven, not by legislation, but by the private sector that determines our access to the means of providing for ourselves and those for whom we are responsible. Something along the lines of how our second amendment guarantee won't ever be revoked, but access to firearms will be restricted by denying arms manufacturer's access to financing through the banking industry. The brave new world will come by way of very powerful corporations like Google, Amazon and Facebook.

[Chickensoup]

they discussed “mid career” but in this case there is no mid career, there is young and there is done.

[Jamestown1630]

Well, I was just responding to ‘You Look Just Like Number 12.’ (I’m a great TZ fan.)

But I’m glad that I opened an opportunity for you to expound :-)

[NewCenturions]

I can’t imagine most straight men judging another man on appearance, other than to notice if they’re clean and businesslike or not.