How is downplaying one&#x27;s looks &quot;awful&quot; or &quot;doing violence to yourself&quot;? When we wear non-practical clothes (e.g. anything besides athletic wear or comfy cargo pants), the entire purpose is to cause other humans to respond to us in a way that we find favorable.<p>I recently purchased a slim red pants designed to convey a) that I&#x27;m a moderately creative type and b) that I have a nice ass. The net result is that I get desirable attention from women I like, but also I get undesirable attention from fat chicks and gays.<p>I can switch that undesirable attention off anytime I want - I just need to dress like a slob and&#x2F;or be less careful about having a desirable body (i.e. eat more butter, do fewer exercises aimed at aesthetics, not carefully calibrate my beard). I choose not to because that undesirable attention is a small price to pay for the desirable attention I receive.<p>Similarly, consider the daily annoyance of recruiters. Who among us would trade recruiters + super hot job market for no recruiters + humanities academic-like desperation for any job at all?