The power of erotic capital

On 21 December the film Working Girl turned 30.

Despite being 30 years old, the message, the setting and the characters are truly current. Tess McNeill is a very attractive executive secretary, with aspirations and ambition. She refuses to spend the rest of her days working as a secretary, knowing she has the aptitude and capacity to take a step further, and she uses an extremely important asset that will become increasingly relevant in our times: "Erotic capital".

Tess believes in herself: she is consistent, she studies, she reads, she pays attention, she has self-confidence and a great deal of determination to achieve her goal. To get out of her comfort zone.

Tess doesn't let herself be pigeonholed: Her physical appearance, her excessive beauty and even the way she dresses pigeonhole her, a priori, as a secretary for the rest of her days. With great skill, Tess manages to take advantage of her ability to fascinate others, thanks to her "erotic capital"; she is aware of her appeal and adapts her image and beauty to the environment she wants to access.

Tess turns her disadvantage into an advantage. Positive psychology.

This is where one of Tess's assets comes into play: "erotic capital", her ability to fascinate others in order to carry out her strategy.

A curious fact: the highest-paid actor in the film was Harrison Ford, despite not appearing until minute 35; even in this respect we're the same as 30 years ago!.

What is erotic capital?

According to the sociologist and economist of the London School of Economics, Catherine Hakim, author of the book Erotic Capital. She defines erotic capital as a "personal asset", that capacity some people have to fascinate others,  and it's the fourth personal asset, along with:

• economic capital: what we have.
• cultural capital: what we know.
• social capital: you are who you know

"in the future, 'erotic capital' will be as important for success in life as education and work experience".

Catherim Hakim. London School of Economics

A great example is the former president Barack Obama; there's no doubt he is an intelligent, cultured, elegant, well-mannered person, but probably being handsome and athletic also helped him become the first black president of the U.S. His wife Michelle Obama also ticks all the boxes. Currently, with the recent launch of her book Becoming Michelle, she has managed to position herself as the most admired woman in the United States, ahead of Hillary Clinton, who boasted of being so for 17 years.

Michelle has always enhanced her appeal, she has never hidden her body, she has known how to combine elegance, femininity and professionalism in every one of her acts. Michelle is and has been authentic, consistent with her values, she has known how to stay in the background and wait for her moment; now it's Michelle's moment, and her book is truly revealing, Becoming Michelle should be required reading for all women!

At the other extreme we have the current First Lady of the United States, Melania Trump; her beauty is evident, but she has nothing more than that.... beauty, she has no "erotic capital" because she lacks cultural capital and authenticity, she is entirely a "puppet" of her all-powerful husband, and on top of that she goes around copying Michelle's speeches... no comment. Melania only has sex appeal; two very different concepts that should not be confused.

Do we all have erotic capital?

Erotic capital, as we've already said, is not purely beauty or symmetry; it's more about the "appeal" of the person, their charm, their style, their culture, their elegance, their presentation skills.

The Halo effect, our preference for beauty goes back a long way, it's something biological, according to Etcoff, professor of psychology at Harvard "Our extreme sensitivity to beauty is governed by circuits in the brain shaped by natural selection", according to Etcoff, smooth skin, shiny hair and symmetry attract us because they are symbols of health. It's nothing more than a matter of survival, the most beautiful were the most fertile.

Nancy Etcoff. Harvard Business School

For almost 10 years I have developed my professional career in the beauty industry; cosmetics and aesthetic medicine, so with full knowledge of the matter I dare to define my beauty formula:

• 33% genetics
• 33% habits
• 33% cosmetic-aesthetic treatments

It's clear that if you've been genetically blessed, then you already have a lot going for you, but without good eating habits, sport and the right cosmetic-aesthetic treatments you'll age worse...

So it's scientifically proven that:

• good-looking people earn more
• they are more successful
• they have a greater ability to attract successful partners
• they manage to fascinate and attract the attention of others. 

After this, it's almost worth starting to enhance our "erotic capital", don't you think?

My 3 tips for enhancing our "erotic capital":

1.- Take care of your image

First impressions count, and a lot!

Taking care of your image on the inside:

• physical exercise, besides keeping your body fit you'll keep your serotonin levels at full, and that makes you feel good, gain confidence and take on the world in the mornings.
• healthy eating, if one day you overdo it, make up for it with exercise or diet the next day.
• time for yourself... it's necessary to take a breather, sleep your 8 little hours and disconnect from time to time.

Taking care of your image on the outside:

Don't be stingy!

Charm, elegance, manners...are a variable that greatly influences "erotic capital". I'll use the example of Tess in "Working Girl" again, she's aware that for them to take her seriously she has to adapt her image, so she dresses in impeccably cut, elegant suits. You don't need to go around in a thousand and one buttons, but you should be elegant, in keeping with the environment and your position. Nowadays, thanks to Mr Amancio Ortega, you don't need to spend a fortune to dress elegantly for work, it's a matter of wanting to!

2.- Be authentic

Coco Chanel used to say "beauty begins the moment you decide to be yourself"

The most important thing is to be comfortable, don't pretend to be a person you're not; you surely have a host of strong points, be yourself, if you're tall then great, no need to apologise... if you're friendly then make the most of it, if you're approachable then bravo, all the better for you...but above all don't put on a "costume"!

For example, it really annoys me to see how many women executives have "masculinised" themselves to survive in the environment, I don't judge it, but they dress and behave like men, with a rough, hard style. Being feminine is not at all at odds with being a good professional; on the contrary, it works in favour of "erotic capital", as long as your dress code is appropriate for work. And the same with our leadership style, it's more conciliatory, but we also know how to bang our fist on the table when necessary, otherwise we wouldn't be here!.

3.- Aesthetic and cosmetic medicine.

In this case less is more.

Aesthetic medicine can be a very useful tool for gaining confidence, for feeling better, for having a good face after marathon workdays, for enhancing our natural beauty or even for correcting flaws that can lower our self-esteem.

The taboo of aesthetic medicine: many women are truly terrified of aesthetic medicine, they want it but don't dare, they've seen how friends, or even celebrities, have wrecked their faces with excessive and inappropriate treatments. But there are also those (the majority) who have managed to age positively, with treatments suited to their age, their profile, their skin type; treatments that enhance our natural beauty without modifying our physiognomy, or that even enhance our natural beauty.

In conclusion: good-looking people earn more, are more successful, have a greater ability to attract successful partners and, above all, to fascinate others. In short, they come out on top in their personal life and in business with greater ease. Start working on your "erotic capital" now. 

One of my favourite figures: Coco Chanel, she wasn't pretty at all but she was attractive, clever, cultured and elegant.

Coco had a lot of "Erotic capital"! :)

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