Let’s face it  — our society values good looks. Our appearance is extremely important to most of us. We work out, eat well and spend time grooming and getting ready, all in the hopes of looking our best. We have a wide variety of reasons to want to look good. But sometimes society may take the focus on looking good too far. Just this week, rail-thin model Filippa Hamilton accused Ralph Lauren of firing her because she was too fat. At 5 feet, 10 inches and 120 pounds, the word “fat” doesn’t come to mind when you look at her. In New Jersey, Republican Chris Christie, who is looking to knock off incumbent Gov. Jon Corzine, accused his rival of using his weight against him. “I’m gonna let you in on a little secret,” Christie told the crowd at a campaign event in New Jersey. “I know most of you didn’t know this, but the governor’s been whispering this to the press for months and months and months, and now he’s trying to be a little cute about talking about it too through his TV ads. I want to make sure you’re all seated and you’re OK before I let you in on a secret: I’m overweight.” These stories beg a question: Should society use looks — in conjunction with intelligence, competence and other standards — to judge people? Maybe this is the stereotypical superficial gay man in me, but I say, “Hell yes.” I’m sick of hearing about ugly people complain they’re being  victimized. If Hamilton had any shred of competence, she would know sample clothing that fashion houses send to be modeled normally comes in size 2. No one is saying her size-4 frame is fat by any means, but she should be well aware that to model, one needs to be able to fit into sample sizes, i.e. size 2. In New Jersey, Christie’s complaints seem like a distraction. Mr. Christie knows, in light of the many ethical issues that have come up about his doings as a U.S. attorney, he needs to get voters’ attention away from the fact he lacks any specific economic plans (besides the age-old cutting taxes and less government) and onto something that portrays him as the victim. I understand genetics play a huge part in appearance, and that’s something out of anyone’s control. That said, it’s hard to take pity on someone who complains about his or her appearance but spends insufficient amounts of time trying to fix it. If you’re at the gym everyday and you’re still overweight, then I’m very sorry you got the genetic short stick, so to speak. By all means, this article is not directed at you.But if the last time you entered a gym was to grab some Smoothie King, maybe you should invest in this amazing thing called a gym membership instead of complaining about your appearance. Your appearance says a lot about who you are, and there’s more than just a superficial aspect to it. When it looks like you spent large amounts of time on your appearance and physique, people are going to know you care about yourself. And that’s the most important aspect of anyone’s personal appearance — people value people who take themselves seriously and have a strong self-worth. What better way is there to show you care about yourself than to take care of the body you were given?Stephen Schmitz is a 19-year-old mass communication sophomore from The Woodlands, Texas. Follow him on Twitter @TDR_ sschmitz.—-Contact Stephen Schmitz at [email protected]