Not really. Sometimes the option not to play is not there. It's like romantic dating - you can complain all you want about how women do not see the "real" you, but if you don't take part in the dumb ritual and the vanity of it all, you will always lose to someone who plays the game.

That part I said about us being shallow and easily giving into the optics? This is not going to change, as trying to change deeply basic human nature is a fool's errand.