Lookism

[w4read]

There's a lot of talk about discrimation these days, both when it comes to racism and sexism and people are fighting and cheering against it, which is awesome. A lot of people have as a result opened their eyes to the fact that these things, which some might thought belonged to the past, still exist to a significant degree today. Another type of discrimation that also exist, but which tends to get swept under the radar, or just accepted as a part of reality, is lookism. The fact that people who are unattractive tend to get a worse treatment in many areas of life, both in relationships and also in the work place. I've been contemplating this for a while and have been wondering why there's so little focus on it. It sure is a bad thing if people get hired or promoted based on how they look, if parents treat the children that are best looking and that they therefore like the most best, or if people who are bad looking just generally get treated more badly.

What's your thoughts on this? Is lookism a real problem in society? And if so, do you have any solution to how we can overcome it?

[soos_mite_ah]

I think it's because a lot of things that can fall under the umbrella of "lookism" also fall under things such as racism, sexism, ableism, classism etc. 

Racism (also colorism): Euro-centric features are seen as more beautiful like light colored eyes, straighter hair, thin nose, big eyes etc. 

Sexism: notion of the male gaze, what men and women are supposed to look and be like, men have to big and tall to be attractive while women have to be dainty and thin for instance etc. 

Ableism: if you look like you have a disability, you aren't seen as attractive, facial deformities etc. 

Classism: the association of poor people and a lack of taste/ tackiness, rich are sophisticated and graceful, plastic surgery as a status symbol etc.

Much of what we consider beauty is dependent on the power structures and the conditioning of our society. My solution is to address the above and the go from there. 

Edited September 1, 2020 by soos_mite_ah

[Opo]

25 minutes ago, w4read said:

And if so, do you have any solution to how we can overcome it?

Get people to eat healthier. I think that's the biggest thing. 

[w4read]

11 minutes ago, soos_mite_ah said:

I think it's because a lot of things that can fall under the umbrella of "lookism" also fall under things such as racism, sexism, ableism, classism etc. 

Racism (also colorism): Euro-centric features are seen as more beautiful like light colored eyes, straighter hair, thin nose, big eyes etc. 

Sexism: notion of the male gaze, what men and women are supposed to look and be like, men have to big and tall to be attractive while women have to be dainty and thing for instance etc. 

Ableism: if you look like you have a disability, you aren't seen as attractive, facial deformities etc. 

Classism: the association of poor people and a lack of taste/ tackiness, rich are sophisticated and graceful, plastic surgery as a status symbol etc.

Much of what we consider beauty is dependent on the power structures and the conditioning of our society 

Agree. And probably what makes sexism and racism easier to focus on is that the distinctions male/female and black/white are clearer, and therefore it's easier to spot and measure the magnitude of discrimation in those cases. After all, who looks good and who doesn't and therefore get's treated better or worse, is not objective and can probably change a lot between different circumstances.

But maybe the focus and general valuation of looks is something that puts us more in that frame with the increased impact of social media and online dating apps and stuff like this. 

[soos_mite_ah]

9 minutes ago, w4read said:

Agree. And probably what makes sexism and racism easier to focus on is that the distinctions male/female and black/white are clearer, and therefore it's easier to spot and measure the magnitude of discrimation in those cases. After all, who looks good and who doesn't and therefore get's treated better or worse, is not objective and can probably change a lot between different circumstances.

But maybe the focus and general valuation of looks is something that puts us more in that frame with the increased impact of social media and online dating apps and stuff like this. 

I think another step is to just start talking about it since a lot of people don't even know it's a thing 

I've also seen a few people talk about "pretty privilege." I recommend you check that out. 

Also to add on to the notion of lookism, I think one thing that is crucial to understanding the prevalence of it is the concept of "the halo effect." 

The halo effect is when you see someone attractive and immediately associate them with positive qualities like being nice, being smart, etc.  without knowing anything about them. 

There is also the case of the guy who got a modeling contract when he sentenced to prison after his mugshot went viral

https://www.ibtimes.com/prison-bae-update-jeremy-meeks-makes-new-york-fashion-week-debut-2492580

Edited September 1, 2020 by soos_mite_ah

[Carl-Richard]

I don't know about that, but anti-baldingism needs to stop 

[Danioover9000]

@w4read

2 hours ago, w4read said:

There's a lot of talk about discrimation these days, both when it comes to racism and sexism and people are fighting and cheering against it, which is awesome. A lot of people have as a result opened their eyes to the fact that these things, which some might thought belonged to the past, still exist to a significant degree today. Another type of discrimation that also exist, but which tends to get swept under the radar, or just accepted as a part of reality, is lookism. The fact that people who are unattractive tend to get a worse treatment in many areas of life, both in relationships and also in the work place. I've been contemplating this for a while and have been wondering why there's so little focus on it. It sure is a bad thing if people get hired or promoted based on how they look, if parents treat the children that are best looking and that they therefore like the most best, or if people who are bad looking just generally get treated more badly.

What's your thoughts on this? Is lookism a real problem in society? And if so, do you have any solution to how we can overcome it?

   I think in the future society will evolve better, regardless of every type of struggle. In the end, we all will become and behave like pure, porcelain dolls to each other.

[Consept]

Yeah it is a thing, but just as a counter point, what if we were to say that although good looking people seemingly have it easier, this can also limit their growth as people. For example the pretty girl that gets everything she wants as a kid is not pushed to become a whole person, she might not know what she likes, might be quite shallow and pretty much has a very slim chance of becoming self actualized as life is so easy for her. Not only that eventually looks fade and when they do she will be way back in terms of development and acceptance of herself etc. 

Add to that there can be a lot of pressure on good looking people so if theyre not happy internally it will be very easy to put on a fake persona, which can trap them. Also being good looking will be like being rich in that you dont know whos around you for you or whos around you for status or sex or whatever ulterior motive, if youre not conventionally good looking you know if someones with you they do actually like you for you. 

Surface it can seem perfect but i dont think its so simple 

[soos_mite_ah]

I think that a lot of it will slowly disappear after we move from stage orange to stage green because orange tends to be very looks oriented 

Also to play devils advocate, there are some down sides to being beautiful as well (particularly if you are a woman). If you have something smart to say, you're less likely to be taken seriously and more likely to be sexualized. There are also women who will view you as a competition, bully you, and assume that you're a slut who sleeps around with a lot of guys all because they are jealous. I think there are even some instances where you're less likely to get hired if you look good for the same exact reason, so it's like be attractive, but not be too attractive. Also, for both genders, I wouldn't be surprised if people would just try to get with you, not because they like you or care about you, but just because of your looks. There are some sketchy sleazy people out there who would try to see you as some type of trophy or see having sex with you as some type of conquest. Then there are those partners that get extra insecure and protective around you because they are paranoid that everyone is trying to sleep with you. 

And on top of that as@Consept  mentioned there is that chance that you don't develop much as a person and then when you get old, you have an existential crisis because all that pretty privilege fades away and you're left with nothing. 

[w4read]

@Consept @soos_mite_ah Interesting points, that makes a lot of sense. So i guess you could say that there are pros and cons and leave it at that.

On the other hand, you could also say that this makes the phenomenon even more worthy of discussion and contemplation. Cause this doesn't only affect ugly people, but in a sense it also affect people who look good or particularly good who can develop an identity and attachment around being beautiful which makes them less able to face life when shit gets tougher. This is one of the things I like about feminism ( at least the healthy version). People are quick in shutting it down by saying "men also have problems" and thereby dismissing the whole movement. Whereas They themselves recognize that it's not just women who struggle, but also men have their areas where they struggle too and integrate their problems as a part of the movement. 

When that's said, I don't think lookism can be compared at the same scale as feminism and racism, but more awareness to it wouldn't hurt I guess.

 

[hoodrow trillson]

It's all about the face.