Lookism: Physical Attractiveness and Good Looking People
Lookism
Introduction Gorgeous, stunning, cute, handsome, hot and pretty are a few adjectives commonly used to describe those one finds attractive. With so much positivity around beauty it is hard to imagine the damage to society it is causing. However in this paper we will discuss some of the dark facts related to beauty that are not visible to the naked eye. We will answer some questions which people didn’t even know had risen such as: Do ‘good looking people’ enjoy preferential treatment in society? Does discrimination based on a person’s exterior beauty exist? This paper explores the concept of beauty and the biases linked with it.
What is lookism?
Lookism is a topic that has rarely been publicly acknowledged. The term was first used in the Washington Post Magazine in 1978, its explained as prejudice toward people due to their appearance (Tietje & Cresap, 2005). Lookism is not well understood despite its growing presence in today’s modern society.
According to the American Disability Act (1990), it is not the traits of disability that lead to discrimination but it is the public’s perception of the impairment (Stalcup, 2007, p. 2). What this essentially means is that that any trait that departs from the social norm will likely be viewed as an impairment, therefore a target for discrimination. It will further be explained in the next section in relation to the biological preferences of animals and humans.
Biological perspective on beauty
Why is it that looks matter? Biology can help explain. Looks not only help animals to attract a potential mate but to also intimidate any potential competition. Secondary sex characteristics are developed when an animal(including humans) hit puberty. Members of the opposite sex are made aware that an animal is ready to mate when these characteristics off fertility are displayed. In humans they are mainly the development of breasts in females and more muscle definition in males. In the animal kingdom a
Introduction Gorgeous, stunning, cute, handsome, hot and pretty are a few adjectives commonly used to describe those one finds attractive. With so much positivity around beauty it is hard to imagine the damage to society it is causing. However in this paper we will discuss some of the dark facts related to beauty that are not visible to the naked eye. We will answer some questions which people didn’t even know had risen such as: Do ‘good looking people’ enjoy preferential treatment in society? Does discrimination based on a person’s exterior beauty exist? This paper explores the concept of beauty and the biases linked with it.
What is lookism?
Lookism is a topic that has rarely been publicly acknowledged. The term was first used in the Washington Post Magazine in 1978, its explained as prejudice toward people due to their appearance (Tietje & Cresap, 2005). Lookism is not well understood despite its growing presence in today’s modern society.
According to the American Disability Act (1990), it is not the traits of disability that lead to discrimination but it is the public’s perception of the impairment (Stalcup, 2007, p. 2). What this essentially means is that that any trait that departs from the social norm will likely be viewed as an impairment, therefore a target for discrimination. It will further be explained in the next section in relation to the biological preferences of animals and humans.
Biological perspective on beauty
Why is it that looks matter? Biology can help explain. Looks not only help animals to attract a potential mate but to also intimidate any potential competition. Secondary sex characteristics are developed when an animal(including humans) hit puberty. Members of the opposite sex are made aware that an animal is ready to mate when these characteristics off fertility are displayed. In humans they are mainly the development of breasts in females and more muscle definition in males. In the animal kingdom a
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