Lookism Definition

The “American Ideal” of “Looksism” is what society says we are supposed to look like, the “white Anglo-Saxon Protestant ideal” (Day & Schiele, 2013, p. 14). An example of this is the Barbie doll. She is tall, skinny, white, blonde hair and blue eyed. This is the doll that little girls grow up wanting to look like because society is teaching them that this is the ideal. Otherism is the use of “stereotypes to objectify those who are different from ‘us’” (Day & Schiele, 2013, p. 15). If someone does not fit the ideal they are considered not normal or bad. An example of this is objectifying a whole race; by saying the Mexicans are stealing White jobs. While this is untrue, the Mexican heritage is different from the white Anglo-Saxon ideals, so some see it as bad and are threatened by it, thus creating this racist stereotype.

In the essay “Why Looks Are the Last Bastion of Discrimination” by Deborah L. Rhode, she portrays the stereotypes hardships which are faced by certain people. She wants the audience to know how the stereotypes can cause suffering. The way certain people appear can cause people to have certain view point towards them due to their look. Discrimination is generated in people’s minds due to the physical appearance of a person. She wants the people to know that discriminating others because of their race, religion, color, and gender should be stopped. She gives an example in her essay about an obese lady, where the lady is called she not fit for job and

The beauty standard is a culturally constructed notion of physical attractiveness that has become increasingly imperative for women and men. However, this standard has become extremely perilous to men and women’s self-image. Camille Paglia, a highly educated individual who earned her PhD at Yale University and became a highly acclaimed author, explicates this conception in her essay “The Pitfalls of Plastic Surgery”. Paglia suggests that the beauty standard idealizes women to look like “sex symbols with an unattainable grandeur” (776). She continues to claim that it forces her audience of higher class women to pay large sums of money in order to alter their features ultimately conforming to a very “parochial” definition of beauty (776). Although Paglia is a highly credible source, she illogically appeals to the reader’s fears in order to persuade them. Paglia fails to give any credible outside sources which affirms her preposterous beliefs. Contrary to her inconsistencies, Daniel Akst, a social journalist and graduate from New York University provides his audience with reputable sources in order to persuade his audience. Daniel Akst believes that there needs to be a “democratization of physical beauty” in which instead of attempting to alter the beauty standard, we must first change how we view ourselves. Akst provides credible sources to establish his credibility where he observes cases studies and cultural experiments from scientists and organizations including:

“We all know that appearance matters, but the price of prejudice can be steeper than we often assume” (Washington1.) Published originally in the Washington Post on May 23,2010 by Deborah L. Rhode. Rhode the Professor of law and legal director at Stanford University in her essay “Why Looks Are The Last Bastion Of Discrimination,” argues that an individual's physical appearance is one of the few qualities of their personal identity that other people are legally within their rights to discriminate against. Rhode states her thesis clearly explaining the forthcoming reasons she will offer to uphold her position. Rhode believes that discriminating against individuals based on their appearance is wrong, and is often overlooked in many environments such as the workforce. Many think it is crucial that discrimination on looks is banned in workplaces, schools, and most other organizations.

Everyday people stare at billboards, magazine covers, movies, television, or pictures on the Internet of someone or something that they classify as beautiful. Some things people glance over and other things fascinate them. For example, when Farrah Fawcett’s famous picture of her in her red bathing suit came out; many teenage boys hung that picture in their bedrooms. Their idea of Farrah’s beauty was based strictly her outward appearance.

The central message of this work is that society is obsessed with appearances. The point the author is trying to make is beauty should not be the most important trait of a person. In today’s society everything is based on looks, people are more concerned about a person’s outward appearance. People strive to

Looks can be a very determining factor, and sometimes people's appearances can affect what she or he can or can not do in society and what they do to fit into it. The play Cyrano de Bergerac by Edmond Rostand, is a good example of how this idea is put into play. The main character, Cyrano de Bergerac, is portrayed as a hideous person, because of the size of his nose. As someone who does not fit with in society, yet he changes his morals, attitude, and personality to make up for his grotesque appearance. As the play progresses from act to act we the readers realize that Cyrano is this magnificent character. We begin to understand how his ugliness has shaped his life, how the deformity on his face has forced him to learn new skills and to

There is a phrase,” Don’t judge a book by its cover”, that has been taught over and over. It conveys that individuals should not pass judgment on others based on their looks but rather to look past their external appearance. The sad truth is that everyone does judge books by their covers; it is the first thing a person does. To put it another way, appearances influence how one is perceived and there are countless ways to prove this. One example would be in the book Lord of The Flies by William Golding. The author uses Piggy’s character and symbolism to demonstrate how his appearance impacts how his intelligence is perceived.

According to Deborah Rhode in her essay “Why Looks Are the Last Bastion of Discrimination”looks and discrimination are based on physical appearance. This includes height, weight, body shape, disfigurement,skin conditions, scars, and even birthmarks. Rhode’s ideas do apply to discrimination, because nearly thirty percent of women reported experiencing discrimination in 2013.

Some say, beauty is in the eye of the beholder, however, this could not be farther from the truth. From a historical perspective, beauty has been shown to be in the eye of the conformer. Society sets the standard of beauty and, either willingly or unwillingly, people obey. One may ask what happens to those who do not fit the standard, and the answer is simple: they become invisible. The narrator in Ralph Ellison’s Invisible Man, Pecola Breedlove in Toni Morrison’s The Bluest Eye, and Claireece Precious Jones in Push by Sapphire, are all examples of how societal standards blind the acquiescent and cloak the divergent.

Since the dawn of time, women have been judged based on their looks. In today’s society, women who are conventionally beautiful are seen as less capable than the rest of the population, especially men. As a girl in today’s society, I’ve been judged based on my looks since the day I was born. Every woman on television, in movies, or in magazines is harshly photo shopped to fit the standards society has set for physical beauty. When you grow up in that sort of environment, you have no say in whether or not that affects you. Orual, Redival, and Psyche are experiencing the same situation in Till We Have Faces by C.S. Lewis. In their own ways, each girl’s thoughts and action were determined solely be the world’s impression of them.

‘At Seventeen’ and ‘Looking for Alibrandi’ have many similar themes which makes it easy to compare and contrast between them both. In both the song ‘At Seventeen’ by Janis Ian and ‘Looking for Alibrandi’ by Melina Marchetta beauty standards is a reappearing theme. An example of how beauty standards impacts main character Josie from ‘Looking for Alibrandi’ is when she states that she looks similar to both her Mother and Nonna although she missed out on the beautiful part (page 10) which hints to her being insecure about her looks. She also mentions how although she dislikes the socialites of her high school, Josie wishes that she could conform to their distinct looks.

This article argues that physical appearance matters. In this society, children are being told lies and adults have trouble explain away the importance of physical appearance. This article gives an example of how a poor physical feature affected Robert Hoge’s life since birth. This article was written as an open discussion post. I will be using this source as an example of how physical attractiveness can affect one’s life.

Beauty’s innate commentary to Society Concepts of beauty can be portrayed in everyday life. Jane Martin’s play entitled Beauty is the perfect example of how society perceives beauty and the subsequent benefits of possessing these unrealistic attributes. ‘Beauty is in the eye of the beholder’, this is a phrase that many may relate to and Jane’s play is a representation of this, making it a commentary to society’s unrealistic views of beauty. An in depth look, at how society’s perceptions of beauty affects not only those who measure themselves up to these standards but also those who fit into the mold themselves and this will be the aim of this essay.

Lookism is a more and more pressing problem for companies and corporations, that strive to create an equal opportunities work space. The definition of lookism is “bias or discrimination against individuals on the basis of appearance, often unconscious.” This discrimination refers to both people who are not perceived as attractive and those who have to deal with the stereotypes connected to being exceptionally good-looking.