Beauty is Harwired

854 Words2 Pages
bulb-icon

Recommended: Race and appearance discrimination

Discrimination based on appearance is a severe inequity and its impact is often more invidious than we can presume. Although it is not the most severe form of bias, the costs and disadvantages associated with appearance may propose for some legal remedy or other societal response. Unfortunately, current legal frameworks are limited in prohibiting appearance discrimination and those established are so often ineffective. Government therefore does not have the means to mandate a change to this injustice. Yet, a reform for discrimination based on appearance remains imperative. The following will explain why appearance discrimination should be unlawful in the United States and why there is not any perfected solution to that problem.
Appearance has a great influence on employment, income, self-esteem, and in relationships. It is the nature of mankind to be opinionated of others as a result of their outward appearance. However, the problem arises when this bias conflicts with meritocratic ideals. In a comparison to other forms of discrimination, national surveys displayed appearance to arise with percentages between 12 and 16 where workers report that they have been subject to appearance- related discrimination (Rhode 102). Employers have justified that the process of hiring is limited to prohibit only discrimination on the bias of a physical attribute that is difficult or impossible to change, such as height and facial features. This terminology is separated from sex, race, and ethnicity, which are often regarded as identity characteristics in most discussions and policies concerning discrimination. Discrimination towards those criteria is unlawful under federal and state edicts as congress and courts have come to recognize that the mos...

... middle of paper ...

...ts and fail in their moral decree.
It is difficult to draw definitive legal remedies for discrimination based on appearance because the government does not have the mean to create a general standard to protect such inequities. Appearance discrimination’s possess an intense impact, however, on all society. Although its severity is not as analogous in comparison to other forms of discrimination, the costs and disadvantages associated with appearance enforce the need for a reform. This injustice, unfortunately, will never be controlled due to the ineffectiveness of current legal frameworks in prohibiting appearance discrimination. The perspective of beauty and appearance in will thus remain in its current state of discrimination.

Works Cited

Rhode, Deborah L. The Beauty Bias: The Injustice of Appearance in Life and Law. New York, NY: Oxford UP, 2010. eBook Reader.

Show More
Related

  • Judging By The Cover By Bonny Gainley Summary

    719 Words  | 2 Pages

    Today’s job seeker has tough competition. In the textbook reading “Judging by the Cover” by Bonny Gainley, she argues that job seekers ought to be careful when they make personal choices that initially will affect their chances of entering the workplace. People have a need to be accepted by others just the way they are, but many of us were taught as adolescence that we should not judge a book by its cover, yet people judge others solely on their personal appearances. That goes for businesses as well, “[t]he bottom line is that businesses exist to make money. Whether it seems fair or not, generally employers do care about the personal appearances of the people they hire because those people represent the business to its customers” (5). Maybe

    Read More

  • Pros And Cons Of An Airline Case Study

    778 Words  | 2 Pages

    Currently television networks and stations require a set appearance and weight standards for news reporters, newscasters, weather forecaster. Our society looks at the news and weather to see not only the news and weather but the persons. They believe that physical attractiveness and pleasing body image have long been known to have marketplace advantages. Therefore many organizations set appearance standards for their employees, because they think that will project a particular image and as well as a favorable working environment. (Harvey & Allard , 2012, p. 231)

    Read More

  • An Evaluation of the Article: Why Looks Are the Last Bastion of Discrimination

    1173 Words  | 3 Pages

    In today’s job market, there are many reasons an individual could be turned down for employment. According to Deborah Rhodes, author of “Why looks are the last bastion of discrimination”, appearance should not be one of them. Rhodes is a law professor at Stanford and holder of numerous titles for her outstanding work in legal matters. She is also the author and co-author of over 250 articles (Directory). In this article, she addresses an issue with profound impact on today’s society. She proposes that appearance discrimination should be included in anti-discrimination laws in addition to what is already accepted and legalized in today’s workplace. While it is a seemingly “silly” concern, it is actually quite valid. There has been many a concern over discrimination. That is, discrimination based on race, color, gender, and others of a similar nature in the work environment.

    Read More

  • Gender Inequality In Roxane Gay's Hunger (My) Body?

    1056 Words  | 3 Pages

    To begin, a mechanism of discriminatory and violent systems is appearance. Appearance is the way that someone or something looks, meaning not everyone looks or acts the same by performance. In Roxane Gay’s novel, she points out that she wants acceptance for her body shape, and yet wanting to change it. Although she tried

    Read More

  • Debra Ambrosetti's Lookism And Self-Worth?

    1206 Words  | 3 Pages

    All human beings are conscious of their appearance. Society conditions the individual to meet distinct appearance criteria and sets forth an image that is deemed “attractive”. This struggle to fit norms, known as lookism, is discriminatory in its nature. Defined in 2000 by the oxford dictionary as “’prejudice or discrimination on the grounds of appearance’”, this new “ism” has risen to the surface in recent years (Ambrosetti 52), showing the prominence of its affects. Human beings construct circumstances that rule their realities. Gender, ethnicity and culture are all cultural constructions that have no true meaning once removed from society. That being said, lookism is biases of identification that influence one’s

    Read More

  • Annotated Bibliography Of Colorism In African Americans

    1756 Words  | 4 Pages

    Colorism in the United States is a result of the history of people being discriminated based upon one’s skin tone. For many years, the European standard of beauty has been set forth and pushed upon mainly young men and women of many backgrounds

    Read More

  • Formation of Imagined Communities

    1927 Words  | 4 Pages

    Sarwer, D. B., Grossbart, T. A., & Didie, E. R. (2003). Beauty and society. Seminars in

    Read More

  • Comparing Steppenwolf and the Teenaged Girl

    1374 Words  | 3 Pages

    Often in my life I have felt trapped by the boundaries and expectations that those around me have set for how I ought to behave, think, and feel. Here in suburban America, these boundaries are often set by peers and family, as well as by the media and celebrity figures. The expectations that they have set often dictate ideas that, deep down, I greatly disagree with. One of the most prominent of the ideas is that my worth is reflected in my outward physical appearance. In this world which has declared war on th...

    Read More

  • LARP

    854 Words  | 2 Pages

    In the article by Michael Torrice and the novels and plays above, it goes to prove that society is aware of beauty’s standards and special treatments, but nothing is changing. One

    Read More

  • Obesity and Self-Esteem

    953 Words  | 2 Pages

    The models and celebrities in the media that set the standard for what women should look like are thinner than 90-95 percent of the American female population (Seid p.6). This is an unrealistic portrayal of what the human body should look like when compared to most women’s genetic makeup. Women’s self-image, their social and economic success, and even their survival can still be determined largely by their beauty (Seid p.5). Men on the other hand seem to have it a little easier when it comes to looks. Their self-image is largely determined by what they accomplish in life and not by whether or not they meet the social standard for looks. Modern clothing and fashion require women to show off their bodies more in tight clothes and by showing more skin than in the past. According to Roberta Seid ...

    Read More

  • Bastion Of Discrimination

    538 Words  | 2 Pages

    Many people are stereotyped and discriminated by their appearances. According to Deborah L. Rhodes, in her essay "Why Looks Are the Last Bastion of Discrimination," she stated that "irrelevant physical characteristics reinforces invidious stereotypes and undermines equal-opportunity principles based on merit and performance." Such discrimination is evident in the Hispanic community.

    Read More

  • Stereotypes And Discrimination

    1922 Words  | 4 Pages

    In a growing world, relying on education and intelligence, judgments in a social environment are still continuously based off of appearance. A study of the importance of outer looks was produced through a TV game show. Contestants fought to answer questions correctly to improve their personal score. At the end of the game, the player with the highest score was asked to eliminate a team member. Although many times an unattractive player would have higher scores and could be more beneficial than another teammate, only 27% of unattractive members were chosen to advance to the next round (Belot, Bhaskar, and van de Ven 852-853). When society overlooks qualities and characteristics of high value for looks, discrimination conquers.

    Read More

  • Body Image Standards

    1255 Words  | 3 Pages

    “Looks don’t matter; beauty is only skin-deep” (Godfrey, 2013). We hear these sayings all the time, yet we live in a society that seems to constantly contradict this idea (Godfrey, 2013). If looks don’t matter, why is every woman in magazines photoshopped? If looks don’t matter, why are women constantly harming their bodies because they are unhappy with how they look and just want to fit in (Godfrey, 2013)? The unrealistic standard of beauty that women are bombarded with everyday gives them a goal that is impossible (Godfrey, 2013). Sociocultural standard of feminine beauty is presented in almost all forms of popular media, forcing women with images that portray what is considered to be the ideal body (Serdar). A majority of the models

    Read More

  • The Unfortunate Prevalence of Cosmetic Surgery

    1968 Words  | 4 Pages

    As the practice is becoming increasingly popular, mainstream acceptance has given birth to a society that values appearance over ability and ultimately leading on to discrimination in practically every field. There is an overwhelming amount of evidence that indicates that appearance has become a vital contributor of success at the workplace and even in educational institutions for that matter. A study by researchers from Rice University and the University of Houston indicated that candidates with facial scars and blemishes faced lower odds of being remembered by their interviewers which lowered their ratings and evaluations (as cited in ...

    Read More

  • Cosmetic Surgery and the Mask of Aging in Western Societies

    712 Words  | 2 Pages

    In a world in which people are so often judged by how they look, the

    Read More

More about Beauty is Harwired

Open Document