Recommended: Appearance and discrimination
After reading “Why Looks Are the Last Bastion of Discrimination” by Deborah L. Rhode and “The Makeup Tax” by Olga Khazan, both readings focus on the concerns of appearance discrimination. Appearance discrimination can be validated, yet it cannot. For instance, it is valid to appearance discriminate an individual when an employer is interviewing him or her because it is the first quality employers examine. An employer is often likely to not hire an individual if he or she comes into the interview wearing informal attire, in contrast to an individual showing up to the interview with formal clothing. Nonetheless, it is not okay to validate appearance discrimination when it comes to an individual’s weight.
In Gary Soto’s short story “The Talk” he reveals how society values appearance way too much. The main characters discuss about how their appearance affects their self-esteem, mindset, and their future jobs. The characters start out discussing their appearance and call themselves ugly, “We were twelve, with lean bodies that were beginning to grow in weird ways. First, our heads got large, but our necks wavered, frail as crisp tulips” (par.2). The boys talk about their appearance as if they were really awkward when in reality they probably don’t look like the way their describing themselves.
Fighting Beauty Stereotypes in Los Angeles American Girls, a 2016 novel by Allison Umminger, tells the classic coming of age story of fifteen year old Anna, but with an interesting and different twist. Anna lives with her mom Cora, who is a lesbian and is married to Lynette, and her baby brother Birch. Her dad has a new wife and is not involved in her life. She also has a best friend named Doon who influences her in negative ways. Anna steals her stepmother Lynettes credit card to hop onto a plane to escape punishment from her other mom for bullying one of the prettiest girls in school, Paige Parker.
Response to Context Staples has a good point with how wrong the discrimination is and how it is never right to judge someone based on their looks. Although, there are certain cases when a person has to choose a defense mechanism such as fight or flight. The woman that he first experienced the discrimination with was very outmatched compared to the larger
Research shows that those who are attractive typically receive preferential treatment across their life span.” (Center for Human Appearance at Penn: The Psychology of Appearance). Being insensitive to the suffering of these individuals is a very important issue since the lack of interpersonal connections cause the victims to then accumulate more stress on their appearance that has led to many physical inducing symptoms. Eating disorders being the most common, its strain effect both physically and
In the essay What Meets the Eye, Daniel Akst argues that look or beauty does matter in the daily life, that is, people’s life can be largely influenced or even controlled by look. Through reading Akst’s essay, I completely understand how people have different perspectives of others, as many people pay attention to and worry about how they look in the daily life. And people tend to judge others by their beauty or looks to a large extent. Akst’s ideas quite conform to and reinforce Paglia’s points that pursuing and maximizing one’s attractiveness and beauty is a justifiable aim in any society, and that good surgery discovers reveals personality. Both of them hold the idea that beauty plays an important role in people’s life and it is significant to enhance one’s beauty and attractiveness.
Being slim along with nice hair and a car is now almost a perceived requirement to get a job in today’s society. Years ago people could get a job from hard work and dedication, now it seems as if people do not reach a high visual standard their work will go unnoticed or almost lucky to get a job. Eating disorders are at an all-time high right now while females’ health is on a down fall. Places such as Hollywood have ignored the connection between image and illness. (Goodman)
A girl can be seen as beautiful and attractive, but continued to be shunned - all because they don’t wear the latest trends in fashion (but what if they like wearing solid colors or nerdy shirts from Walmart?). They may have a great personality that would attract many suitors in the nineteenth century, but if it is not up to the status of some people, they’re deemed unworthy. It is honestly one of the saddest things I have witnessed and experienced. Through The Body Project, Brumberg explains how American girls have shifted from judging a girl through her personality and internal character to judging through her appearance.
In Ayn Rand’s novella, Anthem, mankind is a philanthropic machine. To achieve a common goal, the brotherhood disregards their own personal ends and nobly collaborates. For every decision comes from collective thought and every advancement, from joint action. However, one man in this machine malfunctions: Equality-72521. With an inquisitive nature, an innovative mind, and latent desire, Equality possesses the traits of a visionary.
As promoted by the traditional commercials, men look for women with raven-like hair, emerald eyes, and a slender figure (Browne 39). The Victorian traditions encouraged women to maintain slim bodies and maintain long hair. Such a tradition prevails today as most of the men view slender women as attractive; hence, their preference for dating slender women to voluptuous ones (Sharp & Keyton 17-19). Conversely, the author claims that women want handsome, chisel-chinned CEOs looking forward to marry and have children after long romantic dating (Browne 39). Such an ideology conforms to the traditional postulations of physical traits of masculinity and the capacity of a man as the provider (Gaines 80-81).
Atwood criticizes the societal expectation of beauty that makes everyone vulnerable to pressure and
Beauty can be defined in different ways: Beauty describes how anything in perspective like a face, an object, an action is adorable or pleasant. Beauty also refers to the person’s character, personality, or intellect. This topic of beauty affects all because in today’s culture, society judges appearances independently and seems to completely ignore what is portrayed inside of the person. In the essay, “A Woman’s Beauty: Put Down or Power Source?” Susan Sontag explains that for women, beauty is an occupation that they have to keep to maintain their financial situation.
Even though the problem of women having to fit into this category is not that big of a problem in this century. However, there is a problem of women having to look like certain way to fit into this idea of what women should look like. There is this idea that a women has to look a certain way in order to be beautiful. I have become very vocal on this matter because I truly believe that every women is beautiful. I relate to Tessie Hutchinson from the story “The Lottery” by Shirley Jackson.
In his documentary film “why beauty matters” English philosopher Roger Scruton introduces the idea of beauty is disappearing from our world. The philosopher implies, that Art has become ugly, as well as our physical surroundings, manners, language, and music. Nowadays, the main aim of art is to disturb and break moral taboos. It has now lost its initial duty and is used to show solely the ugliness of our world, instead of taking what is most painful in the human condition and redeeming it in the work of beauty. What according to Scruton is the main purpose of art.
The majority of modern society’s advertising conveys an oppressive message to American women. In advertisement campaigns, women are typically only considered and marketed as beautiful if they fit a very specific mold that society has created. Women who don’t fit this mold of being feminine, thin, and pretty are shamed and encouraged to change. However, it isn’t just the “ugly” women who are shamed in the media. There is a consistent message that runs throughout advertisements that suggests that women are lesser than men, and that they exist solely for the benefit of men.
