Lookism: An Examination of Inequality in Appearance within Diversity Practices

During the formation of the United States, much of unification has centered on power and the privileged. This history is often painful to speak on in the communities with people of color. Rhodes (2010) discussed cultural injustices of being unattractive in a society appearance- obsessed with potential for “looks” to influence hiring practices, such as better career options and higher pay. The purpose of this was to investigate the issue of how lookism is defined and studied in the media especially in regards to people of color. The review of literature examines the relationship between income, education, as well as Whiteness. Scholars assist in defining and investigating racial discrimination. The goal of this research is to examine academic literature to understand how racial bias has been defined and evaluated in connection to lookism. “Lookism” is a term to describe appearance discrimination or “the practice of discrimination on the basis of physical appearance in the workplace” (Ghodrati, Joorabchi, & Muati, 2015, p.1). In popular literature, it has been called “beauty prejudice” (Etcoff, 1999, p. 1). The notion that a pleasing appearance results in favorable outcomes (e.g., higher wages, promotions) from others is not necessarily new, as literature on physical attractiveness is rather extensive and The Washington Post Magazine first used the term “lookism” in 1978 (e.g., Ayto, 1999). However, the term “lookism” was first recognized as a form of discrimination by authors of the Oxford English Dictionary and American Heritage Dictionary in 2000 (Ghodrati et al.)