What's wrong with lookism? : personal appearance, discrimination, and disadvantage / Andrew Mason.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Mason, Andrew, 1959- author.

Series:

New topics in applied philosophy.

Oxford scholarship online.

New topics in applied philosophy

Oxford scholarship online

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Appearance (Philosophy).

Physical-appearance-based bias--Philosophy.

Physical-appearance-based bias.

Physical Description:

1 online resource (193 pages)

Place of Publication:

Oxford : Oxford University Press, 2023.

Summary:

What is wrong with discriminating on the basis of personal appearance? Andrew Mason considers this question in three contents: employment decisions; the choice of friends or romantic partners; and the everyday practice of judging and commenting upon people's looks. People are treated differently as a result of their appearance. Those regarded as overweight are regularly disadvantaged by their body shape or size when they apply for jobs; it is often harder for them to find romantic partners; and they are vulnerable to harassment and bullying in various settings, such as at school or on social media. The treatment they receive may be rooted in appearance norms that apply demanding aesthetic standards to body shape and size, or have its origins in prejudices that express moral criticism by associating higher weight with a lack of self-discipline. People with prominent tattoos are often treated less favourably in employment decisions and in their everyday encounters as a result of conventional attitudes that are sometimes laced with moral judgements concerning the sanctity of the natural body, or influenced by prejudices that link extensive tattoos with aggression or mental health problems. Afro-textured hairstyles are frequently regarded as unsuitable for the workplace, motivating restrictive appearance codes that disproportionately affect members of racial groups whose hair is naturally suited to being worn in these ways. Short men are commonly regarded as less attractive; they are disadvantaged not only when it comes to dating but also in terms of their career prospects.

Contents:

Intro

Series page

Title page

Copyright page

Contents

Acknowledgements

1. Introduction

1.1 What Is Appearance Discrimination, How Do We Identify It, and How and Why Does It Occur?

1.2 Moral Concerns

1.3 My Normative Framework

1.4 Discrimination, Structural Injustice, and Individual Wrong-Doing

1.5 Outline of the Argument

I. What Makes Discrimination Wrong?

2. Non-contingent Wrongness

2.1 Some Preliminaries

2.2 Disrespect

2.3 Deliberative Unfairness

2.4 Concluding Remarks

3. Contingent Wrongness

3.1 Individual Wrong-Doing and Blameworthiness

3.2 Unjust Consequences

3.3 The Significance of Personal Autonomy

3.4 Pluralism and Reductionism

3.5 Concluding Remarks

II. Contexts of Appearance Discrimination

4. Appearance, Race, and Employment

4.1 Racial Discrimination and Its Relationship to Appearance

4.2 Concerns about the Analogy between Racial and Appearance Discrimination

4.3 Prejudices or Non-rational Responses in Relation to Appearance Features over Which People Lack Control

4.4 Aesthetic Judgements Concerning Appearance Features over Which People Lack Control

4.5 Choice and the Limits of the Analogy between Race and Appearance

4.6 Concluding Remarks

5. Appearance as a Reaction Qualification

5.1 Core Cases and Key Cases

5.2 The Symmetric Theory

5.3 A Theory of Illegitimate Reaction Qualifications and Its Application to the Core Cases

5.4 Application of the Theory to the Core Cases

5.5 Application of the Theory to the Key Cases Involving Appearance

5.6 Lippert-Rasmussen's Account of Illegitimate Reaction Qualifications

5.7 Counting Illegitimate Reaction Qualifications

5.8 Concluding Remarks

6. Appearance and Personal Relationships

6.1 Disrespectful or Harmful Racial Discrimination in Personal Relationships.

6.2 Disrespectful Appearance Discrimination in Personal Relationships

6.3 Harmful Appearance Discrimination in Personal Relationships

6.4 A Worry about the Argument

6.5 Appearance as a 'Reaction Qualification' in the Personal Sphere

6.6 Concluding Remarks

7. Everyday Lookism

7.1 The Oppressiveness of Everyday Lookism

7.2 Harm, Avoidability, and Injustice

7.3 Concluding Remarks

III. Responding to Appearance Discrimination

8. Prevention

8.1 Prevention versus Compensating for Disadvantages Experienced

8.2 How Should Appearance Discrimination in Employment Be Prevented?

8.3 Objections to Legislating against Appearance Discrimination in Employment

8.4 Legislating against Appearance Discrimination in Other Contexts

8.5 Concluding Remarks

9. Compensation and Beyond

9.1 A Hypothetical Insurance Approach

9.2 Kinds of Compensation

9.3 Beyond Compensation and Prevention

9.4 Concluding Remarks

Bibliography

Index.

Notes:

Also issued in print: 2023.

Includes bibliographical references and index.

Description based on online resource; title from home page (viewed on July 21, 2023).

Other Format:

Print version: Mason, Andrew What's Wrong with Lookism?

ISBN:

0-19-195309-1

0-19-267594-X

0-19-267595-8