Lookism and the Cost It Has to Women
The forgotten inequality: how women are affected by appearance discrimination.
Over the years, amazing steps have been taken to tackle the issue of gender inequality in the workplace. This comes in the form of maternity/paternity rights, the #MeToo movement has shined a light on sexual assault in the workplace, and the gender pay gap is (slowly) being closed.
Alongside this, there has also been a drive to see more women in executive positions. Yet despite all these efforts, a woman’s appearance still greatly affects her — to a much higher degree than her male counterparts.
What is lookism?
In short terms, this is the discrimination and prejudice that people cast on somebody, on the grounds of their appearance. Is not a form of discrimination that many people know even exists. It subsists predominately in the workplace, but can also live in dating scenarios and various other social settings.
For instance, those considered “unattractive” are discriminated against in hiring practices and can experience shame. This bias on appearance, in turn, reinforces toxic beauty stereotypes that a perpetuated by the mainstream media and social media.
From a young age, girls are told to wear their hair a certain way, pout their lips, and bat their eyelashes. As they become teens, they are encouraged to wear makeup, dress a certain way, and grow long hair. It’s easy to see that, even from a young age, women are told that the visual aspects of their appearance will play an important role in their life — something which isn’t as reinforced to men.
What is the ideal beauty?
Beauty is subjective. That’s likely the most bizarre conclusion from life. Attractiveness and “types” are truly in the eye of the beholder. So, how can one person be discriminated against, from the way they look?
Scholars have looked into this phenomenon, finding that beauty is closely linked to cultural stereotypes and are engraved in us throughout society. Hence why the “ideal” beauty changes from century to century — take a look at beauty trends from the 1800s, to get an idea of this.
With this, many women go to extremes to look a certain way — this can come in the form of fad diets and extreme plastic surgery.
This isn’t irrational or the fault of the individual. Studies have shown that, especially in Western culture, beauty is seen as an achievement — it’s almost synonymous with happiness and success.
Hiding “imperfections”
Statistical evidence does suggest that some women do get better jobs and better pay, based on their appearance. This coined the term “pretty privilege”.
Pretty Privilege ultimately means that women who are considered attractive, have a certain privilege in life. Of course, pretty privilege is linked to the patriarchy and eurocentric beauty ideals — but it still exists. Influencers such as Florence Given have spoken openly about their own pretty privilege.
The double-ended sword to pretty privilege is that many women (who are considered attractive) are often accused of only reaching their level of success, because of the way they look. It’s a classic misogynistic archetype. Women are told to look a certain way to be successful, but once they conform to these beauty epitomai they are accused of only getting there because of their appearance.
In turn, this has created a culture that tells women to hide blemishes and wrinkles. To wear certain clothes and shoes. To wear their hair a certain way.
In fact, 28% of women admitted that they had been outwardly told to change their appearance to “do better in business”.
While this attitude towards women has existed for a long period of time, lookism hit the headlines only in 2016. This was after PwC sent home one of their receptionists without any pay because she refused to wear heels. This unfair expectation was, obviously, only projected onto the women.
The Government Equalities Office issued guidelines which suggested that gender-specific policies related to dress codes such as high heels, manicured nails, or make-up are likely unlawful. However, that does not solve the unspoken expectation in society for women to look and dress a certain way, to be successful.
Ageism and lookism
It’s also obvious that women are given a lot more scrutiny than men for ageing. While men are allowed to embrace their greying hair and wrinkles, women are told this is something to be ashamed of.
Perhaps, unsurprisingly, this works both ways. There have been a steady number of claims made where a woman has been rejected from a role, as their youthful appearance would mean they weren’t taken seriously. Conversely, many women (especially TV presenters and film stars) are shunned out of view once they naturally make their way out of their thirties.
Lookism reinforces the archaic prejudice which has plagued women for centuries — “be seen and not heard”. That the way we look is more important than our thoughts, beliefs, ideas, and hard work. That needs to change.
Does beauty translate to success?
If by success you mean improved wages/chances at job roles, yes, many studies have shown that objective standards of attraction do relate to success — especially for women.
Dress and appearance are used to convey status and aptitude in the workplace, and hiring managers have shown evident bias towards women who are considered aesthetically pleasing.
However, there is also evidence that women incur a greater cost to achieve their desired look; financially, emotionally and physically.
Unfortunately, a look-based bias is more difficult to prove than other prejudices such as sexism and racism. An examination of labour laws could protect countless people who are discriminated against professionally because they do not fit a certain beauty standard.
Make no mistake, this is different from having various appearance standards. This is an overt prejudice towards anybody, which can easily become draining both emotionally and financially. It’s societal expectations reinforced by unrealistic ideals and photoshop — you must look a certain way to be treated a certain way.
As the world progresses (although that may seem questionable right now), there is more pressure on businesses to eradicate any kind of unjust gender-bias. This should extend to lookism in the workplace.
