ARTelevision

Appearance vs. Reality
That is the question.
Well... the question is, "What is "Lookism?""

"We dunno what you're like, but we do know we don't like what we see!"
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Alleged Victims of ‘Lookism’ in Workplace Face Uphill Battle
ABC NEWS

May 13— Joseph Connor's job as a cook at a McDonald's in Hamden, Conn., never materialized, and he thinks he knows why — lookism.

Connor got the offer after attending a job fair in September of 2000. But when he and other newly hired workers reported to the restaurant to prepare for work, they were asked their clothing sizes for uniforms.

The 37-year-old New Haven resident, who weighs around 420 pounds, provided his, including a size 54 waist, says his lawyer, Gary Phelan of Klebanoff & Phelan in West Hartford, Conn.

After not hearing back, Connor called about the status of his job, only to be told his uniform pants weren't ready yet, recounts Phelan. For months, he got the same response. Finally, Connor went to the restaurant in person to talk to the manager, but was told a new manager was in charge and wasn't available to speak to him.

But at the restaurant that day, Connor noticed many of the other workers he had been hired with were already working behind the counter. And, Phelan adds, none were wearing uniform pants provided by the company.

Connor’s Not Alone in Suing Over Looks

It was not long after that Connor decided to sue McDonald's for discrimination in violation of the Americans with Disabilities Act and the Connecticut Fair Employment Practices Act.

Last month, a federal judge refused to dismiss his almost two-year-old suit against the company. McDonald's did not return calls for comment.

But Connor's suit is just one of a series of recent cases where workers took legal action against their employer or prospective employer for allegedly discriminating against them or others based on their appearance.

While some of the cases seem like clear-cut discrimination, experts warn that in reality those who claim to have suffered discrimination because of their appearance have very little protection under the law.

"Appearance discrimination, as such, is not something that the law generally protects against," explains Sam Marcosson, associate professor of law at the University of Louisville in Kentucky. "That's where the problem comes in for a lot of people."

Few Laws Bar ‘Lookism’

Because no federal laws protect against discrimination based on appearance — and only a few U.S. communities, like Santa Cruz, Calif., have such laws — plaintiffs often must prove the discrimination is based on other factors.

The basis of the discrimination could be alleged, for instance, to be a disability or the perception of a disability. Or the basis could be that the person is being discriminated against by being held to an appearance standard members of the opposite sex or another group aren't expected to meet. Also illegal is discrimination based on age.

"Even if an employer has a right to set certain appearance and grooming standards, it can only do so as long as it does not discriminate against a particular sex, race or religion," says Eric Matusewitch, deputy director of the New York City Equal Employment Practices Commission in Manhattan.

Connor's suit against McDonald's, for example, claims the company violated laws by regarding him as morbidly obese and not hiring him because of that perception. He also claims his weight is a disability under Connecticut state law and McDonald's is violating that by refusing to hire him.

McDonald’s in Another Appearance ‘Disability’ Case

Another recent case also involves McDonald's. Samantha Robichaud, a former McDonald's employee, filed suit against the company, claiming it discriminated against her when it denied her a management position because of a cosmetic disfigurement known as Sturge Weber Syndrome, a condition that has left her with a purple-colored "port-wine stain" on a significant portion of her face.

The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission recently filed a federal lawsuit in Birmingham, Ala., accusing the McDonald's franchisee in question of violating the Americans With Disabilities Act, or ADA, because the company's perception of Robichaud having a disability prevented her from getting promoted.

Neither Robichaud nor her lawyer would comment for this article, but the EEOC said the case was the first lawsuit filed in Alabama involving facial disfigurement.

"We believe it is important to educate employers that the ADA requires a focus on what people can do, not how they are perceived," said Cynthia G. Pierre, District Director of the EEOC's Birmingham District Office in a statement.

Standards of Beauty

Another case out of San Francisco involves a woman named Elysa Yanowitz, a former sales manager at L'Oreal, who says a supervisor told her to fire one of her saleswomen for not being good looking enough in late 1997.

Yanowitz refused to fire the woman, and became a victim of what her husband and lawyer Herbert Yanowitz says was a campaign to try to get her to leave the company that included soliciting negative comments about her from her employees, denying her requests for additional workers and giving her a rigorous travel schedule.

"They were trying to undermine her authority and effectiveness with her staff," he says.

In July of 1998, she went on disability leave, no longer able to handle the stress she was under at the job. Yanowitz decided not to go back to L'Oreal and filed suit against them in 1999 for under California's Fair Employment and Housing Act, seeking compensatory damages for emotional distress and loss of earnings, as well as punitive damages.

While her suit was originally dismissed on a summary judgment, a California appeals court recently ruled she can file a claim on the grounds of sexual discrimination for an order to fire a female employee on standards of attractiveness male employees were not expected to meet.

"My wife had hired a number of men over the years and she was never told that she had to consider physical appearance for them," says Herbert Yanowitz.

L'Oreal's lawyers have asked the California Supreme Court to review the case. In a statement, the company says it does not tolerate any form of discrimination in the workplace and would not comment further on the specific details of the case, but noted that many of her claims to date have been dismissed by the court.

Good Looks, Better Pay?

While some legal advocates say more needs to be done to prevent discrimination based on appearance, others say such a law would violate a company's right to have appearance standards for its employees, something that is legal as long as it's applied evenly to workers.

Further, some jobs, such as modeling or acting, may require a person to have a specific kind of appearance, and these employers have the right to ask for a certain "type" for a particular assignment.

"They're allowed to go and hire thin models if they want to, and that's not discrimination," says David Blanchflower, an economics professor at Dartmouth College. "It's unclear that the government needs to get into these kinds of things."

Yet research shows attractiveness, or what society deems attractive, can affect what workers earn.

One long-term study co-authored by Blanchflower of more than 12,500 British 16-year-olds found obese girls and short boys earned less than their thinner and taller counterparts by the time they reached the age of 23.

Another study in 1994 found people with below-average looks got anywhere from one to 15 percent less pay than their counterparts. People with above-average looks earned a pay premium of ranging from one percent to 13 percent.

Daniel Hamermesh, professor of Economics at the University of Texas at Austin, who co-authored the latter study, predicts bias based on looks will only increase as the service sector continues its dominance of the U.S. economy and face-to-face contact becomes more important.

"We insist on being treated by somebody that we enjoy looking at," says Hamermesh. "The solution is getting us all to realize that this isn't so important."

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I was thinking my standard " the media brainwashes us to accept only certain stereotypes" type of thought and then it struck me...

Like a BOLT of utter CLUE !

Like a JOLT from the BLUE!

What if we ARE what we look like?
!

__________________
create evolution

Cynthetiq

This harkens the same thing with the professional golfer who was allowed to use a cart on the tour.

soon we'll see wheelchair bound people playing NBA/NHL/NFL/MLB because they are discriminating. There's just something askew about the whole thing.

__________________
I don't care if you are black, white, purple, green, Chinese, Japanese, Korean, hippie, cop, bum, admin, user, English, Irish, French, Catholic, Protestant, Jewish, Buddhist, Muslim, indian, cowboy, tall, short, fat, skinny, emo, punk, mod, rocker, straight, gay, lesbian, jock, nerd, geek, Democrat, Republican, Libertarian, Independent, driver, pedestrian, or bicyclist, either you're an asshole or you're not.

GakFace

Hmmm We LOOOK Human.. shouldn't that be enough?


The funny thing is, Most jobs make you sign a waiver saying they can fire you at anytime for any reason. So technically you could sue, win, get hired, then get fired.

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RoboBlaster:
Welcome to the club! Not that I'm in the club. And there really isn'a a club in the first place. But if there was a club and if I was in it, I would definitely welcome you to it.

Angel

It troubles me to know that people are hired/fired on a regular basis due to their looks.
I want the best crew I can get working for me. It is my opinion that if you can come in here and do the job as required, you are welcome to the team.
I've worked with some very un-attractive people who have put some of the most beautiful people to shame with their abilities to perform the same job better.

Just my two pennies...

__________________


In the depth of winter, I finally learned that there was within me an invincible summer.
~Albert Camus

Cynthetiq

the face of the company may only be ONE person that you contact, either physically or over the telephone. Sometimes looks and social skills can mean the difference between a customer and a no sale.

__________________
I don't care if you are black, white, purple, green, Chinese, Japanese, Korean, hippie, cop, bum, admin, user, English, Irish, French, Catholic, Protestant, Jewish, Buddhist, Muslim, indian, cowboy, tall, short, fat, skinny, emo, punk, mod, rocker, straight, gay, lesbian, jock, nerd, geek, Democrat, Republican, Libertarian, Independent, driver, pedestrian, or bicyclist, either you're an asshole or you're not.

guthmund

That is certainly true.

We all like to put our best foot foward in forging relationships and businesses are no different. Of course, this is why the good looking gals and lads get the front office jobs and so forth.

However, if the big man can do the job and do it well I see no reason why he shouldn't be allowed to work there. I'm a big white guy myself, I speak from personal experience, if you don't fit the norm, you have to work twice has hard as everyone else to prove your the man for the job.

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No signature. None. Seriously.

WhoaitsZ

for once i can kind of see the Hugely Insane Fat One's point. they should have at least called him and be honest with their inability to provide his work clothes.

and if it's "lookism", isn't he a cook? he's looking at raw meat and potatoes. wtf? he's not opening doors, greeting people, he's a cook. a guy who hides in the back.


now, if you want a job as the guy who lets people in and you look bad..... no way. no job for you unless you look presentable.

however, if someone gets turned down for something they cannot help is wrong. we can change our apperance and should for the workplace. otherwise, i think it to be incredably lame to not hire someone due to looks or what not.

SaltPork

When I worked for Wendy's as a teenager we had a guy that took size 54 pants. No big deal, it did take longer to get the pants, but in the meantime the managers were amenable to him wearing his own with the understanding that he would not be reimbursed for any that got destroyed.

Now that I'm in the professional world, I have found that if you are good looking and in good physical shape, you already have a leg up. I experienced this on several occasions. It's unsettling to say the least. Fortunately I'm on the good side of this, unfortunately I've seen people be passed over for things because of their appearance. It happens, I am not guilty of doing this and I hope I am able to remain objective enough to never fall prey to doing that to someone.

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It was like that when I got here....I swear.

Loki

erm...theres a size 54 pants? i think i can fit at least two of me in them

anyways, sex, or sex appeal, sells. If i had a face-to-face company, id be sure to hire only the best looking and groomed people for floor staff. Back office will be filled with whoever does the job best though =)

Slims

calling yourself 'disabled' because you are morbidly obese is like calling yourself blind because you won't open your eyes.

If someone has a legitimate disability, they shouldn't be discriminated against. However, that doesn't mean you have to hire them if they can't do the job (like a quadraplegic lifeguard).

I don't think people want to associate their lunch with a 400+ pound person serving it. It just seems to say 'this food will make you look like me.' I wouldn't hire him for a job in fast food either. Although, I would have no objections for a desk job.

__________________
"Socialism is a philosophy of failure, the creed of ignorance, and the gospel of envy, its inherent virtue is the equal sharing of misery." - Winston Churchill

"All men dream: but not equally. Those who dream by night in the dusty recesses of their minds wake in the day to find that it was vanity: but the dreamers of the day are dangerous men, for they may act out their dream with open eyes, to make it possible." Seven Pillars of Wisdom, T.E. Lawrence

nefarious

i think it's wrong to discriminate based on appearences but a company has a right to hire and fire whomever they want. . right?

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Si vis pacem, para bellum.
- Vegetius "Do Re Mil.3, Prol.

billege

I have not yet read any of the above replies, and my response will be restrained to ART's question:
"What if we ARE what we look like?!"


My initial response is: What you think? Maybe? Duh!

I have the feeling we ARE a helluva lot like we look like. That's something I don't think many people like to think. I'm going to be brutally honest here, you can revile me all you like, but I've seen a little of what life has to offer, and this is my impression.

Fat people are lazy. OH SHIT!! I said it out loud. All of the fat people will flame the crap out of me know!! OH GOD HE SAID SOMETHING MEAN, AND BIASED, AND MADE A BLANKET GENERALIZATION.

Ahem.

I have had the pleasure of working with some big fat people. The biggest, is one of my good friends. He has a big heart, a decent mind, and the thing holding him back at most things he does, is his lazy attitude.
For him, 60% is good enough, and that's a bummer, but it's true.

I've supervised quite a few different types of people. The ones that come to me looking squared away, tend to be. The ones that don't make eye contact, slouch, are unkempt, tend to be lazy.

Before you burn me in the fires of righteous indignation, please heed the word "tend." I used it on purpose, it was not an accident.
I do preconceive, based on what I see, how I think a person will behave. That's not a sin, so get off the high horse. I do give everyone a chance to prove or disprove me. That's what makes me a smart guy, and not an asshole.
(You think you're not nicer to attractive people? Yeah, you're delusional if you think you aren't.)
I love to be proved wrong when I think someone is going to be a lazy ass. Problem is, I'm usually not.

I've made some very accurate calls about behavior based on looks.

With all the touting of looks as "an expression of one's self" you HAVE to accept it cuts both ways.

I've said what I'm going to say. I expect several knee jerk, nit picking responses.

My buddy has a gland problem, ad infinitum, ad nausium.

Try to remember what you know about me before you crucify me for discriminating against the disabled, that isn’t what I said.

It's just likely that the fat man is fat because he's lazy. Have you ever met a driven, highly productive, accomplished, morbidly obese person. I'm sure they exist, but that's the exception.

It's a scary thought, but we often are just what we look like. That's why we spend so much on trying to look the way we want people to think we are. It's admitting that the road runs two ways we don't want to think about.

Why in the world do you think advertisers spend $$$millions$$$ on making sure a brand of clothing has certain associations? It's so you, me, everybody, will buy that brand and hope they are radiating those associations? This is obvious stuff.

Teenage girls are a PERFECT example of this. "Lookie, I buy A&F so I'm hip, sexy, rich, etc. etc. etc." I don't see the dollar store labels jumping off the shelf, do you? Are the trendy kids at high schools across the country buying the cheapest stuff they can? I don't think so. They are buying the clothes that make them look the way they want people to think they are.

This cuts both ways. You present yourself as shit, within the accepted rules society hands out, and you might just be shit.
Society has some agreement as to what is good, and what is bad, one picks and chooses. Even if it's not deliberate. Even the "alternative" people accept that. Cookie cutter Goths across the country are a good example. They all want to embrace nonconformity a certain way, so they watch some Manson videos, and there you go. Now they are seen the way they want to be. They chose to give a certain look, and are likely just like all the other Goths, given a few "types" in each subgroup.

Trailer trash tends to look like trailer trash, stuck up people tend to look like stuck up people, there are no surprises here.


Now I'm wondering what I say about me...

__________________
I can sum up the clash of religion in one sentence:
"My Invisible Friend is better than your Invisible Friend."

4thTimeLucky

nefarious: how can it be both wrong to discriminate on looks and okay to discriminate on looks?

I feel really torn on this one.
On the one hand I hate discrimination.
On the other, it is considered acceptable in various professions to discriminate on the grounds of intelligence, academic qualifications, fitness (athletes), looks (models), skills and so on.

Where is the line between discrimination and choosing the 'most suitable' applicants?
Is it that discrimination occurs when the diferentiating feature has no negative impact on the profitability of the company? But what are you comparing it to? Hiring no employee? Hiring a different candidate? Hiring an 'average' or theoretical candidate?

This is no easy matter.

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I've been 4thTimeLucky, you've been great. Goodnight and God bless!

TaLoN

descrimination may be harsh, but a boss should have the right to hire who he/she wants to no matter what the circumstances are. descrimination may not be fair but life isn't fair. life should not become fair either (it would be boring). if you can't swim then you drown, that is how natural selection works. cry me a river.

susartele

It seems to me that the very obese size 54 man may not have been hired because the management may have felt that he would have a difficult time being on his feet all day.
However, I do believe we are very discriminatory based on looks. I try to catch myself when I am finding myself repulsed by someone's looks and go through the routine of asking myself why I am so. Ususally my response is just lame.
I don't think heavy, obese people are lazy. I think they are damned tired from hauling all of that fat around. This being said I have a daughter who is very overweight, and although I don't understand why she is, I do know that she is an over achiever at her job. So I think that sometimes your physical appearance causes you to work/try harder.

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