Comments on: Dissent: Just the Way You Are

By: Jefferson Benavides

Jefferson Benavides — Fri, 02 Jul 2010 01:18:13 +0000

I will agree that sexyism may not benefit some individuals for their whole lives, but on the same grounds, if someone found a way to change their race, sexual orientation, or sex, discriminating based on these would not all of a sudden become acceptable.

I have noticed that rich people are old and unattractive. This, I suspect, is attributable to a historically commendable lack of sexyism in America.

By: Felix York

Felix York — Mon, 28 Jun 2010 20:42:22 +0000

In South Africa, though the whites were a minority, they monopolized the political, military, and economic power of the nation. I don’t think you could say the same thing about attractive people here. In fact, despite entertainers being disproportionately visible, most of the richest and most powerful people in America are fairly old and unattractive.

In fact, aging seems to be another mitigating factor, since any benefits to be reaped through sexyism are purely transient.

By: Jefferson Benavides

Jefferson Benavides — Mon, 28 Jun 2010 09:03:46 +0000

Although racism seems more systematic in its implementation, racism, sexism, sexyism, and even homophobia are frowned upon because they impose subjective prejudices based on certain traits. The important part is not that I can identify who belongs to a group - few would have known an octoroon had a black ancestor - but that I impose my insular logic upon another's identity based on a few external traits. As far as ugly people being a vulnerable population, research done on the labor market and appearance indicates that there are real financial and professional disadvantages for those who others consider 'ugly.' In this sense, sexyism mirrors the backwards hierarchy of racism where a minority successfully discriminate against a majority of the population (e.g. colonial South Carolina, South Africa under apartheid).

By: Felix York

Felix York — Fri, 25 Jun 2010 14:19:43 +0000

The fact that there’s no universal conception of “beauty” seems to render sexyism less objectionable, not moreso. With racism, African Americans are mostly easily identified, allowing the politically and economically dominant white majority to systematically undermine their success. But if beauty is subjective, then presumably everyone’s on a relatively equal playing field as a whole, albeit not while competing for individual positions.

This brings up a separate issue: sexism, racism, and homophobia are especially pernicious because they all involve discrimination against vulnerable groups that constitute a minority of the workforce. By my last count, ugly people far outnumber attractive people, so the same systemic problems seem less likely.