lookism
noun/ˈlʊkɪz(ə)m/
Etymology From look + -ism.
1
Prejudice or discrimination on the grounds of a person's physical appearance.
- "We face a world," says Nancy Etcoff, a psychologist at Massachusetts General Hospital, "where lookism is one of the most pervasive but denied prejudices."2000 August 27, William Safire, quoting Nancy Etcoff, “Lookism: Uglies of the world, unite!”, in The New York Times Magazine (On Language):
- This is what I love about R4 - lookism goes out the window. But in comes voicism. Don't even consider a career in radio if you're from Toxteth or the Gorbals.2002 April 12, Michael Calwell, “Re: Anyone listen to 'Today'?”, in uk.media.radio.bbc-r4 (Usenet):
2 more examples
- Joseph Connor's job as a cook at a McDonald's in Hamden, Conn., never materialized, and he thinks he knows why — lookism.2003 May 13, Catherine Valenti, “Victims of 'Lookism' Face Uphill Battle”, in ABC News:
- And those valiant people who fight lookism (many of them unattractive themselves) tell us that one problem is that in our society, those who get to be called beautiful and those who are called ugly are determined by standards arbitrarily set by us.2004, George Carlin, When Will Jesus Bring the Pork Chops?, New York: Hyperion Books, →ISBN, →OCLC, →OL, page 71:
- Derived terms
- lookist