Steve Harvey's recent mistake* as emcee crowning the wrong Miss Universe caused some of us to reflect on the silliness of choosing winners among a bunch of perfect-10 females. Well, now there's the possibility that robots may soon do the choosing. Is that a good thing? Perhaps, because there won't be any judges or emcees to kick around . . . tho Miss Universe pageant directors want Harvey back in 2016. Perhaps, too, it'd be a good thing because the robots presumably will choose the same … [Read more...]
Is it lookism to ask Santa for 2 front teeth?
A popular song, dating back to the '40s, starts with, "All I Want for Christmas Is My Two Front Teeth." Most of us finally got our two front (permanent) teeth as second or third graders (age 7-8 y.o.). Some new research suggests that missing or bad teeth can age a person in many ways. But, don't worry, there's hope, as the article below states. If you feel good about your teeth, you smile more. And that makes you more youthful appearing according to some studies. All this … [Read more...]
Holiday books about faces. Not all guilty of lookism.
Since coffee table books reign as popular gifts at holiday time, I thought I'd suggest a few that fit into the "faces" theme of this website. I've listed the most-recently published books first. Lookism rules in some cases (Lindbergh) but not in others (Arbus).Images of Women II, by Peter Lindbergh.Choosing images that span 2005 thru 2014, the German master photographer features his black and whites from the worlds of fashion, society, and film. He includes Nicole Kidman, Tilda Swinton, and … [Read more...]
Cleft lip kids at high risk for being abused.
As if the childhoods of many cleft lip and palate kids aren't hard enough, researchers have now found that they're at high risk for child abuse. This is an interesting line of research which I've not been aware of before, tho admittedly I haven't kept up with the literature or lectured about it for some time.Over recent decades considerable research and media attention have been focused on the broad concept of child abuse. It's broad since it ranges from parental kidnapping, physical violence, … [Read more...]
A presidential candidate’s way to end lookism.
While my dog Monte Blue–the Anti-bully Warrior—shared a link to this story on a couple of social media outlets, I think it's funny (or sick) enough to share here.Lookism?Admittedly, the "lookism" referred to here is different from the lookism I blog about, the problems the would-be presidential candidate addresses interconnect with bullying and discrimination which I do write about. Here is the story which came in the form of a letter to TribLive– part of a Pittsburg, Pennsylvania Tribune … [Read more...]
Insulting comedy film features five cleft lip brothers.
In my blogs I try to flag those cultural outputs like jokes, quotes, movies, and the like that cross the line with regard to oral facial disorders. Judge for yourself. Read this promo blurb for the dark comedy coming your way called "Men & Chickens." "Sexy “Hannibal” star Mads Mikkelsen (“The Hunt,” “A Royal Affair”) plays radically against type in “Men & Chicken.” The Danish film is a riotous and zany satire that every Mikkelsen fan needs to see. Wearing a prosthetic nose and a cleft … [Read more...]
Two stars battle bullying & cyberbullying.
Singer Josh Groban.In this report, Groban recalls being bullied for his early interest in musical theatre:"Josh Groban was barely 10 when his parents ignited his love of musical theatre, needing only a VHS copy of "Sunday in the Park with George" and a ticket to "Cats."If only the kids at school had been so supportive."Something happens in that summer between sixth and seventh grades where kids all of a sudden grow way the hell up or not at all," Groban reminisced during a recent interview in … [Read more...]