Am I sensing a turnaround? Is the race beginning to go to the Plain Janes and Sorry Sams rather than the Perfect 10s? It would seem so judging from yet another media story about a 10, Alicia Silverstone, losing a role back in the 1990s because she was ‘too pretty’ for ‘My So-Called Life.’ According to The New Yorker, co-creators of the highly regarded TV series---that dared to deal with child abuse, homophobia, teenage alcoholism, homelessness, school violence, and drug use---argued over … [Read more...]
More Reverse Looksism. Fired for being ‘Too Hot.’
I’d be remiss if I didn’t mention other situations where “Reverse Looksism” has reared its ugly head, pardon my pun. Besides the stories of Melissa Nelson and Katherine Jenkins which I related in prior blog posts, these have surfaced of late: According to the Irreverent Lawyer blog, bosses told Lauren Odes, 29, she was “too hot” and her figure too sexy for her job in New York City. Managers at Native Intimates---which is owned by Orthodox Jews---also told her to wear baggy clothes. They soon … [Read more...]
Sacked for Being too Attractive? Iowa and Islamicists Might’ve Changed History.
Michael Kimmel wrote a July 16, 2013 NYTimes piece regarding lookism where he pointed out that Melissa Nelson's recent legal case rests not on her beauty but on her employer's perception of her beauty. Her dentist boss felt she would injure him by tempting him into cheating on his wife if she remained in his employ. (Writer Timothy Beneke notes the "danger" beautiful women represent is reinforced in the terms people use to describe them—bombshell, knockout, stunning, femme fatale.) Kimmel … [Read more...]