The phenomenon of lookism and its sociological analysis

Bibliographic Data

ID12819220
AuthorsEkaterina Orekh (0000-0001-9120-1198, St Petersburg University, corresponding author)
Year2016
Volume22
Issue3
Pages67-81
Publication date2016-01-01
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenueSociological Journal (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 1562-2495 • E-ISSN: 1684-1581
PublisherFederal Center of Theoretical and Applied Sociology of the Russian Academy of Sciences (FCTAS RAS) (PUBLISHER)
DOI10.19181/socjour.2016.22.3.4585
OpenAlexW2558206126
LanguageEN
Citations received2
References cited7

This article considers the social phenomenon of lookism — a form of discrimination based on appearance — as well as the perspectives for its sociological analysis. The author analyzes the reasons which lead to an interest in the lookism phenomenon in Western sociology since the 1980's, as compared to a lack of attention to this problem in Russian sociology. Lookism can be defined as discriminatory behavior, which is preceded by the evaluation of a person's appearance based on beliefs, stereotypes and prejudices prevalent within a social community. The author argues that creating a hierarchy of appearance is based on resources acquired by people depending on how attractive their appearance is found by others. This in turn is based upon various stereotypes concerning how a person's appearance is connected to their inner qualities. The article problematizes the heuristic potential of sociological theories in the study of lookism, while discussing certain difficulties of methodological nature. The author evaluates the current crop of scientific publications, which mostly consists of foreign works devoted to studying the impact of images of “perfect” appearance on one's self-esteem, as well as to ways of reducing discrimination based on appearance. Moreover, the distinctive features of lookism reproduction via visual media such as cinema and animation are analyzed. In the end, the author identifies the gaps and outlines the future prospects for studying lookism

Epistemology · Phenomenon · Sociology · Fashion and Cultural Textiles · Gender Roles and Identity Studies · Media, Gender, and Advertising · Philosophy

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