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Describing the three scenarios in parallel is a rhetorical technique to raise the question of why some are protected by law and custom, and some are not, in rou

Describing the three scenarios in parallel is a rhetorical technique to raise the question of why some are protected by law and custom, and some are not, in roughly similar outcomes. The article links to several studies purporting to show this effect in professions that ostensibly have nothing to do with attractiveness. I get your point. It can be (often is?) reductive to generate a protagonist/antagonist sketch and then extend its implications beyond reason. I don't quite see that happening here.

Zababa 5y ago
> in professions that ostensibly have nothing to do with attractiveness I can't access the article, but I think attractiveness can be a factor in many jobs. People are called "ugly" because they create a negative emotion when you look at them. Having to be around people like that is objectively a bit worse than being around regular/attractive people. It's a bit like talking to someone who's always a bit abrasive vs someone who's always a bit kind. I do agree that compared to other forms of discrimination, there are no legal protections for these people and that maybe that should change.
- techbio 5y ago
  I really don't think other people's existence creates your emotional response. As an adult, you do. Discrimination against people for unalterable characteristics can affect theirs in pretty obviously damaging ways.
- rhino369 5y ago
  You could have made that same argument about minorities in 1955. And people did.
- spins 5y ago
  To access NY Times articles, just google search the name of their article. You most often will then find their entire article, reprinted in full, thru another source.
bko 5y ago
It's not clear cut in case of "ugly". The term could be defined as unpleasant to look at or be around. They could be unpleasant because of past decisions that reflect on their personal choices and attitudes. If someone is morbidly obese, they likely have an issue with over-eating. If someone is un-groomed, it likely reflects on other aspects of their personality. So "ugliness" doesn't exist in a vacuum. And these social science studies especially around something so subjective as appearance are not reliable IMO.
- techbio 5y ago
  I also tend to mistrust social sciences studies, and I'd agree that they could be any of those things. Or, the person could be an otherwise perfectly well-kempt child of alcoholics, the victim of assault, or anything else divergent from the subjective preferences of whoever calls the shots. If you are familiar with the old HotOrNot.com or today's swipe-judgement dating apps, you can imagine some pretty large, quantitative datasets about peoples opinions of attractiveness, so I see these as plausible, without having looked into them much.

Zababa 5y ago

> in professions that ostensibly have nothing to do with attractiveness I can't access the article, but I think attractiveness can be a factor in many jobs. People are called "ugly" because they create a negative emotion when you look at them. Having to be around people like that is objectively a bit worse than being around regular/attractive people. It's a bit like talking to someone who's always a bit abrasive vs someone who's always a bit kind. I do agree that compared to other forms of discrimination, there are no legal protections for these people and that maybe that should change.

techbio 5y ago
I really don't think other people's existence creates your emotional response. As an adult, you do. Discrimination against people for unalterable characteristics can affect theirs in pretty obviously damaging ways.
rhino369 5y ago
You could have made that same argument about minorities in 1955. And people did.
spins 5y ago
To access NY Times articles, just google search the name of their article. You most often will then find their entire article, reprinted in full, thru another source.

bko 5y ago

It's not clear cut in case of "ugly". The term could be defined as unpleasant to look at or be around. They could be unpleasant because of past decisions that reflect on their personal choices and attitudes. If someone is morbidly obese, they likely have an issue with over-eating. If someone is un-groomed, it likely reflects on other aspects of their personality. So "ugliness" doesn't exist in a vacuum. And these social science studies especially around something so subjective as appearance are not reliable IMO.

techbio 5y ago
I also tend to mistrust social sciences studies, and I'd agree that they could be any of those things. Or, the person could be an otherwise perfectly well-kempt child of alcoholics, the victim of assault, or anything else divergent from the subjective preferences of whoever calls the shots. If you are familiar with the old HotOrNot.com or today's swipe-judgement dating apps, you can imagine some pretty large, quantitative datasets about peoples opinions of attractiveness, so I see these as plausible, without having looked into them much.