Assess the argument that there is nothing wrong with “facial discrimination”–tha
ID: 470178 • Letter: A
Question
Assess the argument that there is nothing wrong with “facial discrimination”–that it simply reflects the fact that human beings are naturally attracted to, or repelled by, other human beings on the basis of their physical characteristics. (At least 500 word reply)
Please read the below case to answer this question:
“Facial Discrimination”
SCENE: A CONFERENCE ROOM OF A BRANCH OFFICE of Allied Products, Inc., where Tom, Frank, and Alice have been interviewing college students for summer internships.
Tom: Did you see that last candidate? Jeez, was he sorry looking.
Frank: Too ugly to work here, that’s for sure. And those thick glasses didn’t help. Still, he wasn’t as ugly as that young woman you hired last summer. What was her name . . . Allison? Boy, she was enormous! And remember that hair of hers? It wasn’t surprising we had to let her go.
Alice: Come on, Frank. Don’t be so hung up on looks. That last guy seemed to know his stuff, and he certainly was enthusiastic about working for Allied.
Frank: Hey, don’t get me wrong, Alice. I know you don’t have to be beautiful to work for Allied—after all, look at Tom here. Still, with a face like that guy’s, you got to wonder.
Tom: Wisecracks aside, Alice, Frank’s got a point. Studies show that it’s natural for people to discriminate on the basis of looks. I’ve read that even babies will look at a pretty face longer than an ugly face.
Alice: I know that. Studies also show that people attribute positive characteristics to people they find attractive and that they treat unattractive people worse than other people in lots of ways. For example, strangers are less likely to do small favors for unattractive people than they are for attractive people, and even parents and teachers have lower expectations for ugly, fat, or odd-looking children. Attractive people also earn more money than average-looking people. So what this really boils down to is implicit discrimination.
Tom: That’s what I’m saying. It’s natural. Besides, it’s not illegal to discriminate on the basis of appearance.
Frank: That’s right. You wouldn’t want us to hire somebody with green hair and rings in his nose and put him out at the front desk, would you? This is a business, not a freak show.
Alice: Hey, slow down, guys. First, it may be natural and it may even be legal to favor good-looking people, but that doesn’t make it right. And second, I’m not talking about grooming or dress. It’s your choice to dye your hair and decorate your face, and if you don’t fit in because of that, that’s your fault. But the guy we talked to today didn’t choose to be ugly, so why hold it against him?
Frank: I suppose next you’ll be telling us that we should have kept Allison on last summer just because she was fat.
Alice: No, I’m not saying you have to give preferential treatment to overweight people. But I think that nobody in the office cut her any slack. If she’d been normal size, things would have worked out okay, but people took one look at her and prejudged her to be a loser. You know, Frank, some courts have held that discrimination against the obese violates the Americans with Disabilities Act.
Tom: That’s only if it’s a medical condition. Frank: Yeah, Allison’s only problem was that she liked to eat. Alice: You don’t know that. You don’t know anything about her. Frank: I suppose her hair was a medical condition, too.
Tom: Okay, you two, take it easy. Seriously, though, Alice, a number of our interns have to interact with the public, and people can be put off by having to deal with ugly people, fat people, or even very short people. So why aren’t an employee’s looks a job-relevant issue?
Alice: No, I think that as long as the person is clean and well groomed, then the public shouldn’t be put off by having to deal with someone who is unattractive or unusual looking. It’s unreasonable.
Tom: That’s what you say. But what if the public is “unreasonable”? What if they prefer companies with attractive or at least normal-looking employees?
Alice: It’s still irrelevant. It’s the same as if a company had customers who didn’t like dealing with blacks. That’s no reason for it not to hire blacks.
Tom: Yeah, I can see that. Frank: Okay, but what about this ugly guy? Do we have to
offer him an internship?
Explanation / Answer
Companies are forced to see that some roles are better fulfilled by someone having a pleasant external appearance as mental aptitude is not the primary skill required here. It is important to understand that there are plenty of industries where people are hired based on IQ and mental aptitude and physical appearance has no role to play. Similarly, in industries where looks are the only differentiating factor, the companies are bound to make policies that favor people with good looks. It is unfair and illogical to relate selection on the basis of physical appearance with discrimination on the basis of race or color as interviewers can have their own perception of physical beauty which is fine given the subjective nature of interviews.