Preface
1. Introduction
The Personal Becomes Political: The Trouble With Shoes
The Costs and Consequences of Appearance
Surveying the Foundations: Social, Biological, Economic,
Technological, and Media Forces
Feminist Challenges and Responses
Appearance Discrimination: Social Wrongs and Legal Rights
Legal Frameworks
A Roadmap for Reform
2. The Importance of Appearance and the Costs of Conformity
Definitions of Attractiveness and Forms of Discrimination
Interpersonal Relationships and Economic Opportunities
Self- Esteem, Stigma, and Quality of Life
Gender Differences
The Price of Upkeep: Time and Money
Health Risks
Bias
3. The Pursuit of Beauty
Sociobiological Foundations
Cultural Values, Status, and Identity
Market Forces
Technology
The Media
Advertising
The Culture of Beauty
4. Critics and Their Critics
Nineteenth and Early Twentieth Century Critics
The Contemporary Women's Movement
Critics
Responses
Personal Interests and Political Commitments
Beyond the Impasse
5. The Injustice of Discrimination
Ensuring Equal Opportunity: Challenging Stigma and Stereotypes
Challenging Subordination Based on Class, Race, Ethnicity, Gender,
Disability, and Sexual Orientation
Protecting Self-Expression: Personal Liberty and Cultural
Identity
The Rationale for Discrimination and Resistance to Prohibitions
The Parallel of Sex Harassment
The Contributions of Law
6. Legal Frameworks
The Limitations of Prevailing Legal Frameworks
Prohibitions on Appearance Discrimination
A Comparative Approach: European Responses to Appearance
Discrimination
The Contributions and Limitations of Legal Prohibitions on
Appearance Discrimination
Consumer Protection: Prohibitions on False and Fraudulent Marketing
Practices
Directions for Reform
7. Strategies for Change
Defining the Goal
Individuals
Business and the Media
Law and Policy
Deborah L. Rhode is the Ernest W. McFarland Professor of Law and
the Director of the Center on the Legal Profession at Stanford
University. She has a Yale BA and JD, and is a former law clerk of
Justice Thurgood Marshall, a former president of the Association of
American Law Schools, a former chair of the American Bar
Association's Commission on Women in the Profession, and a former
director of both Stanford's Center on Ethics and its Institute for
Research on
Women and Gender. She is the author or coauthor of twenty books,
including In the Interests of Justice (OUP 2003), Access to Justice
(OUP 2004), and Ethics in Practice (OUP 2003), and over 200
articles,
and is the nation's most cited scholar on professional
responsibility.
"The book is illuminating and important: it explores the often
unacknowledged, yet pervasive, discrimination against people,
particularly women, who don t conform to mainstream notions of
beauty and appearance [Rhode] is the one of the country's leading
scholars in legal ethics and gender Rhode is incredibly
prolific."--Danielle Citron, Concurring Opinions
"[Rhode] is convincing in her arguments that laws punishing
appearance discrimination might be a logical step in exactly the
right direction it's hard to deny the validity of the problem that
she confronts. And it's even harder to ignore the extent to which
concerns about appearance shape our daily lives. Rhode so clearly
enumerates the costs to society incurred by appearance
discrimination that readers judges and lawmakers included will find
themselves
unsettled."--Christian Science Monitor
"Provocative Rhode is at her most persuasive when arguing that in
the United States, the penchant to discriminate against
unattractive women (and also short men) is as pernicious and
widespread as bias based on race, sex, age, ethnicity, religion,
and disability. She provides overwhelming evidence of bias against
the overweight, the unattractive, and the aging. And while some of
these cases may be covered under the Americans with Disabilities
Act or race
discrimination law, most are not."--Dahlia Lithwick, Slate.com
"This book is extremely well written. There are plenty of everyday
examples of appearance discrimination and the book is written with
a passion and enthusiasm that sweeps the reader along...a call to
arms...No doubt it will create a considerable body of literature
and much debate."--Legal Studies
"Rhode writes clearly and thinks deeply. I found her case
convincing morally and legally."--Dallas Morning News
"This is a well-researched and thoughtful exploration of beauty
ideals in legal, professional and other hard-hitting real-life
spheres. A serious contribution to the literature of the politics
of appearance."--Naomi Wolf, author of The Beauty Myth
"Rhode's insightful analysis and lively writing style brilliantly
lays out the ways in which prescriptions about appearance, whether
mandated by the law, influenced by the billion dollar cosmetics
industry, or the leaders of social movements, affect people's
opportunities and their everyday lives."--Cynthia Fuchs Epstein,
Past President, American Sociological Association; Professor of
Sociology, CUNY Graduate Center
"When the fastest-growing medical specialty is cosmetic surgery, we
should all be concerned. Deborah Rhode's analysis offers real
insight into what compels our 'beauty behavior,' the economic
consequences, and what we can-and must-do about it. This book
should be on every woman's bookshelf."--Kim Gandy, Former
President, National Organization for Women
"Deborah Rhode uncovers 'beauty bias' as an obstacle for women
every bit as disabling as sex or gender discrimination, but more
damaging because it is virtually immune to legal challenge. Her
discourse and strategies for ending appearance discrimination speak
to every woman and should be supported by all people concerned with
social justice."--Herma Hill Kay, University of California,
Berkeley School of Law
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