Lookism: The last acceptable discrimination?

The annual joint event between the Royal Society of Edinburgh and the Royal Institute of Philosophy.

Lookism is prevalent in today’s society. For example, appearance bullying is the most common form of bullying. Lookism is harmful, it directly impacts self-esteem and profoundly limits young people’s behaviour. However, it is largely tolerated, and negative comments about appearance are treated as trivial and thought of as ‘normal’, ‘inescapable’, ‘banter’, and even ‘natural’.

During this event, our keynote speaker, Heather Widdows, Professor of Philosophy, University of Warwick, will explore the phenomenon of lookism – appearance discrimination. She will argue that the harms of lookism are so severe that we need a zero-tolerance approach, the same as we do to sexist or racist comments, irrespective of intention or context. The talk will be followed by a Q&A session chaired by Professor Edward Harcourt.