The Case of the Ugly: Should Being Unattractive Be a Protected Disability?

Mom always told us that it’s what’s inside of us that counts.

Well, mom was wrong, that is, if you ask Daniel S. Hamermesh, an economics professor from the University of Texas.

Hammermesh has devoted 20 years on the study of beauty and asserts that ugly people are so severely discriminated against, that the government should impose legal protection.

In his new book, Beauty Pays, Hammeresh argues that ugly people should be a “protected class” under the Americans with Disabilities Act and equal employment opportunity laws which currently protect minorities, women and the disabled from discrimination.

He also cites that one study has shown that ugly people can make $230,000 less in lifetime wages when compared to their attractive counterparts.

Even if Hammeresh’s arguments are true, what would that mean for society?

Certainly, we can believe that better-looking people in jobs can be more successful financially, and that more attractive politicians are elected more often than less attractive candidates, and that good-looking attorneys can win more cases.

But can being ugly imply that you are by default, disabled?

And if so, how would this be quantifiable?

Would there be some “ugly index” a person has to meet in order to become a protected class?

Say an ugly lawyer loses a case—how would he demonstrate that he lost it because he was less attractive? And would that mean he could sue jurors?

The fact is, we care about how people look and we like pretty people. Hell, we have a plethora of multi-billion dollar industries that support the commercialization of beauty (including fashion, plastic surgery, MTV, to name a few) and glorify good looks.

But bringing governmental action into this situation seems a bit overreaching when the real issue can be resolved by breaking social perceptions that beauty is the only or primary thing that matters in a person.

After all, shouldn’t we be teaching our kids that confidence, intelligence and kindness are the golden rules to life’s success?

And if being ugly made you disabled, I’d like to ask Donald Trump and Rush Limbaugh how they feel about all of this.

In the meantime, perhaps we should be investing some energy in saving the polar bears or something from all that global warming.