#deformisia

[crippled-peeper]

somewhere along the line I learned to live with the way people treat me for being deformed & disabled but I don’t think I can ever forgive them for it

[this-is-lookism]

being given dirty looks by parents of young kids (or telling the kid to avoid 'people who look like that') because i have scars, am plus sized, dress and dye my hair in a way i like and use mobility aids even though i 'look healthy' or 'should just work out more'

(not sure this is lookism so just delete this if it doesn't count. love the blog <3)

This is lookism based in deformisia/disfiguremisia (for the scars), fatphobia, and ableism (for the mobility aids).

@this-is-fatphobia @this-is-deformimisia @thisis--ableism

Also! Tysm! I'm glad you like the blog!

[this-is-lookism]

Im still like. Upset lookism is not accepted as a real actual axis of oppression and you can get clowned on or assumed to be some sort of incel/femcel if you think that. Which is a weird reason to dismiss it because I don't just mean it affects struggles with dating I mean it pretty all encompassingly can make your life worse from social alienation and less leeway for normal human mistakes and behavior (which can be literally dangerous! So many people don't understand how important having social support is when it's a given to them. For example I have health issues and I'm forced to navigate that all on my own despite the effects the health issues have on me making it difficult to do so) to considerably lessening your work opportunities and even your capacity to get an education (if people are consistently nasty to you in those settings you may not be particularly motivated to do so). Your life can shrink to being so small and there's such an considerable difference how even strangers you're just trying to get a service from and go about your day can unconsciously treat you. You can get worse medical care and be treated poorly at your most vulnerable. And then there's the ableism and transphobia and classism tied into all of this of people assuming something wrong with you or that you're a threat when you're also just going about your day. Anyway boggles my mind it's not just considered a real thing. Random ramble and idk if i'm making sense bc I'm dealing with pretty horrible levels of brainfog rn due to mysterious health stuff and I have no idea how I come across

Lookism is absolutely overlooked in the general discrimination talks. It is also constantly encouraged in all political spheres to give less value to people.

And it's effects can be devastating in a lot of ways, that in this post I won't go into, but maybe some time in the future.

The thing is that it intersects with a lot of the more commonly/typically talked about discriminations. As if it has anything to do with your appearance it will intersect with lookism.

But this goes with everything. I'll do a list of the things that people are discriminated about and I'll try to keep updating it every now and then:

RACISM

[PT: Racism]

MISOGYNOIR [PT: Misogynoir]: Black women/feminine presenting people being deemed more masculine just based on their skin color (also intersects a lot with transmisoginoir for Black trans fems).

COLORISM/ANTI-BLACKNESS [PT: Colorism/anti-Blackness]: Black people generally being deemed masculine, also with commonly associated masculine traits (aggressiveness, anger issues, being able to withstand a lot emotionally,...). And then being deemed as dangerous for it.

ORIENTALISM/INFANTILIZATION [PT: orientalism/infantilization]: East Asian people generally being deemed feminine, also with commonly associated feminine traits (gentleness, cuteness, helplessness, etc). And then being infantilized for it.

SEXISM/INDIGEMISIA [PT: Sexism/indigemisia]: Men/masculine presenting people having long hair.

INDIGEMISIA [PT: Indigemisia]: Hate for tattoos and piercings.

ORIENTALISM [PT: Orientalism]: South Asian's people's hair being deemed oily and dirty.

TEXTURISM/ANTI-BLACKNESS [PT: Texturism/Anti-Blackness]: Curly/coily/afro hair being deemed unprofessional.

ANTI-SEMITISM/ANTI-BLACKNESS/ORIENTALISM/ANTI-ARAB [PT: Anti-semitism/Anti-Blackness/Orientalism/Anti-Arab]: Big noses being deemed as ugly and bad.

ABLEISM

[PT: Ableism]

DISFIGUREMISIA/DEFORMISIA [PT: Disfiguremisia/deformisia]: Visible body differences, that don't follow what someone conventionally is expected to be like (skin differences/amputees/etc), being often treated as body horror.

INFANTILIZATION [PT: Infantilization]: Mobility aids being deemed as ugly and the users/disabled people in general being deemed as non-sexual/non-desirable just because of their visible disabilities.

ANTI-DWARFISM/INFANTILIZATION [PT: Anti-dwarfism/infantilization]: People with dwarfism being deemed for that as non-sexual, and conflating other people's attraction to them as inherently "pedophilic" (often said like that, but actually referring to predatory behaviour, don't conflate paraphilas with abuse please).

SEXISM

[PT: Sexism]

MISOGYNY [PT: Misogyny]: Women/feminine presenting people having short hair being deemed as bad.

INTERSEXISM/EXORSEXISM/TRANSPHOBIA [PT: intersexism/exorsexism/transphobia]: People who visibly are androgynous in some way/don't seem to fit the sex or gender binary being badly threaten for it.

TRANSMISOGYNY [PT: Transmisogyny]: Feminine presenting people not fully adhering to what is socially seen as "woman" being deemed not feminine enough and being seen as predatory.

ANTI-MASCULINITY/TRANSANDROPHOBIA [PT: Anti-masculinity/Transandrophobia]: Masculine presenting people being deemed as inherently dangerous and a threat.

AGEISM

[PT: Ageism]

TO OLDER PEOPLE [PT: To older people]: Being deemed as not desirable/non-sexual.

ADULTISM [PT: Adultism]: Young people being deemed "pure" as in non-sexual (which are not synonyms by any means by the way), and if they look young being seen as too young to know what they're talking about.

OTHERS

[PT: Others]

FATPHOBIA [PT: Fatphobia]: Fat people being deemed as inherently ugly and having unhealthy habits.

CLASSISM/ABLEISM [PT: Classism/Ableism]: People who don' /can't follow the social standards of basic hygiene being deemed as lazy disgusting people.

D

FASCISM [PT: fascism]: People who dress outside the norm in regards to what's popular. Especially big on subcultures.

[this-is-lookism]

Lookism (and also ableism) is when my family was making fun of the DJ we hired for our wedding for having a cleft lip

This is lookism, ableism, and deformisia/disfiguremisia (i'm not sure which).

[this-is-lookism]

I’m not really sure if this counts but: people being super weird about visible skin conditions. I have cmtc. It doesn’t bother me. But every time I wear shorts it’s always “omg your leg is purple!” “Ewww!” “Is it contagious?” “You know you can get that removed, right?” Even from doctors! I don’t need it removed! I don’t want to be “fixed”! I don’t really care that much and honestly those kinds of cosmetic treatments are stupidly expensive!!! I expect this kind of shit from children but genuinely it’s ridiculous how many adults do it.

This is lookism, ableism and deformisia/disfiguremisia (dependending on the skin condition).

[this-is-lookism]

The amount of reality TV shows about cosmetic surgery.

Bridal Plasty, Let me in (Korean show that brought up abuse as a reason the women wanted to look "pretty"), My 600lb Life (was for health reasons but many people died after weight loss surgery and the show focused about their "transformation"), and so many more I likely don't know about.

(plus shows about specific people who needed surgeries because of deformations that presented these people as entertainment rather than documentaries about their experiences. still looksism but in the opposite direction (?) since these surgeries weren't cosmetic and were actually necessary for a better quality of life.)

This shows are inherently lookist.

I haven't seen any of these specifically, but this kind of reality TV shows are very common and I've found a lot of them with similar premises and they all fall in this saneist lookist ideology.

But I want to also talk a little about what they could've been. As a show talking about a specific topic doesn't inherently have issues portraying it —It certainly can, and commonly does, but it also always could have a lot of potential if done with good intentions and knowing about the demographic without dehumanizing them.

First with the plastic surgeries. Almost all of them are generally gender affirming care, be it trans or cis individuals alike. So they could've for one, gone in depth about how GAC is not a trans thing. And they could've also gone in depth about the intersection of the general idea, of this surgeries happening so often because of toxic social pressure and standards of commodifying people and making them have to fit into boxes of desirability. Which are always full of ableism, misogyny, racism, colorism, orientalism, antisemitism, classism, homophobia, transphobia, etc. But also the connection that us as individuals are often victim of this system, and the pressure and disadvantages of not following it are undeniable. So it's a much more nuanced topic than just, "cosmetic surgery bad" or "The cosmetic surgery industry is perfect!".

Then for the one about obesity. Extreme obesity can and often ends up being very disabling to a person. It reduces mobility extremely, like the ability to walk longer distances because of the weight the legs have to suspend. It reduces the ability of self care sometimes, making some parts of your body inaccessible when showering or to look for skin cancer for example. And it has it's own side effects in heart health and other organs. But apart from being able to give someone the support they need to live better, which is almost always partly losing weight, it's also very important to note why someone ends up like this. Why are the basic foods like vegetables and fruits so expensive? Why do people have so little time to actually cook? Why do people have so much bad mental health? Could the physical and mental health systems improve? Would that help? Giving support to people earlier? How do all of these intersection with class inequality, the lasting effects of segregation and slavery, abusive situations, etc? These are just some basic ideas. And it's already way better. Also, focusing on improving health and lived experience should always be the focus of this.

And regarding surgeries for deformities/disfigurements. It's important to note that still to this day, most surgeries on disabled people have other alternatives for improving life experience/pain relief. A lot of these surgeries aren't actually done with informed consent. As the patient isn't actually in the fully known of other alternatives and the pros and cons of each of them. But systematically, surgeries are recommended to "look more normal". Like how if you need braces medically, they most likely will insist on you using them until you have what's considered "perfect teeth", or how while they do that they can and even do without consent the act of shaving off your canines for it (as it happened to me, which I still I'm mad about as I loved my little fangs). So this should be present in any TV show about it.

These are just some general ideas of how a show about "X" could be done respectfully. But these aren't done for that. They're done to create impact. To surprise the audience. And to make this idea of "How sad they are, so naive/stupid/ugly! I'm glad these doctors are saving them!"

[this-is-lookism]

Oh. I have a looot and its not pleasant.

Tw for SA, slut shaming, and transphobia

I have rosacea and constantly got teased and made fun of for “blushing” because I was the fat kid and they found the idea of me having a crush on someone amusing.

I got called a whore as a preteen because I was fat “ugly” and started developing big breasts around age twelve. Specifically with the stereotype of the fat prostitute in mind. That really put me off bright colors, shorter cut clothes, and makeup for years. I’m ashamed to admit that up until a few years ago I had some pretty bad issues with misogyny.

A friend’s mother said to me that “at the very least, you have your breasts” when I admitted to being insecure about my skin. I was thirteen.

I was constantly made the butt of jokes and expected to take it because otherwise people wouldn’t want to be friends with me. There was a period of time where the running joke was that I was a dog. I was told I looked and sounded like a pug. I had severe anxiety and undiagnosed asthma.

I was taken advantage of romantically and sexually on numerous occasions during my late childhood, teens and young adulthood because I was ugly enough that they “figured I didn’t get enough attention and was desperate.”

I got told I was being a creep for making the same jokes and saying the same things that my “friend” group at the time did.

After I came out as trans, I was told “is that your excuse?” in regards to my appearance.

“Well at least you’re safe,” said in response to me (a child at the time) worrying about a neighbor who was rumored to be a predator. (He wasn’t actually predator, it was the mother. See the “friend’s mom” thing I said earlier. I just want to clarify.) I’ve also been told “you’re not that pretty” when trying to complain about a customer creeping on me.

Having jokes made at my expense about putting a paper bag over my head or turning out the lights before getting it on.

Having a coworker with her own insecurities only back off from bullying me when I made jokes about my own appearance and weight.

This is lookism, fatphobia, transphobia, deformisia, misogyny and SA.

I'm so sorry that happened to you, you didn't deserve that. No one deserves that. You were just a kid.

It's too common for fat people and Ugly people to be told that being taken advantage of was something that they should thank or something that just doesn't happen to people like them.

[this-is-lookism]

I had really bad acne when I was younger and one girl asked if I had leprosy

This is lookism and deformisia working hand in hand.

It starts with seeing the acne scars as ugly (lookism) and then making fun of you comparing you as having something deemed as looking worse than acne, leprosy. Which works with deformisia. As it's deeming the deformities that leprosy can/tends to give as bad because they're considered Ugly.