this is lookism

this is a blog dedicated to lookism. The discrimination of people for their appearance.

[this-is-lookism]

INTRODUCTION

Mod: Ash, they/them pronouns. My normal account is @4shtronomy. I'm th same mod from @this-is-infantilization.

What's this blog?

[PT: What's this blog?]

This blog is focused on spreading awareness about the discrimination of Ugly people receive in this society, lookism. By "Ugly people" in uppercase I'm referring to anyone who wouldn't be considered attractive by society's standard (which may vary by place).

As our society distinctly discriminates against Ugly people —In the face of the law, social interactions, level of "creepiness",...— Not acknowledging the fact that they're considered Ugly doesn't help in combating that. It's not about actual beauty/ugliness. But what society in general deems as each and what consequences it has.

You can submit your own experiences or from others, as long as the privacy of others is respected. Intersectionality is very important, and in a lot of posts it'll be apparent as when I see that anything overlaps I'll also add it there.

Video essay that inspired this blog:

[PT: Video essay that inspired this blog:]

If Pretty is a Privilege, Ugly is a Curse, by Olurinatty [link]

Relevant posts that go in depth

[PT: Relevant posts that go in depth]

1 [link]

2 [link]

3 [link]

Tag system:

[PT: Tag system:]

#this is lookism, for when something is lookism.

#this is not lookism, for when something is not lookism and unrelated posts.

#resources, reposts that have relevant resources.

This blog is inspired by accounts like: @thisisparamisia , @this-is-ableism , @this-is-anti-masculinity , @thisis-suicidism , @this-is-anti-homeless , @this-is-exorsexism , @this-is-ageism , @this-is-adultism , @this-is-amato-heteronormativity , @this-is-alterhumisia , @this-is-classism , @this-is-sinophobia-orientalism , @this-is-indigemisia , @thisisantisemitism , @this-is-deformimisia , and similar accounts. (If you don't want to be tagged, let me know and I'll take you out.)

[this-is-lookism]

lookism is when people claim an artists' art style was always "ugly" the second said artist becomes problematic

This is adjacent to lookism, it's also following the idea that beauty is the equator to Goodness and Uglynes to badness, but it's not exactactly about someone's looks (real or fictional), but the artstyle of the creator.

[this-is-lookism]

I kinda feel like the whole trend of adding stuff like "Bald /Results" in polls and other versions of making fun of baldness might be lookism

(I could be wrong and looking far into jokes probably, idk)

This is lookism related to baldness, and most of the time specifically male pattern/androgenized/testosterone based baldness (I'm not aware of an actual non gendered term so this is what I pressume it would be called).

[this-is-lookism]

Hey guys, one question, should i tag other this-is- accounts every time and ask could also apply? Or do i keep it the way I've been doing?

??

keep it this way

tag every time

Voting ended onJun 15

This goes for both @this-is-lookism and @this-is-infantilization

[pixierainbows]

Pixie be AAC device user is not a young child . and . but all AAC device vocabularies exactly same as the for children . no words for relationships and more “adult “ conversations .

have not seen any AAC device vocabulary have words for any “private” body parts . can not tell caregivers about having a problem with some “ private “ body part . no pages for to talk about serious brain “trouble” either .

we people what use AAC devices are very most likely to be hurt by bad people because them people know we can not tell really what happened .

AAC device businesses need to do better. speech pathologists need to do better , and caregivers , and parents , and guardians . all need to do better .

[pixierainbows]

Pixie HAVE grid from smart box . Is been Pixies primary AAC device for years . Pixies original speech therapist STILL had add genitals to body page AND had find switch , buried in settings , for make grid actually show not - censored symbols . ( And also same same with all not - straight identity words too , because of same same censorship . )

Them words and symbols being available to children and especially intellectual / cognitive disability people , too often make not - disabled people so very uncomfortable , and so get excluded from default vocabularies . THAT is what this post was about , automatic censoring of people what use symbol based AAC devices . Grid not exception to this .

These these absolutely critically needed words need be include in all AAC devices AND make visible *by default* . No needing to dig through settings to find the switch that make these symbols appear . No needing ask for help put in these words .

Pixie not demand perfection , just a end to automatic by default censoring of words from people what depend on symbol based AAC . No more excuses !!

[thisis--ableism]

Image ID: A reblog from Tumblr user unsolicitedf001ishness, the tags say: #grid has a genitals page for both the child and adult vocabulary sets #ive only used the childrens set but based on whats already in that one #id guess the adult has more #its not perfect #no aac is #but grid is pretty good #and super flexible #(im an slp and we definitely need to do better with aac as well as with many other things!) End Image ID

--- Not allowing people to have proper terminology for topics of their choosing on AAC devices is ableism and censorship!

[papercranesandpride]

I remember years ago, long enough ago that I was still using either Tiktok or Instagram regularly, because that's where I saw this, long enough ago that unfortunately I do not remember the username, I saw an older trans woman responding to a comment asking "how come we see trans women from your generation, but never trans men?" And her response was simple. "Unfortunately, it's because most of them are dead." Between lack of safe and legal abortions (which, hey, look what's an issue again), the HIV/AIDs crisis (which still is lacking in approved treatments for trans men, and they're still likely to be denied PrEP/PEP even when they should be eligible as sexually active queer men), and how many of them chose to take their own lives after being forced into marriages and other women's roles, a lot of the trans men that should be elderly right now did not make it.

And now, when I find myself making the mistake of going on Instagram, I get to see trans men themselves talking about how historically, trans men didn't do anything for the community, and so we need to step up now. Which, first of all, that isn't true, but second of all, if trans men's contributions are lesser, that makes a lot of sense if we listen to that trans woman talking about the trans men she was in community with back in the day. It's very hard to advance the trans cause if you're not alive.

Anyway. It's a really chilling answer. "Where are all the elderly trans men?" "They're dead." And I just wish more people saw that tiktok and listened to it and really took it to heart, now that we're in the age of "well obviously trans men have it so much easier."

[this-is-lookism]

The fact that ads for dentists and dental insurance only focus on the appearance of someone's smile

"Forget the people who had to have teeth removed because of non-dental health issues, forget the people who can't afford braces or dentist appointments (which is a whole other issue in itself), forget the people who can't or don't want to get unnecessary teeth whitening or implants, look at these perfect pearly white teeth we want to help you get"

Like how hard is it to talk about health issues that a dentist can help with? How much you can save for getting cavities filled or wisdom teeth pulled? Even hire models that don't have that "perfect smile"?

(also that one ad that went "Even though he's missing an eyebrow the first thing you noticed was his smile" with a guy who was also missing a tooth)

This is lookism in the medical field.

There's a problem in the medical industry of lookism being very apparent for people with any visible differences and focusing on "beauty" and not the health/comfort of the patient.

[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]

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 have one. When people see "ugly" (this can go for balding/plus sized/visibly disabled/etc) people get married and they comment "What am I doing wrong?" As if they automatically deserve a relationship/marriage based on their looks alone.

This is lookism and amatonormativity.

[this-is-lookism]

justrightforme (previously numberonesnapfan/revvingantlers) seems very lookist

That account is very lookist.

It's also just filled with racism/paramisia/transphobia/alterhumanisia/etc.

It really feels like a very bigoted account and/or ragebait.

Just block.

[this-is-lookism]

lookism is wasting your youth feeling bad about how you look even if your strictly average in most places and only American white blonde perfect teeth culture which is making you feel bad.

This is the impact lookism has on the youth's image of themselves.

[this-is-varsexism-transphobia]

Happy pride month to varsex and TGD (trans & gender diverse) folks!

[PT: Happy pride month to varsex and TGD (trans & gender diverse) folks! /End PT]

Happy pride to transfems, gender diverse fems, varsex fems!

Happy pride to transmascs, gender diverse mascs, varsex mascs!

Happy pride to transandrogynes, gender diverse androgynes, varsex androgynes!

Happy pride to transneutrals, cisneutrals, other modality neus, varsex neutrals!

Happy pride to transnulls, cisnulls, other modality nulls, varsex nulls!

Happy pride to transagenrines, cisagenrines, other modality agenrines, varsex agenrines!

Happy pride to transoutherines, cisoutherines, other modality outherines, varsex outherines!

Happy pride to transxenines, cisxenines, other modality xenines, varsex xenines!

Happy pride to transaporines, cisaporines, other modality aporines, varsex aporines!

Happy pride to transmultis, cismultis, other modality multigender & multidirectional folks, varsex multigender & multidirectional folks!

Happy pride to folks with an unlabeled gender!

Happy pride to culturally gendered folks!

Happy pride to dysex, ersex, and altersex folks!

Happy pride to intersex folks with ambiguous genitalia, ambiguous reproductive organs, or "mixed" characteristics!

Happy pride to intersex folks with urethral or penile traits!

Happy pride to intersex folks on the agenital or areproductive spectrum!

Happy pride to intersex folks on the split/duplicated reproductive or genital spectrum!

Happy pride to intersex folks with hormonal variations!

Happy pride to intersex folks with chromosomal variations!

Happy pride to intersex folks who don't know what their variation is!

And as a final note- this pride month, please start encouraging people to:

-Call non-binary people enbies/enben instead of "they/thems." Non-binary people are more than just pronouns, and not all of them use those pronouns anyways!

-Stop misusing AFAB/AMAB language [link]! AFAB/AMAB does not describe anatomy or socially imposed gender! It only describes an event at birth. Let's encourage more inclusive language!

-Stop perpetuating that intersex = third sex. Intersexuality is a wide spectrum!

-Stop using intersexist slurs (the h-slur, the fu-slur) and misusing the term intersex! Use proper terminology, like cosexual, dualsex, duomorphic, altersex, etc! [link]

[PT: And as a final note- this pride month, please start encouraging people to:

-Call non-binary people enbies/enben instead of "they/thems." Non-binary people are more than just pronouns, and not all of them use those pronouns anyways!

-Stop misusing AFAB/AMAB language [link]! AFAB/AMAB does not describe anatomy or socially imposed gender! It only describes an event at birth. Let's encourage more inclusive language!

-Stop perpetuating that intersex = third sex. Intersexuality is a wide spectrum!

-Stop using intersexist slurs (the h-slur, the fu-slur) and misusing the term intersex! Use proper terminology, like cosexual, dualsex, duomorphic, altersex, etc! [link] /End PT]

[this-is-lookism]

Lookism is being confident regardless of anything but having to admit the extremely limited perceptions of what is deemed attractive has done a number on me and my life. I contain multitudes.

This is the impact that lookism has on people and society.

[cripinpain]

hello physically disabled person reading this. it is not your fault that your medical supplies are made from a lot of single use plastic and you can continue using them guilt free. your health comes first. thank you for existing.

[crippled-peeper]

if your insulin pump has lithium batteries and the tubing is plastic,

if your ostomy bags, incontinence supplies, and sanitary wipes are single-use,

if your joint replacement, bone plate, pins & screws, or spinal hardware is cobalt & chrome,

if your meds come in a plastic container you can’t recycle or reuse for sterility,

you are still innocent. you didn’t choose this particular life. we all must do what we can to survive and that includes using technology and consuming resources. it is only human and we all do it.

some people out there own several yachts and don’t ever consider the impact it has on the world. there’s nothing to be gained by beating yourself up for doing the bare minimum for a comfortable, livable, safe & long life.

[weirdstrangeandawful]

Just want to add, don’t cut corners. Don’t risk your life when there are people who could do a lot more without risking theirs.

Don’t reuse the syringe. Don’t use cloths over alcohol swabs. Choose the battery powered device over the rechargeable if it means you can carry spares. Don’t use the reusable container if you can’t get it open. Don’t choose the reusable option if you can’t keep it clean. Don’t overfill the sharps container. Don’t improvise the tourniquet. Don’t eat the expired food if you can’t afford to be sick. Don’t choose the sustainable option if it doesn’t meet your needs.

Your life is not others’ priority so it has to be yours.

[this-is-accessibility]

Adding to this some specific advice I am constantly reminding myself.

Fed is best!!!

If eating the pre-packaged food means you might have energy for other things you want to do later then do that!

If you have to take a frozen dinner to work for your lunch because you can't stand leftover food and so meal prepping doesn't work for you, then take the frozen dinner that you know you will actually eat.

Don't feel bad for eating the same thing multiple times in a row, if that's all you can eat then that's what you should eat!

If you can't stomach an entire meal but are able to snack on a granola bar and some applesauce, that's beautiful! Some food is far better than no food.

[only-knives]

general tips for tapering off meds as someone who has done it both safely and unsafely before:

⭐ DISCLAIMER: this is for harm reduction purposes only. if you want to come off a medication, it is best to do so with a trusted professional.

unfortunately, not all professionals know how to properly taper and may put you in danger. some may deny assistance entirely. please advocate for yourself/bring someone with you, or seek better care.

please do NOT rely solely on this post to do a self taper. i am a patient, may be wrong, and do not know you. if you can't access professional assistance, do your own research before doing anything.

- check if your medication has a withdrawal syndrome. learn about the symptoms and watch for them as you taper. if you begin to experience moderate or severe withdrawal, return to the previous dose at next dosing and reassess the tapering schedule.

- start low and go slow. the higher your dose and the longer you've been on the medication, the smaller the dose reductions will be and the less frequently you reduce the dose.

- how your dose was increased does NOT translate to how it should be decreased. tapering depends on the medication, current daily dose, and how long you've been on the medication.

- make a schedule and stick to it. do not rush. depending on your situation, it can take anywhere from days to years to come off a medication. days if you've only been on it for a short time or are on a low dose, years if you've been on it for years, and weeks to months in most other cases.

- instant release is NOT the same as extended release. instant release medications are released into the bloodstream much faster than extended. extended stays in the blood for longer. generally, you will be tapering more slowly on an ER med than an IR one.

- signs you're tapering too fast are: feeling sick, heart rate and blood pressure changes, issues with temperature regulation, distressing mental health symptoms like severe depression or anxiety, erratic mood, hallucinations, delusions, paranoia, severe insomnia

- normal changes as you taper down: mild changes in mood, energy, sleeping habits, appetite; these should fade as your body readjusts to the lower dose. if they do not go away after tapering ceases, contact a professional.

And as for the question of whether or not to taper, here are some reasons people choose to taper down or off:

The meds are causing side effects that cannot be tolerated

The meds are reducing quality of life instead of enhancing it (ex: being overly sedated or stimulated)

The meds are not effective or not effective enough to warrant the risks

To lower the risk of complications from long term medication use (ex: movement disorders from taking antipsychotics)

To avoid the withdrawal syndrome

The meds interact with other medications they are on, or are going on

The meds are too expensive

To learn to cope without medication

Psych meds have helped some, but there are also many more who find them not worth the risks or cost.

While I always hope people can safely taper down with a doctor, I know this is not always possible.

If you need to come off a medication for your health but lack support, self-tapering is an option. But it's risky, and can lead to crisis or hospitalization if done incorrectly.

If you choose to self-taper, if you do nothing else, please take it slow and stay safe! Do your own research!

Are you on psych meds? (read all options)

yes; they help me and i want to stay on them

yes; they only help a bit but i dont mind taking them

yes; they dont help me and i want to come off

yes; they cause me side effects and i want to come off

yes; they dont help/cause side effects but my psych refuses to take me off them

yes; i have mixed feelings about my meds

no; i dont take meds but i want to

no; i dont take meds and i have mixed feelings about them

no; i used to be but i am not anymore (by choice)

no; i used to be but am not anymore (by circumstance)

no; i am not on psych meds and dont plan to be

Voting ended onJun 15

[hahawishmeluck]

also:

-calculate decreases based on your new dose, not the original dose. ie a 10% decrease from 1mg is larger than a 10% decrease of .9mg, and so on

-if you have a good psych, ask about using a compounding pharmacy for slow tapering. this way you can take a liquid version of your medication and have more consistent + precise decreases in a syringe vs cutting up tiny pills

-please do not cold turkey benzos if you can help it at all. my body is so fucked up from it!!!

[only-knives]

thank you for the addition! reminds me. Psych Meds with Withdrawals;

Benzodiazepines & Z Drugs: life threatening dysautonomia; seizures; dehydration from vomiting; coma; suicide risk, anxiety, insomnia)

Antidepressant withdrawal (ex: Effexor): High suicide risk, brain zaps, depression, anxiety, mood swings, appetite changes

Beta blockers (may be prescribed for anxiety): elevated blood pressure, irregular heartbeat, anxiety

i cant remember if there are more

[behaviornerdwithahat]

In case anyone finds it helpful because mobility aids are horrifically expensive and inaccessible…

And for those people who have access to mobility devices but might benefit from a second chair they can abuse without risking expensive damage…

Erik Kondo has made a website, Open Source Innovations, that details plans for DIY wheelchairs. These wheelchairs can be made from common materials like wood, plastic, and pvc. They are lightweight and can be custom fit to the user allowing from the same degree of movement you would get from a custom chair. And they are durable and easily repairable. (he has been stress testing his latest design by dropping it down stairs, dropping it out of a car, launching it across a driveway, and throwing it off a deck). Its 12lbs and I think he said its was in the $200 ish range for parts.

He also is working on cheap, open source, accessible designs for beach chairs, off road chairs, motorized attachments (think smart drive), and so on. Plus he skateboards in his wheelchair. Cool dude, helpful info, pass it on.

[sumi-sprite]

It's incredibly sad people have to resort to this, but it's a damn good resource. Use it. Spread awareness. Maybe one day people with physical disabilities won't need DIYs like this. But until then, reblog and share.

[this-is-accessibility]

This is Accessibility!

That's so amazing! It is unfortunate that so many people will need this, but very very cool that it exists

[organizationstationone4all]

OSI HOME- | Open Source Wheelchairs

That other link seems to be broken.

[this-is-accessibility]

Thank you so much for putting the working one!

I will add it to my original reblog as well.