History Main / AttractivenessDiscrimination

* Parodied in ''Series/TheSuiteLife'' when the boys go to an alternate reality with Creator/ParisHilton as president. She outlaws celulite and being heavier than a certain weight.

* In the Marvel ''Comicbook/{{Axis}}'' series, The Superior Iron Man causes this in San Francisco. After uploading a new Extremis app that transforms people into their ideal sense of "supermodel" beauty, the whole city engaged in acts of drunkenness, recklessness, and sexual excess. Those who could not afford the Extremis app were abused and cast out as an underclass.

* The ''[[FanFic/WitnessGoodNeighbors Good Neighbors]] AU'' has Saitaka, a high-end fashion boutique whose snooty staff take it upon themselves to police their clientele and kick out anyone they decide doesn't look good enough to be shopping there. They cover it up by falsely accusing the victims of being there to shoplift.

* In ''Disney/TheHunchbackOfNotreDame'', Quasimodo's entire conflict with the world outside his bell tower revolves around his anxiety over being hated for how unattractive he looks and the doubts fueled by Frollo. Like the novel, Frollo succinctly sums this up to Quasimodo in his lines under the guise of protection. [[JerkassHasAPoint Unfortunately, as seen during the Topsy Turvy Day event, these proclamations were not entirely unfounded]]:

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* PlayedForLaughs in an episode of ''Series/PhineasAndFerb'', where Doofenshmirtz accidentally makes himself extremely handsome with an Inator, and for the whole day people give him free things (one woman offers to give him her ''baby''). He nearly becomes mayor of Danville just by being attractive.

The circumstance of "pretty" people being prejudiced for being pretty can also be present depending on the rules of the setting in addition to acts of PositiveDiscrimination. Such cases are presented in a manner displaying physical beauty as a condescending trait that breeds animosity or disdain in others reminiscent to TallPoppySyndrome. See BeautyIsBad, MakeupIsEvil, and SoBeautifulItsACurse.

The circumstance of "pretty" people being prejudiced for being pretty can also be present depending on the rules of the setting in addition to acts of PositiveDiscrimination. Such cases are presented in a manner displaying physical beauty as a condescending trait that breeds animosity or disdain in in others reminiscent to TallPoppySyndrome. See BeautyIsBad, MakeupIsEvil, and SoBeautifulItsACurse.

* The city of Apollonia from ''Comicbook/GodIsDead'' operates according to this. The whole society was created by Apollo and Balder, as divine male personifications of beauty, after the world was devastated by the War between the Gods and only allows humans of certain attractiveness to enter the city. The more attractive one is, the more privileges one has in the society, with the most beautiful citizens serving as royal consorts to the gods in charge. Those viewed as unattractive as cast from the city grounds or used as a slave workforce and abused by the recognized citizens.

* In ''VideoGame/DragonQuestVIII'', Yangus mentions that he has been "discramated" against due to his {{Gonk}}-ish appearance. Fortunately, his hometown of [[WretchedHive Pickham ]] does not care what anyone looks like, leading to the party taking a detour there (mainly so that King Trode, who has been turned into a green troll, can have a drink in a pub without causing an uproar).

Played for laughs in ''Student Bodies''. An able-bodied woman steals a handicapped parking spot from two disabled drivers remarking that great physical beauty can also be a handicap.

* In an episode of ''Series/PhineasAndFerb'', Doofenshmirtz accidentally makes himself extremely handsome with an Inator, and for the whole day people give him free things (one woman offers to give him her ''baby''). He nearly becomes mayor of Danville just by being attractive.

[[folder: Comic Books ]]

* In the Marvel ''{{Comicbook/Axis}}'' series, The Superior Iron Man causes this in San Francisco. After uploading a new Extremis app that transforms people into their ideal sense of "supermodel" beauty, the whole city engaged in acts of drunkenness, recklessness, and sexual excess. Those who could not afford the Extremis app were abused and cast out as an underclass.

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* The story of ''{{Webcomic/Lookism}}'' is set in a society where this phenomenon is the rule of everyday life.

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Also termed as Lookism, this trope involves the circumstance in a story or setting where an individual or group are blatantly given preferential or prejudiced treatment based on their level of physical attractiveness. More often than not, this trope comes into play to show the negative aspects of valuing TheBeautifulElite along with the fallacies of adhering to BeautyEqualsGoodness. Considering the so-called elite and good are such because they are viewed as beautiful, expect [[HilarityEnsues Hilarity to Ensue]] when the personal flaws outside of attractiveness come to light. After all, simply supporting or accommodating an individual because they are attractive tends to not progress well if they are meant to provide more than a pretty face. See HotGuysAreBastards or HotGirlsAreBitches as examples along with characters displaying disregard for morality or decency because of beliefs in ScrewTheRulesImBeautiful or IHaveBoobsYouMustObey.

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* In the Marvel ''{{Comicbook/Axis}}'' series, The Superior Iron Man causes this in San Francisco. After uploading a new Extremis app that transforms people into their ideal sense of "supermodel" beauty, the whole city engaged in acts of drunkenness, recklessness, and sexual excess. Those who could not afford the Extremis app were abused and cast out as an underclass.
* The city of Apollonia from ''Comicbook/GodIsDead'' operates according to this. The whole society was created by Apollo and Balder, as divine male personifications of beauty, after the world was devastated by the War between the Gods and only allows humans of certain attractiveness to enter the city. The more attractive one is, the more privileges one has in the society, with the most beautiful citizens serving as royal consorts to the gods in charge. Those viewed as unattractive as cast from the city grounds or used as a slave workforce and abused by the recognized citizens.

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[[AC:Western Animation]]

Also termed as Lookism, this trope involves the circumstance in a story or setting where an individual or group are blatantly given preferential or prejudiced treatment based on their level of physical attractiveness. More often than not, this trope comes into play to show the negative aspects of valuing TheBeautifulElite along with the fallacies of adhering to BeautyEqualsGoodness. Considering the so-called elite and good are such because they are viewed as beautiful, expect [[HilarityEnsues Hilarity to Ensue]] when the personal flaws outside of attractiveness come to light. After all, simply supporting or accommodating an individual because they are attractive tends to not progress well if they are meant to provide more than a pretty face. See HotGuysAreBastards or HotGirlsAreBitches as examples along with characters displaying disregard for morality or decency because of beliefs of ScrewTheRulesImBeautiful or IHaveBoobsYouMustObey.

Also termed as Lookism, this trope involves the circumstance in a story or setting where an individual or group are blatantly given preferential or prejudiced treatment based on their level of physical attractiveness. More often than not, this trope comes into play to show the negative aspects of valuing TheBeautifulElite along with the fallacies of adhering to BeautyEqualsGoodness. Considering the so-called elite and good are such because they are viewed as beautiful, expect [[HilarityEnsues Hilarity to Ensue]] when the personal flaws outside of attractiveness come to light. After all, simply supporting or accommodating an individual simply because they are attractive tends to not progress well if they are meant to provide more than a pretty face. See HotGuysAreBastards or HotGirlsAreBitches as examples along with characters displaying disregard for morality or decency because of beliefs of ScrewTheRulesImBeautiful or IHaveBoobsYouMustObey.

Also termed as Lookism, this trope involves the circumstance in a story or setting where an individual or group are blatantly given preferential or prejudiced treatment based on their level of physical attractiveness. More often than not, this trope comes into play to show the negative aspects of valuing TheBeautifulElite along with the fallacies of adhering to BeautyEqualsGoodness. Considering the so-called elite and good are such because they are viewed as beautiful, expect [[HilarityEnsues Hilary to Ensue]] when the personal flaws outside of attractiveness come to light. After all, simply supporting or accommodating an individual simply because they are attractive tends to not progress well if they are meant to provide more than a pretty face. See HotGuysAreBastards or HotGirlsAreBitches as examples along with characters displaying disregard for morality or decency because of beliefs of ScrewTheRulesImBeautiful or IHaveBoobsYouMustObey.

There are a plethora of different reasons for prejudice in different societies. Whether it be race, religion, political beliefs, or socioeconomic status, prejudice is present in many situations, both fictional and non-fictional. However, one of the oldest forms of prejudice was formed for no more reason than simply not being too attractive or not attractive enough to earn another's respect. This is where this trope kicks in.

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* ''Series/TheTwilightZone1959'': The episode "The Eye of the Beholder" was set in a world where ugliness was effectively illegal and anyone deemed sufficiently ugly was sent to a FantasticGhetto where "normal" people wouldn't have to look at or think about them. The act of even suggesting that things shouldn't be this way was vilified as treason. The twist being that in their society, "normal" people have snouts and pig-like faces, but "ugly" people are attractive by our standards.

* In Creator/JamesClavell's ''Literature/GaiJin'', an interesting sub-plot includes Japanese girls, thought by local standards of female beauty to be plain or even ugly, to be the ones visiting Europeans find to be the most sensationally attractive. A wily brothel-madam exploits this by buying the contracts of such girls cheaply, then marketing them at premium rates to European customers based on their discriminating tastes.

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* The story of ''{{Webcomic/Lookism}}'' is set in a society where this phenomenon is the rule of everyday life.

* In the ''Unearthed Arcana'' supplement of ''TabletopGame/DungeonsAndDragons'', 1st Edition Advanced D&D, Gary Gygax added the Comeliness attribute to the game. Characters with high Comeliness received improved reactions from other characters and could influence their behavior. Characters with low or negative Comeliness got bad reactions from others, ranging from being uneasy and wanting to get away up to horror and revulsion.
* In ''TabletopGame/{{GURPS}}'' 3rd Edition, the player decides how beautiful or ugly their {{PC}} is, paying character points for attractiveness and gaining extra character points if the character is bad looking. Good looking characters receive bonuses to other characters' reaction rolls and ugly characters suffer penalties on those rolls. In both cases, the more pretty or ugly the character is, the greater the bonus or penalty.

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* An "The Eye of the Beholder" episode of the ''Series/TheTwilightZone1959'' would serve as an example of this trope. The episode was set in a world where ugliness was effectively illegal and anyone deemed sufficiently ugly was sent to a FantasticGhetto where "normal" people wouldn't have to look at or think about them. The act of even suggesting that things shouldn't be this way was vilified as treason. The twist being that in their society, "normal" people have snouts and pig-like faces, but "ugly" people are attractive by our standards.

The circumstance of "pretty" people being prejudiced for being pretty can also be present depending on the rules of the setting in addition to acts of PositiveDiscrimination. Such cases are presented in a manner displaying physical beauty as a condescending trait that breeds animosity or disdain in in others reminiscent to TallPoppySyndrome. See BeautyIsBad and SoBeautifulItsACurse.