The Tyranny of Beauty

Meghan Daum opines on beauty amid a new book on workplace discrimination against the “unattractive” and a lawsuit by a woman claiming she was fired for being too attractive. For Daum, more distracting and potentially bothersome than one with extraordinary looks is one obsessed with those looks. She laments the tyranny of “a beauty that’s only as good as the latest spray-on tan and the last teeth-whitening session…the same brand of beauty that gets shoved down our throats every time we read about celebrities or watch a makeover show on TV, the kind that tells us that being hot is not only crucial but also a full-time job.”