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The story
A survey conducted by the Mainichi Elementary School Newspaper (Mainichi Shogakusei Shimbun) in June 2024 found that 76% of elementary school students said they were “concerned” about their own or others’ appearance. The finding comes against a backdrop of how deeply the term “lookism” — judging people by their looks — has permeated society. On 5ch, a thread saw clashing views: some backed the saying “appearance is a mirror of the heart,” while others questioned the very idea of linking looks to inner character. Opinions that basic grooming and dressing appropriately for the occasion (TPO) are simply necessary collided with criticism that “lookism” is just an excuse to justify attacks on people’s bodies and faces, and the discussion spiraled all the way out to what people value when choosing a marriage partner.
Survey period — Elementary schoolers: June 2024
The Mainichi Elementary School Newspaper: worth reading for adults too
What Is “Lookism”? 76% of Elementary Schoolers Are “Concerned” About It, But… | Mainichi Shimbun
Source: mainichi.jp / Original article here
What people said
That's not quite right.
There are plenty of kind-hearted "Frankensteins" (slang for people seen as monstrous-looking) out there in the world.
Apparently I look like I'd steal something, but I donate to charity and collect Bell Mark coupons (a Japanese school fundraising stamp program) and still get no credit for it…
A. It's the ultimate move invented by less good-looking people to fight back against hot guys!
If anything, people use lookism as a shield to avoid putting in effort, so outside of online arguments they get crushed by good-looking men and women anyway…
Handsome/beautiful people are better, obviously
That's still a type of appearance judgment though
Lookism isn't about how you dress.
The question is what someone who's just plain ugly, regardless of TPO, is supposed to do about it.
If you're fat, just wearing slimming clothes and grooming properly can change a lot. Being bald, though, you've got no choice but to get it treated.
No matter how you try to fake it with clothes, fat is still fat.
That just lands you back at the philosophical question of what a person's true essence even is.
Every good person and every villain has to be seen as equal. If someone's human, you absolutely can't discriminate based on looks, personality, or intelligence.
So I guess that means we're heading toward a world where you just pick your marriage partner by lottery (amidakuji) since anyone will do.
Tanukana: "Exactly right!" (Tanukana is a pro wrestler/streamer known for blunt looks-based remarks)
About the only exception is the protagonist of Director Miyazaki's Spirited Away. In 99% of other works, the main character is a cute girl or a handsome guy.
Water flows to the lowest point (things naturally drift toward the easy path)
You pretty much never hear about a fat person with a good personality.
The right approach is for the people around them to correct it by saying "That's ugly! Keep that up and your heart will turn ugly too!" Giving them an excuse like "lookism" is the worst possible move.
Here's the hard part: say Man A earns about 30 million yen a year, is handsome, and even after marriage stays popular with women — so there's always that worry. Man B doesn't come with that worry. Which one would you marry?
Not even a hard question, it's A. Spending your life with someone who's not your type is just rough, plain and simple.
Though obviously that doesn't apply if B happens to be your type.
Background and Key Points of This Debate
“Lookism” is a concept that originated in the United States in the 1970s, a term that treats judging and sorting people by appearance as a form of discrimination alongside race and gender. In Japan, it has spread in recent years mainly through social media, and this survey’s results were reported as evidence of how far the concept has taken hold. However, it’s easy to overlook that answering “concerned” is not the same as having actually experienced bullying or discrimination — it merely expresses interest in or anxiety about appearance. The clash within the thread also largely comes down to a mismatch between those who treat lookism as a principle that “people shouldn’t be hurt over how they look” and those with the practical stance that “judging appearance is only natural within the bounds of basic grooming and dressing for the occasion (TPO).” Because neither side has agreed on a definition of what actually counts as lookism, the two sides are often talking past each other even while using the same word.
*This article is excerpted and summarized from the 5ch (News Flash+) thread “What Is “Lookism”? 76% of Elementary Schoolers Are “Concerned” About It, But….”
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