A brief look into Ableism, Lookism, and Tokenism

 Today’s news is filled with examples and stories of racism, sexism and even ageism to the point that everyone knows or familiar with racism, sexism, and ageism. There are many other  isms that function in the world around us. Have you heard about ableism? Lookism? Tokenism? I came across these terms in recent months and I was curious about what these terms mean and real-world examples. We are visual people and sometimes we make assumptions based on what we see. Assumption about someone’s physical health, personality, and including them in groups based on what we immediately see. These assumptions are usually made subconsciously and sometimes they are overt. Sometimes these assumptions are right and sometimes they are very, very wrong. Participation in these isms is sometimes more than just assumptions based on visual cues, but it is also in the language we use and our behavior towards people.

Ableism is “the discrimination of and social prejudice against people with disabilities based on the belief that typical abilities are superior” (Olsen, 2019). At its core, ableism is the assumption that people with disabilities require “fixing” or need help and defines people by their disabilities. What does ableism look like? There are many examples of ableism, I will highlight and discuss a few. First and an important one, ableism is a lack of compliance with Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), a law enacted in 1990 which made it illegal to discriminate against people with disabilities. Compliance includes the availability of closed captions at movie theaters and braille in public places. Second, using a disability as a punchline, mocking someone with a disability or using language that is used to insult another who does not have the disability. Some of the examples I have are phrases like “That’s so lame,” “She’s so crazy,” and even “The blind leading the blind.” Third, according to Ms. Olsen, ableism is using the handicapped bathroom stall when one is fully able. However, I have an issue with this one. In most public restrooms, especially in department stores, the handicapped bathroom is where they put the changing table. So, if I need to change my child’s diaper, I need to be in that stall. Also, if I need to use the restroom and it’s the only stall available, I will use it. Since many disabilities are invisible, do not assume someone who uses that stall doesn’t need it.

Lookism is discriminatory treatment of people who are considered physically unattractive, the workplace as well as in dating and social settings, where assumptions are made about a person’s ability to do a job or the type of person they are solely based on their outward appearance. Attractiveness is considered good and positive and unattractiveness is bad and negative. In the film, A League of Their Own (1992), the character, Marla, wasn’t chosen by the scout because she wasn’t pretty enough. She was only ultimately chosen because characters, Dottie and Kit, stand up for her and demand she be given the chance to play. A real-world example is the famous audition by Susan Boyle during the third season of Britain’s Got Talent. By his body language and tone of voice, Simon Cowell was already judging Ms. Boyle before she even began to sing. Of course, he was proven wrong as she beautifully sang “I Dreamed a Dream” from the musical Les Misérables. However, when it comes to dating and sexual attractiveness, beauty is in the eye of the beholder. I have been rejected by men based on my looks. I was always a good person to have as a friend but not as a romantic partner until my husband. My husband had been rejected by women based on his physical looks as well giving him the idea that no woman would find him attractive. Society may try to define what is attractive, beautiful, and sexy but in the eyes of the right person, that definition can be quite different.

Recently I read an article about how a woman received a powerful position due to tokenism because of who her father is. Tokenism is the practice of making a symbolic effort to be inclusive by recruiting people from underrepresented groups to create an impression of social inclusiveness and diversity. So, by this definition, this woman got this job is more an example of nepotism which is the practice among those with power or influence of favoring relatives or friends. Nepotism is nothing new in business and politics even as John F. Kennedy was accused of nepotism in 1961 when he appointed his brother, Robert Kennedy, as attorney general. Tokenism is most often seen in tv and movies. “Tokenism is about inserting diverse characters because you feel you have to” (Ferrera, 2016). Tokenism has been in the news and on social media today as actors are casted in roles that people assume because of their ethnicities. The example of this outrage is when Disney announced they had cast actress Halle Bailey as Ariel in their upcoming live-action remake of The Little Mermaid. Many people online commented that they (Disney) hired Ms. Bailey is simply because they needed a black girl. When I heard the news and the resulting outrage, I immediately thought of Disney’s adaption of Rodgers and Hammerstein’s Cinderella (1997) with a multicultural cast. It was a good, fun film which received more praise then it received criticism. Disney wasn’t accused of tokenism then. So, what changed?

In conclusion, at their core, ableism, lookism, and tokenism is about trying to classify entire groups of people as “less than” or unworthy of mainstream societal standards. People with disabilities can go about their daily lives without an able person asserted themselves under the guise of assistance. If a people with a disability needs assistance, they will ask. Lookism is pushing aside people one judges to be unattractive by their own standards. Some men don’t like women with curves, but there are men who do. There are some women who resist a man with facial and or body hair, and there are some women who don’t. Tokenism is choosing someone based on their group classification rather than their ability to do a job. Ableism, lookism, and tokenism are based on assumptions. Assumptions based on visual cues, about motives, about causality. And you know what happens when we assume?

 

References

 

Ferrera, America (May 18, 2016). America Ferrera On Diversity In Film & TV: Guest Column. Deadline.com. www.deadline.com/2016/05/america-ferrera-diversity-superstore-1201752658/.  Retrieved September 19, 2020.

 

Olsen. Emma (December 12, 2019). Ableism 101. www.accessliving.org/newsroom/blog/ableism-101/. Access Living.com. Retrieved September 17, 2020.

 

For more information

Americans with Disabilities Act. www.ada.gov.