外貌歧视引争议：貌丑者应受保护

Some might consider it an ugly truth that attractive people are often more successful than those less blessed with looks.

长相漂亮的人通常比相貌平平的人更成功，这也许在某些人看来是丑陋的事实。

But now our appearance is emerging in legal disputes as a new kind of discrimination.

但如今相貌作为一种新歧视出现在了法律纠纷当中。

‘Lookism’, it is claimed, is the new racism, and should be banished from civilised societies.

有人宣称，“外貌主义”是种族主义的新形式，应该在文明社会中被摒弃。

It is currently the subject of several court actions in America, and some experts say similar cases should be considered here too.

目前美国好几个法庭都出现了外貌歧视案件，一些专家说相似的案例也应该考虑进去。

Economist Daniel Hamermesh argues that ugliness is no different from race or a disability, and suggests unattractive people deserve legal protection.

经济学家丹尼尔 汉默梅希认为，因相貌丑陋受到的歧视和种族或残疾歧视没有差别，并建议说其貌不扬的人应受到法律保护。

‘My research shows being good-looking helps you earn more money, find a higher-earning spouse and even get better deals on mortgages,’ he said.

他说：“我的研究表明，长得漂亮能帮你挣到更多的钱、找到收入更高的配偶，甚至能在抵押借款时获得更多优惠。”

‘Some people are born ugly and there’s not much they can do about it. You’re pretty much stuck withyour looks.

“有些人天生就长得丑，他们也很难改变自己的长相。而且这样的长相将伴随他们的一生。

‘Logically there’s no less reason to protect the ugly than the disabled, African Americans, other racial minorities or religious minorities, as we do. We could even have affirmative actionfor the ugly.’

“从逻辑上来讲，丑陋的人与残疾人、非洲裔美国人、其他种族或宗教少数人群一样有理由受到保护。我们甚至可以向丑陋人群实行平权法案。”

But Lawrence Davies, of the Equal Justice law firm, believes we should be wary of amending current equality laws.

但是公正律师事务所的劳伦斯 戴维斯认为，在修改现行的平等法律时我们应该采取谨慎的态度。

‘People who appear to be conventionally beautiful have fewer barriers to workplace success,’ he said. ‘However, protecting conventionally ugly people or offensively linking that condition to a disability would take society in the wrong direction.’

他说：“公认为漂亮的人通往职场成功之路的障碍会更少，然而，保护那些被公认为丑陋的人，或把貌丑和残疾联系起来，这会让人不愉快，并会把社会引向错误的方向。”

The issue has been highlighted by the case of Shirley Ivey, 61, who is suing her former employer in Washington for ‘lookism’. She left her job at the Department of Consumer and Regulatory affairs suffering from stress after allegedly being told by a supervisor that he would like her more if she was prettier.

此前61岁的雪莉 艾维以外貌歧视为名起诉她在华盛顿的前上司，从而使这一问题受到高度关注。雪莉称她之前在消费者及监管事务部工作时被一位主管告知如果她长得漂亮些，他会更喜欢她，后来雪莉因受不了压力而辞职。