There is a form of prejudice in the U.S. more prevalent and more damaging than that of race, sex or class and virtually every single person is guilty of it, including those targeted by it. In fact it is so common that it is accepted as part of our daily lives and never seen as a problem.

I am referring to the treatment and discrimination of those that are aesthetically disadvantaged, commonly referred to as ugly.

At this point many of you are going to laugh and assume that this is a parody, but it is not. Being unattractive is a major disadvantage in our beauty-is-everything culture and reality of how ugly people are treated and the discrimination against them is a social issue that is completely overlooked.

In our societies generations of struggle to bring equality to all, ugly people have been ignored. Even in a period of extreme political correctness where you could not say anything about anybody for fear of offending, ugly people remained fair game. They remained the butt of out jokes, stereotyped in our media and underprivileged in everyday life.

Have you ever noticed that a large majority of extremely poor are also unattractive? Do you think that this a coincidence? Is it also a coincidence that in movies and TV ugly people for the most part are portrayed as stupid, impoverished and very often bad or evil?

It is not coincidence; our society looks down on those that were not blessed with certain features that make them “attractive”. They are very much stereotyped and considered lesser human beings and the reality is that these people are openly discriminated against.

There is indeed a connection between being poor and being ugly and a correlation between how unattractive someone is and the opportunities they have in their life. Although there is no official study that has been done that I know of, just take a look around.

Where do you see ugly people working? You see them, or rather don’t see them, in the lowest most undesired jobs and most often jobs in which they are out of the public view. You rarely see them in high profile retail jobs for example, because you are not going to ask an ugly person “how this dress looks” or “what is the best make-up”, after all what would they know about it fashion or beauty, they are ugly.

Even those that are just attractive enough to get a decent paying job still suffer lower standards. Take walk around your office and see who got the spots near the doors and widows up front and who is buried deep in the cubicle farms. It is not always obvious but if you walk around enough office buildings you will notice a trend.

There is no conspiracy here; I do not believe we are even aware that we are doing it. It has become such an accepted standard in our culture we subconsciously avoid or push unattractive people out view. Many of us do not see ugly people at all; literally they have become invisible.

Worst of all each and every one of us is guilty. At some point we have all switched checkout lanes at the grocery store to avoid the ugly guy. Passed by a stranded motorist without a second thought because they weren’t an attractive guy or girl. Most of us have just assumed that freaky looking person on the corner asking for a handout was crazy or on drugs and not a victim of the discrimination of a shallow society. Some people have even pushed aside a perfectly qualified resume because the applicant was unattractive.

Yet this is more than a financial or social standings issue. Imagine the psychological and emotional strain of living in a society where you are constantly bombarded with images and ideas that in no subtle way devalue you simple because of your physical appearance.

These issues are no less valid than segregated drinking fountains, and whites only restaurants where during the civil rights movement. Unattractive people cannot help being unattractive anymore than blacks could hide their skin color. And as with any stereotype being ugly does not automatically make you unintelligent or a bad person.

There is one difference however; ugly people do not have any supporters. There is no one going to rally for these people’s rights or speak out against their discrimination. I myself, even realizing the problem, cannot find it in me to change my views. I will admit that I avoid ugly people; I find them sad and depressing and would rather not have to look at them.

I am not suggesting a solution or even saying that there is one. All I am doing is putting it out there; saying, hey did you even think about this? I don’t even expect most people to take this seriously and I certainly don’t expect that it is going to change anything.

Perhaps the connection between ugly and evil that roots back to our earliest ancestors and their fears is too strong. Maybe it is instinctual because even ugly people seem to be unaware of the inequalities they live with. But whether a product of our society or buried in our genes it is unfair and should questioned.

The process to change a flaw or inequality in a culture takes a long time, but that change cannot begin until people are made aware of the problem. Each person needs to step back and ask themselves, “why is it this way, and is it right?”