New York, December 20. Image via Filmmagic.

Says writer Sarah Kershaw, "It is an awkward topic, a wretched concept, really, and, of course, a terrible insult when flung in your direction." Studies have found that "lookism" exists in almost all spheres of life. A 1994 study, “Beauty and the Labor Market,” found that "unattractive people" earn between five and ten percent less than those found to be beautiful. San Francisco and Washington have put anti-looks-discrimination looks on their books. But it's not as straightforward as other discrimination issues: for one thing, people don't like to think of themselves as "ugly," found wanting behind some societal velvet rope, and why would anyone? It's an absolute insult, yet wholly subjective. It says, in essence, whatever else you are, it doesn't matter.

Then too, what even is "ugliness?" The piece points out that while perceptions of beauty are pretty much cross-cultural — they generally hinge on symmetry and certain perceptions of health — there is no "ugliness" standard and it can be hard to separate such discrimination from racial and ethnic prejudices. It's no secret that more attractive people are perceived as superior and that conventional "beauty" is an asset in almost any industry, but the definition of "ugliness" and its attendant lookism is far more fluid. The only constant? It's bad. "Ugliness is associated with evil and fear, with villains and monsters: the Wicked Witch of the West, Freddy Krueger and Harry Potter’s arch-meanie, Lord Voldemort, with his veiny skull, creepy slits in his nose for nostrils and rotten teeth."

Several people in the piece claim we're having a brief "ugliness moment" because cultural phenomena like Ugly Betty and Shrek celebrate "bringing ugly back." But this cute "ugliness" — which basically consists of a cute girl wearing a frumpy outfit — has nothing to do with the true physical differences that have traditionally stood as shorthand for deeper deficiencies. And this superficial acceptance of the other lasts only as long as it takes for the next episode of Extreme Makeover or Style by Jury to begin, allowing the unfortunate subject to get a new face. We might study the idea of "ugliness" in art and society, confront our prejudices, but the truth is we are so insulated from any difference that, ironically, anyone without braces or Accutane strikes us as grotesque. Today, my Grandpa Moe would probably have been put on Extreme Makeover. But when he was a kid, even if people were a lot crueller, there was no pretense of false acceptance — and at the end of the day, he was just another person.

Move Over, My Pretty, Ugly Is Here [New York Times]

• Fergie: Pregnant? Sources say she and Josh Duhamel are moving up the wedding date because she doesn't want the bump to be too obvious. Honestly, she did seem a wee soft in the face when she was singing with John Legend at the Grammys, but it looked good. [Page Six]
  
• Also on Grammy night: Dita Von Teese was seen "getting snuggly" with Backstreet Boy A.J. McLean? Wait, what? [Page Six]
  
• And Lindsay Lohan Paris Hilton was seen "aggressively trying" to get with John Mayer. Sigh. [Page Six]
  
• Is Britney going on a world tour? A source says she'll train for a month and then leave the country, getting away from her "friend" Sam Lutfi and boyfriend Adnan Ghalib. [Page Six]
  
• Meanwhile, Britney's father got permission to fire her business manager, whom he does not trust. [People]
  
• Although taking control of her finances is tough, because Britney is an adult. [Newsweek]
  
• Lenny Kravitz is in the hospital with severe bronchitis. Get well! [Reuters]

• Ryan Phillippe says his divorce from Reese Witherspoon was "the darkest, saddest place I had ever been" and he couldn't get out of bed for four or five months. [People]
• Uma Thurman: "I'd like more children. I asked the doctor, she said there's still time. I still have the sippy cups." [Page Six]
• The authors of the latest Anna Nicole Smith book are suing their publisher. It's always something. [Gatecrasher]
• Though all of the Spice Girls were in New York this weekend, Posh partied without Ginger, Baby, Sporty and Scary. What happened to "friendship never ends"? [Gatecrasher]
• Nicolas Cage is suing Kathleen Turner for writing that he was arrested twice for DUI and possibly stealing a Chihuahua. "I have never been arrested for anything in my life, nor have I stolen a dog," Nic says. [Rush & Molloy]
• Entourage star Kevin Connolly either did or did not jump some guy at a nightclub and pummel him in the head. The guy filed charges but then called the sheriff's office and said "never mind." [TMZ]
• Paris Hilton dropped her cat at the vet two weeks ago and has yet to pick her up; the woman she adopted the cat from says the cat is now abandoned. But! This seems to be a publicity stunt for the woman's foundation. So whatever. [People]
• Natalie Cole on Amy Winehouse: "I don't think she should have won. I think it sends a bad message to our young people... We have to stop rewarding bad behavior." [People]
• Joel Madden says baby Harlow is a "mama's girl." He also says Nicole Richie is "a wonderful mother and looks really hot already... There's something so attractive about her now. It's a motherly glow." Aw, a compliment wrapped in an insult, sweet! [People]
• Miley Cyrus' new movie features a scene where she's riding in the back seat of a Range Rover — without a seat belt. SCANDAL. [USA Today]
• Sienna Miller told a British court she felt hunted and in a "threatening situation" when paparazzi chased her car across London in an attempt to find out where she lived. One day one of these aggro-pap stories is going to end very badly. [USA Today]
• On the 25th anniversary of Thriller, Michael Jackson thanks his fans and promises new music. Meanwhile, the old stuff is awesome! [USA Today]
• Relive some Michael Jackson memories here. [Rolling Stone]
• Michelle Williams is back in New York after attending Heath Ledger's funeral in Australia. [People]
• John Ritter's family is suing the doctors who treated him before he died; attorneys say because Ritter never got a chest X-ray, he got the wrong treatment, leading to his death. [Reuters]
• Gwyneth Paltrow may adopt a baby from Brooklyn; "I'm a New York girl," she says. [Mirror]
• Denise Richards' new reality show for E! will focus on her life as a single mom. Ryan Seacrest is producing. No comment. [Variety]
• Shrek The Musical: Coming to Broadway in December. [USA Today]

[Rome, Italy; June 15. Image via Splash]