Society is fixated on looks and celebrities, but how we look has deep ramifications for ordinary people too. This book explains how social inequality pertains to prejudice and discrimination against people based on their physical appearance. It discusses the pressures to be attractive and the methods by which we strive to alter our appearance.

She also analyses the underlying social forces such as economic incentives that, on the one hand, channel us to be as physically acceptable as possible via the sale of diet pills and skin lighteners, and on the other hand, encourage us to accept ourselves as we are by selling us plus-size clothing. The book concludes with suggestions for equal rights extended to all regardless of appearance, and describes budding social movements and grassroots initiatives toward an acceptance of "looks diversity."