Published online by Cambridge University Press: 31 July 2025
Chapter 6 uses doctrinal analysis to ask what the word ‘disfigurement’ means, and whether we can justify treating disfigurement differently from the related concepts of appearance and obesity. It identifies significant gaps created by a law which only protects a small subset of people experiencing appearance disadvantage – those with severe disfigurements – and which excludes many of those disabled by social barriers because of other aesthetic differences, such as those experiencing hair loss, those whose bodies are differently sized or those with facial movement impairments (such as facial palsy or synkinesis). It doubts whether these inconsistencies and mixed messages can be justified. It also considers whether other protected characteristics – such as sex or age – can be drafted in to fill the gaps in legal protection, but concludes that this may amplify the inconsistencies within the law.
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