New words often disturb us. Even for those of us who like to think of ourselves as progressive (even when we do so quite rightly) we are most of us, almost everyone, to a great extent still entrenched in the status quo of the societies we inhabit. It is too hard to fight.

With this comes a tendency to not be super charitable to new phenomenon like, in this case, the word "lookism". I think it is fair to say that most people consider the absurd or almost straw-man case of what lookism might mean rather than one that is more charitable.

"Am I not allowed to find what whatever I find attractive, attractive?", "What are all these demands on me and my sexual desire?", "Pls no I am exhausted".

Idk what a more charitable interpretation might be? Perhaps as a way to describe the non-sexual/romantic ways in which life is easier for those of us who are more attractive than the average, and harder for those of us who are not. Even then, this might not be useful enough a word to warrant much thought or use. To have some hope of understanding ourselves, the world and other people, it is useful to be charitable in our interpretation and then being critical of this "best" meaning.

For example, if I think of lookism as a moral failing of mine because I do not find all men fuckable, then, well, no thank you. But on the other hand, I can not reasonably deny that I have had rather more of a good time of it because I look nice.

Though this has been expressed on the range of being paid to wear clothes and walk like a sullen bitch, probably having made better impressions at a number of job interviews, to just being treated more pleasantly in every day interactions, even the least of these, over time may not be without impact to how my life has turned out.

Idk how meaningful Lookism, even charitably interpreted will ever be. But it isn't pointless to think about how we treat people, in non-romantic/sexual ways, for how they look. And we do.