<?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8"?>
<article>
  <title>The Invisible Ground of Equality: Physical Appearance, Body Size, and the Limits of Protected Characteristics in Comparative Anti Discrimination Law</title>
  <slug>the-invisible-ground-of-equality-physical-appearance-body-size-and-the-limits-of-protected-characteristics-in-comparative-anti-discrimination-law</slug>
  <parent>
    <title>Volume 7, Issue 2</title>
  </parent>
  <post_type>
    <title>Research Article</title>
  </post_type>
  <year>2026</year>
  <volume>7</volume>
  <content><![CDATA[Anti-discrimination law singles out protected personal characteristics, 
making disadvantages legally relevant when they fall under established 
grounds. Appearance exposes the limitations of this architecture. It may 
affect access to employment and social goods and intersect with sex, race, 
disability, age, religion, and socio-economic class. Yet neither physical 
appearance nor body size is an autonomous protected ground under the 
dominant European Union employment equality regime. This article 
compares the EU’s ground-based architecture, France’s explicit protection 
of physical appearance, and New York City’s targeted protection of height 
and weight. It argues that the EU approach creates a derivative protection 
trap: appearance-related harm receives protection only when reframed 
through a recognised ground. France and New York City offer different 
alternatives. Drawing on comparative anti-discrimination theory, the 
article proposes an appearance-relevance test addressing disadvantage, 
stereotyping, functional relevance, and proportional justification. Its 
purpose is to distinguish private preferences from appearance-based 
exclusion from significant social opportunities.&nbsp;&nbsp;]]></content>
  <references />
  <keywords>Lookism, physical appearance, body size, anti-discrimination law, comparative law</keywords>
  <date>2026-10-26</date>
  <url>https://jlp.ibupress.com/articles/the-invisible-ground-of-equality-physical-appearance-body-size-and-the-limits-of-protected-characteristics-in-comparative-anti-discrimination-law</url>
  <issue>2</issue>
  <pages>23-39</pages>
  <doi>10.69648/APSN1815</doi>
  <language>en</language>
  <license>CC BY-NC-ND 4.0</license>
  <license_url>https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/</license_url>
  <pdf>https://jlp.ibupress.com/file/99bQBT4DljK/jlp-7-2-02-konstantakis.pdf</pdf>
  <authors>
    <author>
      <first_name>Giorgios</first_name>
      <last_name>Konstantakis</last_name>
      <affiliation>Aristotle University of Thessaloniki</affiliation>
      <country>Greece</country>
      <orcid>https://orcid.org/0009-0008-7458-5554</orcid>
      <ror>https://ror.org/02j61yw88</ror>
      <corresponding>true</corresponding>
    </author>
  </authors>
  <journal>
    <title>Journal of Law And Politics</title>
    <issn>2671-342X</issn>
    <eissn>2671-3438</eissn>
    <publisher>Balkan University Press</publisher>
    <url>https://jlp.ibupress.com</url>
  </journal>
</article>