(Original air date: May 25, 2010) Everyone knows that looks matter. But should the law be involved when it comes to discrimination on the basis of appearance? Stanford law professor Deborah Rhode thinks it should. She explains why in her book about how much we're affected by physical appearances: "The Beauty Bias: The Injustice of Appearance in Life and Law." 

On yesterday's show, Stanford law professor Deborah Rhode talked about her new book, "The Beauty Bias: The Injustice of Appearance in Life and Law"  and said that "looks are really the last bastion of acceptable bigotry in this culture."

We asked if unattractive people should be protected by law on our show yesterday, and we got an overwhelming number of responses from you. Some listeners agreed with our guest that there should be some kind of protection and others took a more philosophical approach, asking, "what is beauty?"

Everyone knows that looks matter. But should the law be involved when it comes to discrimination on the basis of appearance? Stanford law professor Deborah Rhode thinks it should. She explains why in a new book about how much we're affected by how people look, "The Beauty Bias: The Injustice of Appearance in Life and Law." What do you think? Should the law protect people who aren't attractive?

The Ms. Senior America Pageant is not exactly your grandmother’s pageant ... because your grandmother could be in it!  For 38 years the pageant has been promoting the idea that seniors are active, vibrant and useful members of society.  Every year, state queens compete for the title of Ms. Senior America. The Takeaway’s Femi Oke reports from the 2009 pageant, held at Harrah’s Casino in Atlantic City, New Jersey.

To find out more about senior pageants: www.senioramerica.org