"Don't worry about your looks honey! It's what's on the inside that counts!" -every overly enthusiastic adult, ever.
In some sense, this is true- at least society wants it to be. But in reality, looks are vital in daily life. After all, who hasn't looked at someone and judged them- whether it be taking notice of the mousy hair or the a less than desired layers of warmth around the stomach? It's a bit of a conundrum, really. We are told that it doesn't matter how someone looks but rather how someone acts. But then why do we have the ability to see? We cannot
see someone's "inside" or personality; but we can see their physical appearance.
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| do not tell me you haven't done this before |
However, I am by no means trying to dismiss the utmost importance of personality over looks. In its deepest level, this problem is due to flaws in human judgement and perception. We only get to truly know a certain number of people in life; we only touch everyone else on the superficial level. If that is the case, then how are we supposed to know someone's personality if we don't even know them?
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| so yes, it is the inside that counts |
This issue is apparent in a recent article we read in class about Barbies (yes, the toy). While Prager (the author) does discuss the Barbie's "influence" in a very sardonic manner, she makes an important point about the feminist movement by putting it as "a time when women sought equality and small breasts were king". This is not entirely based off of the distorted proportion of Barbie but rather the basic truth in society: tired of being oppressed and used for physical features, women sought to end the need for "big breasts" to be considered beautiful. Although I absolutely agree with this train of thought, this is by no means a easy task on the most fundamental level. Women are still being used today as "sex" objects and shown as obedient and submissive people in pop culture. There is a long way for women to go before they can truly be free from social ties and expectations, considering how hard it is to consider people outside the influence of appearance.
Hey, that's some deep thinking man
ReplyDeletewow thanks yo
DeleteInteresting discussion of personality vs. appearance, Christina. It's true that it's not easy to see a person's real personality -- is that why there's such great importance put on it? Because it's not easily attainable? In that case, maybe that's why there's such a large controversy over Barbie's body as well, because it's not easily attainable. Great thought-provoker you wrote here!
ReplyDeleteThat was very interesting Christina ! I think everyone subconsciously judges each other bases on appearance, but looking past is what's really important. Women have been mostly only glorified for their "sexuality" and not any of their other attributes.
ReplyDeleteHi Christina,
ReplyDeleteI think it's interesting that you pointed out the contradiction society creates. We shouldn't judge, but we can't make decisions without some sort of judgement. Personality is definitely harder to see than appearance.
This reminds me of judgina book by its cover. It is not right to judge a women purely on the fact that she is a woman. It's terrible to see that this stereotyping is still prominent.
ReplyDeleteI really liked that image you incorporated about the golden apple with a rotting interior. It simply summarizes the point about how the outermost appearance doesn't matter and the inside is what counts. A person can be ugly on the outside and still be a beauty on the inside. Who knows:)
ReplyDeleteI am completely synonymous with your opinion. It is but our brain that we must blame for this tragic nature that causes us to judge everything we see according to appearance. However, it is our obligation to continually fix the faults in our own society, and this blog post seems to be taking the first steps to remedying our predicament.
ReplyDeleteGreat job as always, Christina, and keep up the effort!
~Vineet Kamat