Tuesday, November 10, 2009
Inside or Out ... What really matters?
Does what a person look like on the outside influence how we treat them? After listening to the bad experiences of an obese woman this past weekend, I found myself questioning whether or not I have ever looked at an obese person in a negative way because of their exterior. Due to her experiences with being an obese person in this society, she has developed low self-esteem, feels ugly, and believes that no matter how productive she is in her life, a stranger looks at her negatively because of her size. It made me wonder; how do people REALLY treat an obese person? We all know that society has tried to make it so that we believe that “skinny” is beautiful and better, and this has had a big impact on our society to believe that anything BUT, is unacceptable! Now don’t get me wrong, I feel we SHOULD all want to eat healthy and be active so that we are not too overweight, because obesity does have a negative impact on our health. However, many people are overweight due to health issues, as well as some life circumstance, where well eating isn’t an option. Although many people are obese simply because they don’t make healthy choices, eat too much and are not active also. But a person’s size shouldn’t cause for anyone to be treated mean, or looked at in a negative matter, especially if we haven’t gotten to know the inner person. Does societies perception about how we should look on the outside cause for us to ignore what a person is like on the inside?
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To be honest people do really look at what on that outside first because its what they see first. I mean its sad to say it but its the truth. I mean you want to love the person inside and out. You dont want it to be one side it and not be attracted to the person cause then it can turn into a serious problem.For example jealousy and cheating may occur if u are not attracted to the persons outside
ReplyDeletei do not accept that looking at the outershelf of someone should define their character but it often does.i think everyone should look clean and good.it is not fair to judge someone by the way they look but dang! some people dont even try
ReplyDeleteI agree with you both that what a person looks like on the outside is what we see first and naturally we are more attracted to attractive things. But I am speaking in this case more about how we treat people. Is it really cool or fair to treat a person mean or feel we are better than the next person because we feel we are fitter, prettier, more well off, etc.? You can't get to know a person unless you interact, talk to, or observe them. We can't get to know a person inside if we judge them because of the outside without ever giving them a chance. I believe that if we get to know a person inside it helps us to better understand them.
ReplyDeleteI definitely agree that it's important to be attracted to who a person is rather than solely based upon what they look like. There's no denying the fact that a big part of attraction is finding someone attractive, but if that's your only standard you're going to be doomed to only being in really short, probably lame relationships.
ReplyDeleteAt the same time though, it can't be used as an excuse for really letting yourself go. If you're hoping to attract someone, you've got to make sure you're in a state where if you saw yourself on the street, you'd think of yourself as pretty decently attractive. Looks aren't everything, but first impressions totally can be.
I think that the inside is what matters more but in our society that is not the first thing that we consider. Naturally we initially judge a person based on their appearance because that is what is observed in the very beginning and then we begin to draw assumptions from the image that we see. We live a cruel and not everyone is as nice we want them to be unfortunately and we are surrounded by ignorance. I am ashamed to admit that I am one of those people who look at certain types of people and think they’re weird because they’re not like me. The only thing that I could think of is not to worry about other people and strive towards happiness without having to be approved by other people.
ReplyDeleteI haven't seen or involved my self with treating obese people wrong. I wish you could elaborate on the stories you heard this weekend. On the other hand I do believe there are certain jobs that my not hire an obese person. Yes, because whats on the outside does matter. Allot of us wish there was no stereotypes out there but the truth is "this is America" the land of the free. We are free to think and pass personal judgment on anyone. If and obese person wanted to work at a health food shop, most likely he/she would not get the job. I recently walked into a XL men fashion store and applied for a job. I noticed that all of the staff was overweight, and immediately I thought I wouldn't get the job. Though the sign on the door said help wanted, I haven't received a call yet.
ReplyDeleteA couple of my friends have weight issues and I never even really think about it because there my friends. Because of this I know I never look at anyone who is obese as different and I have never call anyone fat. My dad was overweight as a kid and when he first told me about this he got pretty upset. He said kids used to laugh at him and use his weight as a reason to exclude him from a group. When I heard this it made me upset as his kid and therefore I never let weight stand in the way of any relationship.
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