Guest editorial by Margie M. Palmer
Toronto Digital Queeries- February 1, 2004
Appearance Discrimination: To make a distinction in favor or against a person on the basis of the group or class to which that person belongs, rather than according to merit; show partiality.
--Random House
I’d like to think we live in a modern society, but as I get older I realize that even with all the neat little electronic toys and gadgets we have at our disposal our most primitive responses remain just that, primitive. We all make assumptions. We all make judgments. And without any second thoughts about doing so, we instantly form biases on people we meet for the first time in an instant, just based on how they look.
Not too long ago I scheduled a routine check up at my doctor’s office. I’d recently changed HMO’s, so this was my first time in this particular office. I went in dressed as I normally do: my hair was spiked out, I had my leather wristbands on, some big chunky black shoes… and the entire staff was not exactly open or inviting. Very few people I interacted with made eye contact, no one cared to make an attempt at polite conversation, and I felt as if I were rushed in and out as quickly as possible. Normally I pay very little attention to stuff like this, however it was only in my next visit did my proverbial light go on.
That particular morning I was meeting with a client, so instead of “Margie-wear” I was wearing dress pants and a blouse and had a piece clipped into my hair that made me look as if I had a curly brown pony-tail: I basically looked like a 17-year old straight girl. After I left my client, I had my second visit to my MD’s office and the difference in how I was treated was nothing less than drastic. People smiled at me, looked at me when they spoke, suddenly they were polite and warm, and welcoming.
Although even the most open minded of us would like to think otherwise, it seems that everyone has a predisposition to judge. Even me. In college I had seen a guy out at the club one night and did just that: Josh was tall, built, had a goatee, and was wearing a spiked collar and a leather hat. He was the kind of guy who if I had seen him walking towards me on a dark street, I would have crossed it and taken another route home. Yet after meeting him, I was surprised to find out he was the most flamboyant, sweet, teddy bear of a gay man I could ever have met. Who knew? I began to wonder, that although I was the same person they had seen several weeks before, had the employees in my doctor’s office impression of me changed that drastically, just because of how I looked? Later that afternoon when I returned home, I dug up my old lecture notes and re-discovered the following.
Social Psychologists have long studied this phenomenon, and break this predisposition up into 2 categories: the “Halo Effect” and the “Devil Effect”. The basic theory is that when you see someone as attractive, you automatically make positive assumptions about them, and vice versa. And believe it or not, the following “rules of assumption” seem to hold true for all of us:
Ø Facially attractive people are expected to possess socially and organizationally desirable personality traits (warm, sensitive, etc.). (The “halo effect”)
Ø Attractive persons are generally assumed to have higher levels of intelligence, motivation, education, and overall capability. (The “halo effect”)
Ø Attractive persons are assumed to possess greater ability in a job than unattractive persons. (The “halo effect”)
Ø Less attractive persons are generally assumed to have lower than average intelligence, education, and motivation. (“The “devil effect”)
Ø Unattractive criminals tend to receive longer and harsher prison sentences than attractive criminals. (The “devil effect”)
Ø Unattractive persons are 5 times more likely to be convicted of a crime than attractive persons. (The “devil effect”)
Ø People will first judge you by your appearance, then by your personality if time and opportunity permits. Thus, the longer your exposure to another person, the greater your chance of being judged on personality traits versus appearance factors.
Research shows attractive people also have more occupational success and more dating experience than their unattractive counterparts.
Are researchers right? Are we all that superficial? Although I did my “due diligence” and attempted to find evidence to counter these claims, I was unsuccesful. Our obsession with and glorification of youth and beauty has arguably led to everything from anorexia among women to the rise in plastic surgery.
We are who we are, and none of us falls neatly into some pre-packaged segment of society. Even in the gay community there are segments within segments, sub-cultures within sub-cultures, and this is an issue that most of us have to face on a day-to-day basis.
Can we do anything about it? Well, not unless you’re comfortable with the idea of conforming to the heterosexual societal norm. The best you can do is be aware that how you appear (aka, how you dress) is going to have a direct impact on how others percieve you. Know your environment. And don’t be surprised if you’re in a “heterosexual dominated” neighborhood toting around on a skateboard wearing leather wristbands and a collar, that when you roll into the corner store to purchase a bottle of water, if the clerk looks at you as if you’re going to hold him up (unless he too is a little more on the alternative side when it comes to his choice in attire).
The best lesson to be learned here is to be true to yourself, be aware of the differences that make us individuals, and try not to jump to conclusions about people whose style / appearance is unlike your own, lest you make an assumption that will more than likely find out to be wrong in the long run.
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