Judgement: An Everyday Obsticle

We are all guilty of it. It could be a stranger you passed on the street, someone you have walked by in the hall, or even an instagram picture you saw the other day. As soon as we lay eyes on another human being, whether you mean to or not, we judge them. Their clothes, their hair colour, their makeup, or their weight. Not only have we been guilty of it, we have all been, or will be, victim of it. It is a pessimistic reality that today’s society will construct a judgement of someone based on a notorious stereotype. What makes the difference is if you decide to look past what you see at first glance and appreciate a person’s inner beauty. There is so much more to a person than what they look like and many times that idea is abandoned, but the upcoming images will demonstrate the importance of admiring someone for who they really are.

This image shows first a man who has many tattoos, wearing a cut of t-shirt and worn out jeans. Many people in today’s society would take one look at this man and categorize him as being intimidating, a rebel and someone who doesn’t necessarily have their life together. But then you look at the next half of the picture to see the same man dressed as a doctor with his tattoos covered by the sophisticated doctor apparel. Now when we look at this man, bearing the same expression, what first comes to our mind is no longer negative thoughts. He would now be considered an educated, trustworthy person. What you should take into consideration is that the persona displayed on the left half of the picture could really be a kind, big-hearted man and the one on the right, a delinquent. Whether he portrays any of these traits, as a society we should learn to depart from making assumptions of other people such as the man in this image.

These next two images are very similar and both acknowledge the idea that what is presented on a person’s exterior, may not reflect who they really are. On the left half of the first picture we see a young girl who appears to be innocent, beside a man that gives off an unwelcoming vibe. The right hand side of this image shows what each person is hiding behind their back. The girl who you thought was innocent is actually bearing an ax which represents her beastly personality. Contradictory to this, the man you would have thought to be frightening, is holding a bouquet of flowers representing his gentle, loving nature. Similar to this image the next one also deals with the intimidating man vs. innocent little girl theme. What is interesting about this image is the choice of using their shadows to demonstrate the idea that who they really are is far from what they are perceived to be based on how they look. These images perfectly represent the importance of looking past a first judgement and venturing to determine a person’s true identity.

This is a powerful picture because it deals with real people who are affected by stereotypes generated by their appearance. The concept of the signs is so that each person can get their point across effectively because they would not always have the chance to do so. Why wouldn't there be a chance for them to be heard? Simply because a judgement would be emplaced upon them before they could express themselves. Most people today have been impacted immensely by stereotypes. It happens so much that we don’t even realize that thats exactly what they are - stereotypes! A stereotype is a generalized idea that doesn’t fairly represent an individual. Unfortunately we will all be grouped into categories that we may not belong in. But, in order to demolish these false identities, we ourselves can see others for who they really are and get the same in return. In other words, pursuing the concept of “not judging a book by its cover” is important because it will reflect not only how other people are being perceived but also how others will perceive us.

To conclude, it is a pessimistic reality that today’s society will construct a judgement of someone based on a notorious stereotype. What makes the difference is if you decide to look past what you see at first glance and appreciate a person’s inner beauty.