How many times have you been misjudged based on first impression? Well, we get that a lot. Sometimes we wonder why people would not give us a chance or why they misjudge us. We think to ourselves, is it because I did this? Is it because of my hair? Is it because of the way I look? Do appearances matter?

Welcome y’all to another series of ViewPoint. In case you don’t know what ViewPoint is, it is a monthly series where I seek a number of people’s opinion regarding certain issues, compile them and publish.

Do appearances matter?

The above question is a question most of us have thought about whether consciously or subconsciously. We live in a world where people misjudge you based on how you look. With the rise of liberalism and past experiences, people tend to look past appearances, however shall we disregard appearances or shall we not?

With regards to if appearances matter, I asked 8 people (4 males and 4 females) what they thought about appearances and if it mattered. This post is quite long, as usual but I believe it’s worth reading.

Disclaimer: This post is not to support or disregard any notion. The opinions stated in this post are not mine but are the opinions of the anonymous individuals.

Below are the responses of these 8 individuals:

Opinion 1

Appearance matters, you can tell a lot about a person by the way he dresses. For instance a guy wearing heavy chains torn trouser even sagging them is enough to say the kind of person he could be. And a guy who looks smart on the other everyday could tell you he is at least a bit serious with life or even more.

Opinion 2

On the existing view on PUNCH, the mental state of health of every human being can be determined to a large extent by the clothes that they wear, or better still, by their appearance or outlook.

Obviously, an insane person for instance needs no introduction as everyone will be cautious not to move close to him. Even someone that is hale and hearty can be mistaken for an abnormal person by his or her outlook.

The normal reaction of people at first contact to anybody whose mode of dressing is far below or above the norm is to first and foremost take a second look of admiration or disgust (as the case may be). It is until the sanity level of such has been determined before others can be comfortable around the person.

Humans are rational beings, because there is a reason for acting the way we do, except for those that are mentally unfit. Some act based on past experiences, and some act by copying what other people do. Whether we choose to dress well or not, whatever we choose to do, there is a purpose for it because human beings are sensible, logical and act based on reasons.

Opinion 3

The issue of does appearance matter still falls down to the phrase of Appearance and Reality. Appearance is not reality. They are two different forms which can’t work on each other but instead we humans tend to misplace the priorities between these two phrases. We therefore tend to give straight judgement to people based on their appearances but it goes way more than that. There’s a saying, “Don’t Judge a Book By its Cover”. The problem of judging things by its appearance is a universal issue with humans. This can only be solved by sharing experiences of those who made wrong judgments based on appearances before knowing the reality which is always in depth.

Related: Guilt: Causes and How to overcome it

Opinion 4

Appearances matter a lot. I’m an avid believer in the law of attraction; you receive what you give out. The law plays a more holistic role in nature. However, I have chosen it to be the basis on which my opinion will be formed in addition to my faith.

1 Corinthians 6:19 sums it all up for me. We live in a world where all our actions are seemingly innocuous and by extension excusable. If the lady/guy down the road repeatedly appears scantily clad, cool and charismatic, then perhaps it’s okay to follow that trend. As we continuously follow trends, the skirts grow shorter, the tops “cropper”, pants move a little further down and the hair colour more bizarre. We are more oblivious of the fact that for every loss, we lose a piece of ourselves.

Don’t judge a book by its cover, YES! But in that same cover lies the depth/truth the book holds. 8 times out of 10 the cover can give away the content and the other 2 are just excusable exceptions. A lot of godly, amazing and beautiful souls have lost out of opportunities just because of their appearances. Likewise, a lot of ill-mannered individuals have had doors opened for them for the same reason.

Opinion 5

Yes, we shouldn’t judge people based on their appearances that doesn’t mean that we should dress anyhow, unless we really don’t care about what people say about our appearances. I usually watch a show titled “How do I look” on DSTV. It’s where people take their loved ones to so they can change their bad concepts on appearance.

Those people with the bad concepts don’t really care about what people say but then the people they go out with are sad and don’t even want to associate with them. It’s not because of their behavior (in fact they’re kind and friendly). If appearance does not actually matter, their loved ones will not take them to that show. Appearance matters a lot, though we shouldn’t judge people based on appearance.

Opinion 6

Yes, appearances matter. The fact is that we might all like to live in the idealistic world where you aren’t judged based on how you look, but guess what guys we are always going to be looked at based on how we appear to people especially when it comes to our careers.

Every career has a code of conduct and appearances are included in it too. It affects almost every aspect of our relationships with people; from getting jobs to making friends. This is because the first thing you notice in a person is what they look like, not what they say or do but how they look. Unconsciously (sometimes consciously) before speaking to a person we have made little assessment by just simply looking at them.

Opinion 7

Appearances matter. Once, I decided to keep a bushy appearance which planned to dreads. While in University, lots of my peeps would tell me, I didn’t look kept and hospital employees always complained about my looks. I made sure my fragrance was up to date and my skin was sharp, but the hair, just had to be unkempt so that I could answer this question by myself “Does appearance really matter?”

My self esteem grew because I accepted myself regardless of how I looked outwardly, because I knew what I was worth. Anyways, most of the time, people tend to address you based on your dressing. If you go to a club dressed with flip flops, you’ll be bounced. You go for an executive meeting with casual shorts… You’ll be seen as unserious. You’ll need to prove them otherwise probably by the opinions you share that are impactful in such meetings.

Related: ViewPoint: Honesty and White Lies

Opinion 8

Appearance matters because we humans have natural instinct to “summarize” people on first meeting. For instance, this person is from a rich background, this person is classy; we even go as far as concluding that someone is/looks like a prostitute from the way they dress. Appearance matters but I believe we should get to know people before we conclude who /what they are or are not, for so have people mistaken angels for beggars.

That’s the last one. What do you think? Do appearances matter? I’d love to read your own views in the comment section below.

I’ve learned a lot from this and I am moved to write an article on appearance perhaps sometime this month. If you like what you see and you want to see more, you can subscribe to my blog. Also follow me on facebook, twitter and instagram @theroyaldeviant