by Barbie Humphrey

Created on: November 23, 2009   Last Updated: November 25, 2009

Unfortunately, we have all done it; made snap decisions about someone's character based on there personal appearance. It's a very harsh realty but it happens daily, at the work place, at school or even just passing someone on the street. Appearance is a persons way of advertising to the world what they are all about whether they like it or not ; like the way a book's cover is trying to entice you to read the story. Is it always accurate no, are you less likely to pick up the book if the cover doesn't catch your attention, unfortunately for most people that answer is yes. According to an article I read on USA today.com

" It takes only three to five seconds to make a first impression."(Denise Kersten, USATODAY.com) .

What things are people picking up on in this short amount of time that make people feel like they can put there brain on instant autopilot, and judge? I know most people will say that race is one of the first things that will cause people to make an uninformed guess about a persons character based on their personal appearance. Stereotypes dealing with race in our culture are very wrong and very hurtful to anyone who has ever experienced racism first hand. I think for the most part, the average person who is not a racist, will notice a persons race and not let that effect the overall picture of the person there painting in there head. I think there are other aspects of a persons appearance that have a greater effect on peoples impressions of them. I also think that some of these aspects effect men and women differently in the personal appearance department.

Weight is always a touchy subject, and the one aspect of a persons appearance that I feel people judge the most. I have heard it said somewhere that "weight is now the only acceptable form of discrimination." Not being a size 0 woman myself I have felt this kind of discrimination first hand, and there is nothing acceptable about it. When it comes to being judged by your personal appearance women are judged more harshly then men in the weight department. There is constant pressure from the media through books, magazines, and television for a woman to look a certain way. Thin is in. This idea has effected us as a society. When people see a woman who is over weight they automatically make certain assumptions. Some of them being that this person is lazy, she eats to much, she does not care about her body, and my favorite, she has no self esteem. I'm not saying overweight men don't go through this

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