Women, in particular go to the extreme. In the recent years, cosmetic and beauty products, for example, have become the best sellers among the market. Why is this so? With a large variety of products surfacing, from whitening products to anti-aging products, women become attracted to these goods, and because of all the propaganda and commercial used, they believe that these products would be able to alter them to look like the ‘perfect’ and ‘skinny, well built’ models. With so much commercial on the internet and the television, it is inevitable that we are constantly triggered with these thoughts that we have to aim for perfection, not just for self satisfaction, but to attract other’s attention. Amongst the men, they have now become cautious of their appearances as well. Women now aim for the perfect size, aiming for height of at least 170cm, and the waist to be no more than 25cm. These are all expressed in the fashion shows, where models are seen to be tall and skinny. This has also lead to the increasing number of plastic surgeries, something that the new scientific knowledge has allowed us to invent, where people reconstruct different body parts to make them look ‘prettier’ or more ‘attractive’. Men continuously aim to be ‘handsome’ and by defining handsome, it does not just point to the face, but also to the muscles in their body. Hence, the number of men who have started working out in the gyms have also increased.
The truth, the reality however, is that often looks could be deceiving, and what may appear on the outside, may not be equivalent to the inside. A perfectly shaped red apple, may look very appetizing from the appearance, but could be lacking the sweetness and the crunchy texture that apples are supposed to have. A book with the most exciting cover could also be the most boring book on the shelf. Judging people simply by their looks without knowing what lies within can become the worst thing that could ever happen. Such obsession with the outer appearance has also led to social discrimination. This means that people with a certain physical look, or of a certain race should be superior to the others. This often leads to lots of conflicts in life.
Such discrimination has often happened in the past, and has up till now, left quite a big impact on the world. Adolf Hitler, a man who had surfaced as a minority, who later on established a dictatorship in Germany, is one example of a man who believed in the superiority in some races. Hitler believed that the “Arians”, or so he believed they were, should be superior to those who were not full Germans, simply because they did not look the same, or did not speak the same language. As a result, he tried to exterminate anyone who did not possess the ideal look he sought for. He believed that those who were taller, with blue eyes, were to be superior to those who were not. Yet this was such a contradiction to himself, because he did not possess any of these characteristics.
In a literature book, titled “To Kill a mocking bird”, by Harper Lee, lots of prejudice is described, where the whites are superior to the blacks. The blacks had no say whatsoever in any of the events that held place in Maycomb, the main town mentioned in the book. In this book, one of the main characters, Atticus Finch, a noble gentleman, teaches his children, Scout and Jem the importance of not being prejudice, and that there should not be any differences between the whites and blacks. He teaches his children to be understanding, and to look at things from different people’s point of view, and to put themselves into other’s shoes. Despite his sister, Alexandra, being one of the most prejudice ladies in Maycomb, he ignores what everyone says of him, and sticks to his views believing that all whites and blacks should be equal. As a lawyer, he faces a stage where he has to defend Tom Robinson, a black man being accused of raping a white. Despite other’s views that he should not take this case seriously, he puts in all his effort into defending Tom Robinson, although he is aware that the chances of winning was zero.
In conclusion, I believe that one should not judge a book by its cover, without knowing the hidden beauty of anything, or anyone, but rather look at the inner beauty.