Monday, September 24, 2012

Eye of the Beholder

It's early morning in Baltimore. I just finished reading an interesting take on obesity--and our reaction to it. The writer had some excellent observations about why we find it so abhorrent. If you would like to read the article click HERE.

It made me consider what it would be like if we were blind. How would we decide whether or not another person was attractive, friendly, smart, dangerous, happy, angry,...and so on? How would we know if they were skinny or obese? If you are not a regular reader of my blog, what do you know about my physical appearance?

The Internet is a vast repository of information, much of it false, especially in the social media area. There's a reason many authors don't post their pictures, and it's not always to do with appearance, but security or privacy. But say all things were equal and every individual had to post a current ID picture on their Facebook or Twitter account. How would it change our perceptions of them? How does it change the perceptions of our readers when they meet us or see our picture on our webpage?

Is there a true bias against obesity such that a reader wouldn't buy our book if they discovered we were fat? Is the bias that deep in our culture? And if so, could it be remotely possible that the writer of the article I read was correct in her reasoning?

I wonder.

anny

3 comments:

  1. Interesting. I've never looked at people in a black, white, fat, skinny type of way. I look at people for who they are on the inside first and foremost. That's just me though. :)

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  2. LOL.....when I first 'met' you, I sorta pictured you like the girl on Dancer's Delight! But now, after seeing your picture, you look like my beloved grandmother, who passed away in 1998 at age 96. Still looking forward to meeting you in person one day:)

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  3. I don't know, Anny. I think readers have an image in their heads no matter what. And we never are quite what they envision.

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