Should we Judge Politicians on their Appearance? - Ajit Patel Wellness

Whether they are criticised for their weight, dress sense or facial expressions, today’s politicians have their looks scrutinised like never before. But should we judge our politicians on their appearance?

Are you For or Against?

For- Josie
It’s impossible to separate a person’s appearance from their overall personality so I think it’s perfectly fair to judge politicians on the way they look. We can’t get to know politicians personally, so we often have to make a judgement based on how they present themselves. If someone is scruffy and overweight it could suggest that they struggle with self-discipline– and if they can’t look after something as simple as their appearance, why should we trust them to run the country? Everything politicians say these days is carefully scripted by a spin doctor or PR guru so all we can really trust is a politician’s appearance. In the past, people didn’t have the benefit of seeing politicians on television so couldn’t get to know them like we can today. It’s also important to remember that many politicians have to represent us internationally. We need to be confident that they have the right demeanour to be taken seriously on a world stage and fight for our best interests. It’s often hard to separate one politician from another but their appearance – not just their clothes but how they carry themselves, shake hands, walk, and talk are easy ways for us to assess their character. At the end of the day, everyone gets judged on their appearance to some degree. Why should it be any different for our politicians?

Against- Amanda
The media is obsessed with a politician’s appearance, but really all that should matter is their policies. Female politicians in particular are judged on everything from their hairstyles to the shoes they wear but the men don’t escape scrutiny, either. Whether they are attacked for being too geeky, to smarmy, overweight or frumpy, this obsession with appearance is detracting from the real issues. At election time it becomes even worse. No televised
debate can occur without the media going into the tiniest detail about what the candidates wore – even the colour of their tie is scrutinised. This means that people choose politicians based on their looks and the best person for the job doesn’t necessarily get the votes – just because they didn’t look the part. Decades ago it mattered much less what politicians looked like. Before everyone had television and 24-hour news, people judged politicians on their track record and their policies. I really wish we could go back to those values – we’d have much better political figure-heads, rather than just a bunch of people who are all essentially the same and have got the job because they look the part. It may be a cliché but you shouldn’t judge a book by its cover. Just because someone looks posh, for example, doesn’t mean they are out of touch with the people. And someone who looks like a scatterbrain could actually be incredibly intelligent. Sadly, people are too quick to make lazy stereotypes.

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