Hi Guys.. I found this article when reading alittle bit about Lombroso and I think it may have some kind of merrit, although it may be kind of minimum. The article is called Criminal Facial Features. It talks about Lombroso and his beliefs that criminals share similar physical attributes, (those of which resemble the more primitive stages of human development) and whether or not something like this is worth considering.
Living in 2011, we are taught that it is wrong to “judge a book by its cover” and that its discriminatory, but lets explore if there is even a reason why we even do it in the first place… In the article there is a short passage discussing that in 2005, there was data that suggests that “better looking people” are less likely to be involved in crime. Well, if “better looking people” are the lesser of the criminal population, then is it wrong imagine that the greater may all share similar attributes that society may recognize & consider “ugly”? I know in life I’ve noticed the popular crowd in school, all who which seem to be good-looking, and seem to have become successful over the years. But what about those who were considered “ugly”? For example, imagine a group of kids in school who may have not been born with ideal genes, who dont have many friends, who lack confidence and who subsequently may lack ambition to go out and work hard. It may be easier for people of this nature who lack self confidence to fall into a life of crime, to do things that others may regard as anti-social. It would be foolish and naive to say that ones looks are sheerly a determinant of whether or not they will be a criminal in life, but hey who says we cant explore if there may be a correlation between the two?
As much research and science is used in theories such as Lombroso’s, it’s hard for one to today still find his research valid or generalizable. It’s hard to think that ugly people are more likely to commit crimes or that there is a correlation between a life of crime and overall level of attractiveness. Yet this theory does seem to make sense as you point out, since ugly people are often live harder lives, are tormented in school, lack overall self confidence, don’t get paid as much as the ‘pretty people’, and have trouble finding a partner. I find that a big flaw of this theory is that what defines beauty is subjective and varies from culture to culture. What one person finds beautiful another may find repulsive. Previously, things like being overweight or having a large nose were seen as the ideal in past cultures, and are now seen as being unattractive. However, I feel that a study that compares one level of attractiveness to socio-economic attainment throughout a lifetime could show a possible cause as to why ugly people are more likely to commit crimes. To merely say that ugly people are more likely to cause crime just based on looks alone is preposterous. Ugly people would not have any negative backlash if it wasn’t for the society they live in to deem them ugly and put this mark on them. People don’t get negative self esteem from the actions of themselves, it is the actions of others that cause this and put them at a lower level than the rest of us.
There are many people that believe being regarded as “attractive” willl help them find their dream job or partner in life. not to mention, I overheard a conversation regarding the Casey Anthony murder trial. One individual mentioned if Casey was ugly she would have been found guilty.
While I am not certain of what the outcome would have been, in my lifetime, I have noticed that “attractive” people/ women in some cases are not held to the same standards.
I think that research like this breeds racism, because lets be real, obviously people of the same race are going to possess similar characteristics. People in society already have preconceived notions as to whose intelligent, and who isn’t, who’s more developed and who’s still stuck with at a primitive stage. As much as our parents and teachers tell us not to “judge a book by its cover” and to not jump to conclusions until we get to know somebody, I believe as humans we are born with an innate sense of judgment, and as nice as we are and as much as we may try to fight our innate feelings, we can only suppress them to an extent. Research and articles like this only perpetuate our preconceptions, and cause us to make false judgment calls.
Personally I feel crime has more to do with financial and social status rather then once physical appearance. Lets be realistic, what are the cops going to do, drive around looking at the shape and size of peoples heads and faces, that would be a big waste of time. They need more solid evidence to go by. Do I feel that sometimes a person, mainly a woman, especially an attractive woman might not be persecuted as much as someone else, yes I do. Sometimes authorities and the public are more lenient with more because of their looks. I think people should be left to formulate their own opinions, of course authorities should have guidelines and training to help them to their job more efficiently, but studies like this are a waste of time, and will only lead to dead ends.