Yesterday my brother got into a little accident. It wasn’t really that serious, but it gave him a big wound on his head. So there he was inside the school clinic with blood gushing out of his head when the nurse asked him if he wanted the wound to be stitched. My brother firmly declined as the procedure would involve shaving his head. It was obvious that he didn’t want to change his appearance as having a shaved head in today’s youth is viewed us uncool.

Why do people value appearances so much?

I ask this because I too somehow have this urge to make myself look good when out in public. I didn’t care what I looked like when I was in high school, but I soon as I got older I had this sudden urge to groom and dress up.

I wonder, what or who forces people to be self-conscious? Could It be peer pressure? Seeing everyone else around you all prettied-up can force you to do the same thing just not to feel out of place. Possible. But where did people get this notion that appearances should be placed with high regard?

I’m sure cavemen never cared about appearances and didn’t saw the need for clothing. Even in the olden days, practicality is mostly favored over appearances. Every part of their clothing is I’m sure, designed for practical use. Yes, somewhere in time someone had the urge to make themselves prettier than others. But it was in the form of status. Like the Pharaohs, the royals, and the nobles. They do it because they can and they are entitled to.

Where in the history of mankind did the average person feel the need to gussy up? I remember watching this documentary once called “The Century of the Self”. It said that in the early 1900s, the masses only bought what they need and put less priority on what they want. It is because of this that corporations only sold what people need because that’s where the demand is.

It was like this for quite some time until, Edward Berneys, the nephew of the now-famous psychologist Sigmund Freud came to America and made some experiments on how to control the masses’ behavior. His experiments were a success and he offered his expertise to the corporations.

It was at this time that people started seeing advertisement that brainwashed people into putting more emphasis into their wants. The corporate industry saw a big boom in demand for their products that aren’t really a necessity. Make ups weren’t really necessary before but thanks to Edward Berneys, it is now.

I believe that as time went on, in order for corporations to make the consumers want more they need to promote another new form of thinking. Like giving emphasis on appearances. Proving to be another success, a big demand over clothes, makeups, jewelry, shoes started. Everyone wanted to look good. And it is this thinking that has been passed down to the later generations.

…

And so the cause of the need for appearances that people value today.

Ha. I never thought I, myself, would get the answer to the question just by making a blog post. I should do this more often.

Thinks Edward Berneys is a genius ~ Pol