Harry Plopper

How much do you think the looks factor is important in politics. ???



Especially among young voters (Gen Y & Z) who don't really haven't yet developed a proper sense for politics - since their priorities & goals are usually not yet finally set, and are therefore more interested in form than content / issues - being more idealistic than realistic.

Eg. would Obama be as convincing & attractive among young voter if was eg. short & fat & bald at his age of 46?

IMO looks factor is a very important factor among young voters who are usually more keen on form - physical appearence, charisma, celebrity status, populistic rhetorics ... Of course this is not the only factor but a very important one.

Eg. having two candidates with identical views on issues, yet one of them is younger, more attractive, more hip ... Who do you think would be elected or at least getting better support among young voters?

....

Extra question:

Do you think female voters are more into looks than male voters?

IMO they are.

Alfie

Looks is without a doubt a factor in politics I think, and even for older voters.
It's quite logical that anyone would rather vote for someone that looks well. Old or young. Naturally you'd want the person that represents your country to look sane and presentable.

Harry Plopper

But ... What is more important when presenting your country (its politics) internally & externally: looks or position (on issues)?

IMO "Miss ......" has a function to represent a country in looks contest, not the president & prime minister & ministers.







I have a problem with this "look" factor. Yes, I know today everything is about look: attractive looking entertainers (musicians, actors, models, hosts etc) get more praise & coverage than scientists, doctors, artists, innovators etc.

Today the core value is form not content. Yet the world exists due the content not due the form. Form is just an extra factor. Your MP# player, your car, your cell phone, your notebook etc does not work because of its fancy styling but due the content behind the skin: electronics, engines, mechanical parts etc.

Form is overestimated. All hype.

Yet the look is too many times the decisive factor in someones success. Even in politics. Sadly.

coolraoul

I perfectly agree with you.

Our society is very superficial, the look is the most easy way to judge something (person or thing) and it almost the most important today. An excellent product won't sell if it does not look good, people will prefer the crappy one that looks better...And same goes for people, even politics, you will vote for the better-looking, or the one that speaks well. What they say is not as important...yet it is what really should be decisive!

Most people are less interested in content today. That is really not a good thing.

However our world has become so complex that it is not easy to have a good judgment. You can't expect everybody to know a lot on everything, so they judge with what they can see because they don't always know the rest.

When you buy a product, if you don't know anything about the technics behind it and have no time/wish to search information...you buy it on its look. What else can you do?

You spoke about mp3 player. I know nothing about them so if I want to buy one, two factors will decide for me: the price, the look. I'm not interested enough in them to search information and technical stuff, so I can't use another criteria to choose it!

For the politics it is quite the same, people don't really know who has the better recipe. It is so complex to deal with our world, globalization, lobbies, economical crisis...People have their own problems, and no more faith in politics. Too much deceptions, too much promises, too much failures... So they vote for the one that seems the more convincing, and look is part of that...

At least that is how I see things.

450SEL6.9

We all have to face the fact. The world's youth and its obsession with celebrities has filtered into politics.

For me the worst thing about one of these good looking, empty suit candidates getting elected is their celebrity backers. If they get elected, these celebs will just go around telling the world how they helped pick the president or prime minister. It'll be revolting.