Visual Discrimination

KTRIC

I was just wondering if anyone has experienced visual discrimination (just coined that term ) at any point. Someone judging you on the way you look or dress?

I've a fairly good job (earning €50k upwards, not bragging just trying to set the picture) and working in IT. I'm a big guy and have shaved short hair and more than a few piercings.
I noticed that I'm treated differently when I go into a shop or a public place depending on what I'm wearing. Sometimes I wear a suit to work and on the way home when I'm shopping etc I get treated with more respect from people, but when I dress casually I get followed by cops and hassled by old people etc :mad:

I grew up in Dublin where I found this was very apparent but I'm now living in Munich where it’s just as bad.

arybvtcw0eolkf

KTRIC wrote:

I was just wondering if anyone has experienced visual discrimination (just coined that term ) at any point. Someone judging you on the way you look or dress?

I've a fairly good job (earning €50k upwards, not bragging just trying to set the picture) and working in IT. I'm a big guy and have shaved short hair and more than a few piercings.
I noticed that I'm treated differently when I go into a shop or a public place depending on what I'm wearing. Sometimes I wear a suit to work and on the way home when I'm shopping etc I get treated with more respect from people, but when I dress casually I get followed by cops and hassled by old people etc :mad:

I grew up in Dublin where I found this was very apparent but I'm now living in Munich where it’s just as bad.

Weird looking people will always be judged like that.

Rob_l

KTRIC wrote:

I was just wondering if anyone has experienced visual discrimination (just coined that term ) at any point. Someone judging you on the way you look or dress?

I've a fairly good job (earning €50k upwards, not bragging just trying to set the picture) and working in IT. I'm a big guy and have shaved short hair and more than a few piercings.
I noticed that I'm treated differently when I go into a shop or a public place depending on what I'm wearing. Sometimes I wear a suit to work and on the way home when I'm shopping etc I get treated with more respect from people, but when I dress casually I get followed by cops and hassled by old people etc :mad:

I grew up in Dublin where I found this was very apparent but I'm now living in Munich where it’s just as bad.

I would say get a haircut hippie but you say its shaved already.

KTRIC

Rob_l wrote:

I would say get a haircut hippie but you say its shaved already.

I cut off my flowing blond locks last year (much to my gf's protest) it was just as bad with them to be honest.

Rob_l

KTRIC wrote:

I cut off my flowing blond locks last year (much to my gf's protest) it was just as bad with them to be honest.

i used to have a shaved head a time ago and I did notice a different reaction from people
Bouncers on doors in particular took exception to me

now no one cares about me though:mad:

I wish they still looked at me with a mixture of fear and hatred

giveth

You live in Germany. Everyone gets treated like scum in shops in Germany in my experience!

big b

People react to the way that you choose to present yourself to the world?

Shocking. Discrimination, no doubt.

Terry

I've been given funny looks all my life.
I don't let it bother me any more.

If someone wants to judge me on how I look, then so be it.

The way I see it is that everyone has their flaws. If someone has a problem with how I look, then that's exactly what it is; their problem.

Dave!

I don't get funny looks. But then, I'm normal.

zuutroy

I honestly dont care either. I'm sure people find it odd to see someone who's nearly 30, 4 weeks unshaven walking around in baseball jerseys, tsbs and runners but its comfortable, and I'm long past caring.

dlofnep

DaveMcG wrote:

I don't get funny looks. But then, I'm normal.

:rolleyes:

Doctor DooM

When I am in a shirt and tie I get called Sir in shops and treated very well.

If I am in casual gear I get followed by security guards.

Seems all the shoplifters of Dublin need to figure out is to wear a shirt and tie and they'll be minted!

seamus

Discrimination is only wrong when the person is being discriminated against for something which cannot be changed, e.g. physical disability or skin colour. If someone is dressed like a tinker, then I've no problem with them being treated like a tinker.

People giving you odd looks for the way you dress/appear is your own problem. If you don't like them staring, change the way you appear

I've shaved short hair and a few piercings, and I get no grief anywhere.

Miguel_Sanchez

People think I'm smarter than I am because I wear glasses most of the time.

'Here you'll know this' followed by random question that I really know nothing about.

Doctor DooM

seamus wrote:

Discrimination is only wrong when the person is being discriminated against for something which cannot be changed, e.g. physical disability or skin colour. If someone is dressed like a tinker, then I've no problem with them being treated like a tinker.

People giving you odd looks for the way you dress/appear is your own problem. If you don't like them staring, change the way you appear

I've shaved short hair and a few piercings, and I get no grief anywhere.

I think my point is more that the people who do this are rather silly to do so.

In my distant past as a retailer I was constantly amazed which customers would unroll a wad of 100 pound notes and have your typical Skangbanger look and be perfectly pleasant, and how tight and nasty the 40 year old business men could be. That certainly learned me not to judge on appearance!

TPD

SDooM wrote:

That certainly taught me not to judge on appearance!

1 Character

6th

I get it all the time, wimmin smiling at me, the gays winkin' .... its a disgrace!

monkeyfudge

A few years back a friend of mine and his mates went dressed up in all their heavy metal gear into the bar at the Westbury Hotel... not a single problem at all... The next night they went into Bruxelles dress in business suits and were hassled all evening...

Personally I hate the way people think I'm either some sort of hippy or really into metal music just because I have long hair...

Anto McC

Happened me only recently when i went into a shop, the woman behind the counter just looked at me and without me even opening my mouth, she told me she was calling the gaurds :rolleyes:

Granted i was naked with the exception of one sock and a lampshade on my head but still.

Schism

Ye I got looks about the place aswell sometimes just because of the t-shirt I have on but I also get looks if I'm dressed sharply. I think people like to dimiss other people as one thing or another, I even do it. (fckin skangers)

Doctor DooM

TPD wrote:

That certainly taught me not to judge on appearance!

I used a colloquialism, so sue me.

Doctor DooM

Anto McC wrote:

Happened me only recently when i went into a shop, the woman behind the counter just looked at me and without me even opening my mouth, she told me she was calling the gaurds :rolleyes:

Granted i was naked with the exception of one sock and a lampshade on my head but still.

I think I see your problem here, you should always smile and say hello when you enter a shop!

Dave!

6th wrote:

I get it all the time, wimmin smiling at me, the gays winkin' .... its a disgrace!

It's cos of that seksee beard!

layke

Terry wrote:

I've been given funny looks all my life.
I don't let it bother me any more.

If someone wants to judge me on how I look, then so be it.

The way I see it is that everyone has their flaws. If someone has a problem with how I look, then that's exactly what it is; their problem.

It doesn't help that you're a bald siamese midget.

faceman

KTRIC wrote:

...but when I dress casually I get followed by cops and hassled by old people etc :mad:

ok so we can all relate to your post however this bit made me laugh.

Ive never been followed by the cops due to my dress sense and would worry if you were!! However you *look* dodgy enough to be followed by the cops but not scary enough that old people will hassle you!!

i remember when i started college about 10 years ago a few of us had a pint in a pub in ballyfermot after the first day ended. some old geezer took exception to "students" visitin in his local at 5pm on a tuesday evening. He got up and moved but was very vocal about it. And I quote:

"look at yiz, with your short jackets and your hair cuts. You go down to that college to learn bingo calling. Bingo calling im tellin ya. Yiz...yiz... p****s!"

no joke! I was in stitches!!

Wook

whats the point of piercings and the shaves head if nobody would look at you ?

Leon11

SDooM wrote:

I think my point is more that the people who do this are rather silly to do so.

In my distant past as a retailer I was constantly amazed which customers would unroll a wad of 100 pound notes and have your typical Skangbanger look and be perfectly pleasant, and how tight and nasty the 40 year old business men could be. That certainly learned me not to judge on appearance!

qft

Lucas10101

Wook wrote:

whats the point of piercings and the shaves head if nobody would look at you ?

Good point, only that they want people to look at them the way they see themselves in the mirror.

Zzippy

I hate when I go to the bar and I'm queueing for a drink, and when its my turn the barman acts like I'm invisible and serves the gorgeous scantily-dressed girl with come-to-bed eyes behind me

/damn wimmins!

John Mason

yeah, when i had my head shaved, people wont sit beside me on the bus and i would get followed around shops. now i just wear my jammies everywhere so i can blend right in

cornbb

I have long hair and live in Galway so people assume I'm a crustie or a waster. So not true :mad:

MOH

Mate of mine used to travel for work a lot and had long untidy fair hair, he was always getting stopped at airport security while they checked his bag.

Since he cut it short he reckons he could carry a machine gun on and they wouldn't notice, they're too busy checking the other hippies.

KTRIC

cornbb wrote:

I have long hair and live in Galway so people assume I'm a crustie or a waster. So not true :mad:

People presumed I was into drugs and metal when I had long hair and a long goatee beard.

Also none of my colleges believe me when I say that I don't like metal or when I say that I like classical music and Tracey Chapman :eek:

Gillo

faceman wrote:

Ive never been followed by the cops due to my dress sense and would worry if you were!!

No but you did have what's his name from the military police after you, Cornel Decker wasn't it??

KTRIC

gillo wrote:

No but you did have what's his name from the military police after you, Cornel Decker wasn't it??

Didn't take long for someone to debunk Faceman's little story, did it :rolleyes:

Cunny-Funt

This all reminds me of that advert where the scanger pulls up in his boy racer with dance music playing. Goes into a small shop and the auld one behind the counter gets the auld fella to keep an eye on him, all while some old granny robs the place behind their backs

cance

Cunny-Funt wrote:

This all reminds me of that advert where the scanger pulls up in his boy racer with dance music playing. Goes into a small shop and the auld one behind the counter gets the auld fella to keep an eye on him, all while some old granny robs the place behind their backs

the granny was his Buuuuurd, the extended version shows her driving the car.

curiousxxx1

My brother has dark curly hair and has been mistaken more than once for a terrorist. Twice @ Heathrow airport and once in Dublin. They asked him to remove his hoody. It's unfortunate Bin Laden is stil on the run:D

growler

happens to everyone and everyone does it, conciously or not i doubt there is a human walking the planet who's brain doesn't categorise every person they come into contact with in milliseconds.

I generally divide people into:
scum
hippy
alco
totty
friend / family
unknown / lizard

pretty-in-pink

I don't *think* so, I usually preempt funny looks by dressing a certain way on purpose. I only get surprised looks that i can be so loud.

I get served at the bar pretty quickly, most times, but I have a special trick....

If people are gonna talk, then wink, smile and enjoy it. It just shows how little life of their own they have.

oh, monkeyfudge, you go to the westbury, I love the westbury. its not even that expensive.

hmmmm wanna get a girl a drink?

*flutter*

faceman

gillo wrote:

No but you did have what's his name from the military police after you, Cornel Decker wasn't it??

its a million times cooler to have those MP's on your back rather than the boys in blue!

gotta love the colonel's oversized mobile phone!

Femelade

I get asked for ID all the time!! i mean come on! Do i really look 10 YEARS younger than i am..??
And when i tell people i have a 6 year old daughter i feel like i have to tel them my age because i can almost see the shock in their face "OMG, She must have had her daughter when she was like, 12!!!"...

KTRIC

faceman wrote:

gotta love the colonel's oversized mobile phone!

He's still got that ?? :rolleyes:

You'd think he would have upgraded by now, its a little out of date at this stage. No wonder he hasn't caught you using old sh!te like that.

Wook

this guy is also complaining a lot about people staring at him

Ginger

cornbb wrote:

I have long hair and live in Galway so people assume I'm a crustie or a waster. So not true :mad:

But you are a surfing crustie

Jesus Wept

KTRIC wrote:

I was just wondering if anyone has experienced visual discrimination (just coined that term ) at any point. Someone judging you on the way you look or dress?

I've a fairly good job (earning €50k upwards, not bragging just trying to set the picture) and working in IT. I'm a big guy and have shaved short hair and more than a few piercings.
I noticed that I'm treated differently when I go into a shop or a public place depending on what I'm wearing. Sometimes I wear a suit to work and on the way home when I'm shopping etc I get treated with more respect from people, but when I dress casually I get followed by cops and hassled by old people etc :mad:

I grew up in Dublin where I found this was very apparent but I'm now living in Munich where it’s just as bad.

old people hassle you? Can you expand on that?

KTRIC

The-Rigger wrote:

old people hassle you? Can you expand on that?

Last time I was in Dublin an old guy pushed me out of the way when I was getting on the bus. When I told him to have some patience and let people off the bus he flipped and challanged me. I'm 6ft4 and about 17stone (not a small guy) and this guy was half my size and about 3 times my age. Thats just one example, thats happened about 3 times in the past year.

MayMay

people judge people on their looks initially, it's just a way of life.

princess-lala

We all judge people by the way they look - even if we say we dont

faceman

KTRIC wrote:

Last time I was in Dublin an old guy pushed me out of the way when I was getting on the bus. When I told him to have some patience and let people off the bus he flipped and challanged me. I'm 6ft4 and about 17stone (not a small guy) and this guy was half my size and about 3 times my age. Thats just one example, thats happened about 3 times in the past year.

Jaysus! :eek:

Caliden

Wook wrote:

this guy is also complaining a lot about people staring at him

Ok that's awesome, where can I get one?