I’ve taken the time to discuss the similarities that gymnastics has to how people in the world choose to judge and view others. We've looked at some published studies solidifying the idea that physicality suggests and has some form of causality to personality. We’ve acknowledged the reality of numerical judgement. We’ve formed an equation of equating gymnastics judges and Tinder users in a sports and Tinder analysis. We’ve all been honest on the frequency of our judgement. And we’ve most likely done some physical judgement within the past few days and minutes during the reading of this piece. Like I said earlier, judgment is literally happening all the time. 

 

We’re all smart enough to identify judgement when we see it. People frequently say “don’t judge me” or “I’m not judging you” to reassure others of their non-judgement. Actually, though, these people are most likely severely judging the person asking not to be judged. It's like going to a scary movie and being scared. You knew it was coming; you prepared for the fear. But you still were scared. That’s just life. As much as we want to admit that we don’t judge people on their appearance, we would all just being lying.

 

When I was in middle school, I thought it was super cool to read. All of my friends were just getting into reading “big kid books” and I wanted in. I distinctly remember going to the library with the mission of finding a new book to indulge in. I had no prerequisites for the genre or what the book needed to be about. I simply just wanted a book. Upon scanning the shelves, I picked up a book. It was To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee. I obviously had heard about the book before (likeness) and knew it was a highly regarded read (still likeness), but the main reason I picked the book up was the cover. It had a purple-y background, a very nice sunset with a mockingbird floating in the air, and cursive writing at the top of the cover. I picked it because the book cover looked "cool". It was pretty. It looked really cool. So I read it. 

 

The common saying “don’t judge a book by its cover” exists for a reason. People pick up books that have flattering covers with the expectation that it will be a good book. Books with appealing cover artwork just looks cooler, just like To Kill a Mockingbird. Of course upon finishing the book, I realized how good it really was. But I didn't pick it up for that reason. I picked it up for its appearance. But the point of telling people not to judge a book by its cover is to acknowledge the hundreds of pages of writing inside the book that tells the actual story of the cover. The personality of the book can only become known when someone takes the time to open it up.

 

Your leotard, makeup and braided hair is your book cover. Your TBP is your book cover.

 

This project is by no means here to solve the issue of physical judgment. If I had some magical solution to the issue, you better believe I’d be screaming it at the top of a mountain for everyone to hear. But I just don’t know how to even go about solving such a situation. The point of this project, though, was to acknowledge the many different forms that judgment takes. To bring awareness to an issue we all know happens but refuse to acknowledge. I wanted to show the prevalence of judgment in such diverse aspects of our lives that we may not normally identify as physical judgment. For me, gymnastics just seemed like the easy comparison as it is supposed to be based on skill and just is not. Same goes with Tinder. I am not an active Tinder user (I actually made the account just for this project and deleted it moments after I made it), but I know people who use Tinder strictly to find “hot chicks” nearby. It is an epidemic. We all follow the strategy of what we think is socially acceptable. And in this case, judging people on attraction is what everyone is doing. Its cool. Its easy. Its superficial.

 

I urge you to think about scenarios in your life that relate to physical judgment. Find your gymnastics example where you know for a fact that physical attraction is used as a way to judge people. Notice your TBP and acknowledge it. Admit to posting an Instagram because your butt looks big or you look tan. We all do it. And the more we honestly admit to it, the more awareness we draw. And hopefully soon, the more we can push toward catching ourselves judging.