Why Is Physiognomy Still Accepted in Society?

Physiognomy

What I did

I usually wear clean Nike sneakers (I have a white and a black pair) or cowboys boots (shined), well-pressed jeans and either a pullover shirt (a polo, or turtleneck under a sweater if it is cold out) or a long-sleeve dress shirt. For this project I let my beard grow for several days, I didn't brush my hair (so some was sticking up and looking wild rather than smooth), I wore a dirty old sweatshirt with holes (it was a sweatshirt / hoody with a faded Jack Daniels logo on the front) and with large stains and my pants were actually old pajama bottoms, tattered, that I had found in a box someone dropped off at a Goodwill store.

Rather than shoes, I wore a slipper on one foot and a paint-spattered flip-flop on the other foot, clearly seeming to be both homeless and confused, as though I needed psychological help as well as financial help. I had a sign made ("help a veteran") and for an hour or so I sat by an on-ramp to a busy freeway. For the second hour, I walked the streets in a fairly upscale part of downtown; sometimes I peered into store windows, got in line at a coffee (Starbucks) place (asking for change so I could get a cup of coffee), and stood on street corners with a sad face.

Physiognomy

Essentially, physiognomy is a theory that one's character or personality can be determined by external features (a person's face, how he dresses, etc.), and to some people the use of the physiognomy theory can help an observer know the morality of that person. A tall person "is supposed to have a good personality" (I am tall) and feet that appear "fleshy" means he has "power and wealth" (Baxamusa, 2011); my feet are fleshy but I have little power and even less wealth. Also, "very thick hair" (which I had as a homeless person) means he "will live a miserable life" (Baxamusa), and for that day, I was miserable, or appeared to others to be miserable. In the publication Behavioral Sciences the author writes that despite being proven to be a false indicator of personality, the belief in physiognomy "has persisted" and many judgments of intelligence "based on physiognomy" are "invalid" (Ali, 2014).

In the online magazine of the Getty Museum (a well-known museum in Los Angeles) the author of an article on physiognomy, Sarah Waldorf, explains that physiognomy dates back to 500 B.C. Aristotle believed that "…large-headed people were mean…small faces were steadfast, broad faces reflected stupidity, and round faces signaled courage" (Waldorf, 2012). And again in the 16th century, external appearances indicated one's potential to become a doctor, or professor, Waldorf writes.

What I saw and felt