Fontaine
Overlord
★★★★★
- Joined
- Nov 15, 2017
- Posts
- 5,422
This is going to ragetrigger a lot of members, but anyway...
Sometimes I ask myself what the Ancients (Greeks, Romans) or the people of the Middle Ages would have thought about incels, ugly men, etc.
I have only limited knowledge and readings in these matters, however I have noticed a clear pattern: in the distant past, you were often held responsible and accountable for everything. This "everything" included things you had no control over. An ugly man usually got no pity. His misfortune was either attributed to sin (ancestral sin, personal sin) or the arbitrary decision of the gods, decision that must always be respected.
People did hold back your ugliness against you. It was up to you to prove that your character was worth more than your looks. The Greeks used the same word for "ugly in looks" and "ugly in character", and attacking a political opponent on his ugliness was not uncommon. Socrates notably had to fight back against bullying over his legendary ugliness. In the middle Ages, this view continued - everything was a gift or a punishment from God. In medieval folk tales, a punishment for bad behavior is often being turned ugly by a wood fairy. Severely ill people, like lepers, were also judged intrinsically corrupted and unworthy of empathy. For a long time, "treatments" revolved around exorcism and beatings.
In a way, it was better than nowadays - nowadays people still dislike ugly things, but they act hypocritical and holy about it.
Sometimes I ask myself what the Ancients (Greeks, Romans) or the people of the Middle Ages would have thought about incels, ugly men, etc.
I have only limited knowledge and readings in these matters, however I have noticed a clear pattern: in the distant past, you were often held responsible and accountable for everything. This "everything" included things you had no control over. An ugly man usually got no pity. His misfortune was either attributed to sin (ancestral sin, personal sin) or the arbitrary decision of the gods, decision that must always be respected.
People did hold back your ugliness against you. It was up to you to prove that your character was worth more than your looks. The Greeks used the same word for "ugly in looks" and "ugly in character", and attacking a political opponent on his ugliness was not uncommon. Socrates notably had to fight back against bullying over his legendary ugliness. In the middle Ages, this view continued - everything was a gift or a punishment from God. In medieval folk tales, a punishment for bad behavior is often being turned ugly by a wood fairy. Severely ill people, like lepers, were also judged intrinsically corrupted and unworthy of empathy. For a long time, "treatments" revolved around exorcism and beatings.
In a way, it was better than nowadays - nowadays people still dislike ugly things, but they act hypocritical and holy about it.