How much does a male competitor's appearance affect results

[chopinrabbitthing]

Hi guys,
I was wondering, if you were an adjudicator (or if you've been one), how much would a male competitor's appearance affect your opinion of him. I'm talking about non-international competitions for younger musicians (teens) now, not the big ones for older pianists.

Here are a couple of scenarios:

Say if one competitor came in a nice black shirt and produced quite an just-around-average performance, while another competitor came in a casual dirty t-shirt and tracksuit bottoms and produced an overwhelming performance - would you be more inclined to give higher marks to the first competitor or the latter?

Does body appearance matter? Say if a fat, below-average-looking guy played some first-prize material, and a good-looking competitor played something very average, would you still choose the latter?

What if the competitor who you thought played best had something along the lines of purple dyed emo-ish hair, and the second-best competitor had a normal haircut, is the second-best competitor more likely to win?

I know every adjudicator will have his or her preferences but I was just curious, because my parents are always on about how I should be concerned with my body image. I mean, I'm kinda chubby, short, but not below-average looking, but will this account for how I will do in competitions. I've win most competitions I play in if you're curious.

Also, does race matter? If you were in a white country, would you be more inclined to hand out lower marks to an Asian because of your prejudices etc.

[iansinclair]

One would like to think that only the performance mattered.  As someone who had auditioned people on occasion, I would like to think that I was able to overlook the individual's appearance, or clothing, or race, or makeup, or whatever (that is, in areas where it shouldn't matter, like music.  I've also auditioned people for ballet, and believe me all of the above makes a terrific difference there!).

I'm also honest enough to know that the various factors you mentioned do make a difference.

This is why, for myself at least (and, I might point out, for almost any major -- or even not so major -- symphony orchestra) an audition must be blind.  That is, at no time during the audition or before or after could I see the individual, nor did I know their name.  It was strictly "soprano A" or "Tenor B".  I conducted all my choral auditions that way.

I would also point out though that, whether we like it or not or approve or not, in performing music for soloists (which pianists usually are) the visual image of the performer counts with the public.  It's just the way humans are, and we can't escape it.

[faulty_damper]

Those are all very pertinent questions about image.  It does, indeed, matter greatly, even more so than how you actually sound as a recent paper concludes.

If you are fat but had the personality of Santa Claus, then that would be endearing to the audience.  But fat and grinch-like and you'll have two strikes against you.  The research shows that the dislike against fat people in the US is based on the emotion of disgust; people find fat people disgusting.

If you were Asian and the judges were all US-born whites, then negative attitudes towards Asian males may affect their perceptions as well.  They may attribute the Asian male's skills to his race rather than to his effort.  And lets face it, the US audience would rather see a white guy than an Asian guy.

[chopinrabbitthing]

Those are all very pertinent questions about image.  It does, indeed, matter greatly, even more so than how you actually sound as a recent paper concludes.

If you are fat but had the personality of Santa Claus, then that would be endearing to the audience.  But fat and grinch-like and you'll have two strikes against you.  The research shows that the dislike against fat people in the US is based on the emotion of disgust; people find fat people disgusting.

If you were Asian and the judges were all US-born whites, then negative attitudes towards Asian males may affect their perceptions as well.  They may attribute the Asian male's skills to his race rather than to his effort.  And lets face it, the US audience would rather see a white guy than an Asian guy.

Thanks:) I would classify myself as the one with the personality of Santa Clause...well not as fat. Just a bit chubby. And shortish.

And as a matter of fact I am Asian, but I don't live in the States

[kakeithewolf]

As a pragmatist, aesthetics mean jack squat to me. If a person looks like they just rolled out of bed and they give a phenomenal performance, I will rate them on their performance. If a person looks the part of stellar but is lackluster and mediocre in performance, I will rate them on their performance.

[rachmaninoff_forever]

https://www.livescience.com/38978-music-judged-by-sight-not-sound.html

[kakeithewolf]

https://www.livescience.com/38978-music-judged-by-sight-not-sound.html

Pity, isn't it.