Aren't images weird?
There is something about them that is very powerful in our lives.
As a prelude, let me explain what I mean by "image" here.
I'm talking about one's image, how a person want to be seen or thought of by the environment, how they wish their friends/family/significant other would think of them.
Image means picture. Keeping your image clean means making sure that how you look, act and interact fulfills the public standard as "good" (despite the fact that the standard may or may not occur in your true personality), in order to obtain a good picture of yourself.
It is a dangerous concept, but perfectly acceptable.
Thoughts came when a friend of mine claimed to have very little skill in keeping his image clean. He's concerned and asked for help. I'm concerned because he did. He happens to be a very nice guy, tolerant, deadly funny and basically a great friend. Random brief moments of dirty talks or harsh behavior may occur - isn't it all too normal for a guy?
Conversation continued in this peer group, where it was questioned why image is so important. One mentioned - after apologizing for being frank - that the main reason he maintain a good image is for him to be liked, more specifically in a romantic sense by someone of the opposite sex.
Very interesting, and one of the reason why the concept is acceptable.
Again, social standard and acceptance is the problem. Why is it so important to be "good"? Because we want to be accepted and liked by other people. And what usually attracts other people is when you play along with them, putting out a charming Dr. Jekyll in the world while you may (or may not) be Mr. Hyde.
Now there are some people (and a specific teacher of mine) who are deeply concerned about this, and would tell you that you shouldn't give a damn about what people are thinking. Be who you are, if they don't like you, screw them. These kind of people are often thought of as thinkers whose barks are bigger than their bites. Extreme isolated people, who often spends time annoying their friends with philosophies. Bad image.
There are two things that needs to be clarified here.
One, not everybody hates Mr. Jekyll. In the case of my friend, many like him the way he is, rough bits and all. Don't we all sometimes tolerate rude friends/family/significant other, because we understand that they're not being serious or they're saying it for our own good, or even simply because we have great affection over them? Admit.
Two, the bad image people tend to put on philosophers mentioned above. I wouldn't know if this is the case (since I'm not one of those people), but I think there's something very important forgotten by the public eye. These people are concerned if you are not being yourself in public, just to be liked. They don't want you to lie about yourself. Honesty expected. What if your personality, your true self just happen to fit public standards as "good"? What if you are basically a polite, nice, considerate-to-old-ladies person? Should you be hated for being "good"?
I don't think so! The concept becomes dangerous when you're actually Mr. Hyde, and you're comfortable with being Mr. Hyde, but you force yourself to be Dr. Jekyll because nobody like a Mr. Hyde.
Now there must be a reason why this second clarification is never heard of. Probably because I misunderstood the whole concept of image-keeping, or I misintrepret the philosophers (if I am, deeply sorry people).
Anyway my point is, this friend of mine shouldn't be worried about how he's not maintaining a good image - if he is comfortable with his own self and would be uncomfortable changing himself. How you present yourself to the world should be only affected by yourself - not external factors.
If this still seems like an extreme point of individualistic view, allow me to soften it a bit: you should only be concerned of improving your image if (a)nobody seems to like you (and I mean nobody), (b)you happen to be in a social-driven occupations, like politicians or celebrities, where "bad" image might cause damage to your life, or simply (c) because you feel like it.
Image means picture. There are beautiful ones, ugly ones, weird ones, and, like Van Gogh paintings, seemingly ugly ones who will someday be considered brilliantly beautiful ones.
Modify if you need, but don't repaint them in trendy colours. Colours will change but the art would never.