Cynic
Well-Known Member
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Beauty: Across Cultures and Time
by Cynic
by Cynic
Imagine: A seven year old girl sitting in a chair. Her mother is giving her a foot massage. Suddenly, her mother begins to break her little toes (four on each foot) one by one. The little girl tries not to cry, but tears manage to escape her eyes. Afterwards, her mother wraps her feet with wet bandages and tightens it until her toes rest under the sole of the foot. Once dried, the bandages would force the sole closer to the heel. By having tiny but disfigured feet, she would become desirable by men and suitable for marriage. Unfortunately, she was to endure a life of immense pain and disability.
Humans have been modifying their bodies to enhance their aesthetic appeal for thousands of years. Across cultures and time, the standards of beauty and the methods for beautifying oneself change. What one culture finds beautiful, another culture may not. These differences elicit a question philosophers have been trying to answer for many years. What is beauty?
In many western cultures, such as the United States, fit and lean is beautiful. Men work out to produce six-pack abs, large pectorals, huge biceps, and tight buttocks. Women carefully primp their hair, daub their faces with makeup, and go on diets to keep off those extra pounds. And for whatever reason, being muscular or thin is not enough. Millions of cosmetic surgeries are performed every year in the United States. Among these are breast enlargements, butt enlargements, tummy tucks, nose jobs, and face lifts.
Many African cultures have their own concept of beauty. At age 10, girls in Togo undergo their first scarification ritual, where decorative designs are cut into their midriffs to emphasize attractiveness.
In tribes such as the Mursi and Sara, women’s lips are adorned with clay or wooden plates, which stretch them to incredible lengths.
In Nigeria, women undergo a process of deliberate fattening. Obesity (especially of the buttocks) signifies beauty, fertility, health, and prosperity in many parts of Africa. Amputation and mutilation was practiced amongst the Mongoni tribe in Nyasaland. The unique Mongoni idea of beauty was corpse-like. They hacked fingers and toes. Chunks of flesh were carved from their bodies and faces until they looked cadaverous.
There are diverse practices and concepts across Asia. In China, “foot binding” as described in the opening of my article, was a widespread practice for over a thousand years. Foot binding was practiced exclusively by women and initiated when a girl was between the ages of four and seven. It was a continual process of fracturing and constricting the foot, which resulted in tiny feet and a stylized walk that was considered aesthetically pleasing. The ideal foot was three to four inches in length.
In Myanmar, a long neck is associated with beauty. Paduang women wear coiled brass neck rings, which are rarely removed. The neck rings disfigures the collarbone and upper ribs, giving the illusion of a long neck. Near the coast of Indonesian Sumatra, is an island where the Mentawai reside. Teeth filing is a common practice there. Almost every woman wants their teeth filed until they resemble the serrated teeth of a shark. Every Mentawai husband is turned on by this. Perhaps it enhances their love lives.
Other fascinating ideas and practices lie in the distant past. In much of Europe, women wore tight corsets that emphasized curves but also deformed ribs and internal organs. Middle Eastern harems were comprised of women who were intentionally fattened for aesthetic reasons. The Ancient Maya Indians believed that cross eyes were beautiful. This condition was deliberately induced by holding objects between a baby’s eyes.
Now, back to the age-old question, “what is beauty?” Obviously, there is no single answer. Whether beauty is inward our outward, the differences in each culture demonstrate the relativistic and subjective nature of beauty. Or put more simply, “beauty is in the eye of the beholder.”
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Karen, Huffman. Psycholgy In Action. John Wiley and Sons, 2007
Paul, Edward, Theroux. Fresh Air Fiend: Travel Writings. First Mariner Books, 2001
“Body Modifications and Mutilations.”Encyclopædia Britannica. Encyclopædia Britannica 2007 Deluxe Edition. Chicago: Encyclopædia Britannica, 2007.
“Foot Binding.” Wikipedia: The Free Encyclopedia. 12 September 2007. 12 September 2007.
Steve J. Ayan, Iris Tatjana Calliess. “Abnormal As Norm” Scientific American Mind April 2005: 12-13
Louisa Lim. “Painful Memories For China’s Footbinding Survivors.” NPR : National Public Radio : News & Analysis, World, US, Music & Arts.
19 March 2007 <http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=8966942>
Images:
National Geographic Channel: Photo Collection
Image:Mursi woman.jpg - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/1/14/Bound_feet_%28X-ray%29.jpg
http://neatorama.cachefly.net/images/2007-03/bound-feet.jpg
http://channel.nationalgeographic.c...boo/images/primary/taboo_beauty_teeth_461.jpg
http://images.usatoday.com/news/_photos/2006/09/25/models1-large.jpg
http://images.usatoday.com/news/_photos/2006/09/26/model-large.jpg
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