What is true beauty?
Women of the Kayan tribe in Thailand start wearing brass rings around their necks when they're just five years old. They add more rings as they grow older to elongate their necks. A super-long neck is considered beautiful and elegant in this region and women can wear over 20 pounds of rings as adults (Henley 2).
Mauritanian women are lauded for gaining weight, to the point that young girls have been sent by their parents to camps where they are forced to eat 15,000 calories a day in an effort to "fatten them up" (Gleick 29). Being bigger makes women here more desirable as wives, as a larger wife is seen as a status symbol for her husband.
Because of the drastic differences between eyes of Europeans, and Asians, many Asian women have been undergoing eyelid surgery so that they can obtain the western "doe-eyed" look (Smith 9).
From the very beginning of Chinese history, fair skin has been desirable in women, and men too. The reasoning behind it is that fair skin represented (and represents) wealth, it implies one does not need to labor outside. An endless array of products promise to 'whiten' your skin (Smith 14).
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Sources:
Hoi, Ming. Traditional Chinese Outift. Dove. N.d. PDF.
Gleick, James. Chaos: Society. New York: Zebra Paper. 1990. Print.
Henley, Patricia. Tribes of the World. Chicago: McManrray, 2005. Print.
Kayan Tribe Girl. WorldNews. 2012. Digital Image.
Korean Woman with Bun. HanGa. N.d. JPEG.
Mili, Sara. Chara. N.p. 2013. Digital Image.
Smith, John. Women Around the World. Pittsburgh: Penguin, 2008. Print.
Timel, Jama. Mauritania Women. WorldNews. 2005. Digital Image.
Hoi, Ming. Traditional Chinese Outift. Dove. N.d. PDF.
Gleick, James. Chaos: Society. New York: Zebra Paper. 1990. Print.
Henley, Patricia. Tribes of the World. Chicago: McManrray, 2005. Print.
Kayan Tribe Girl. WorldNews. 2012. Digital Image.
Korean Woman with Bun. HanGa. N.d. JPEG.
Mili, Sara. Chara. N.p. 2013. Digital Image.
Smith, John. Women Around the World. Pittsburgh: Penguin, 2008. Print.
Timel, Jama. Mauritania Women. WorldNews. 2005. Digital Image.