How Different Cultures Communicate Beauty By Gennifer Johnson

How Do You SEE BEAUTY?

Beauty is in the eye of the beholder. What may not look beautiful to you may be beautiful to someone else. In my power point we will examine some of the ways across time and cultures how beauty is viewed even today.

The Beauty of the Geisha In the late 600s there were female entertainers: saburuko (serving girls) who were mostly wandering girls who’s family’s were displaced from struggles; some of these girls sold sexual services. Eventually the Japanese Geisha cultures rose out of this. There was a lot of confusion about the Geisha being a “prostitute” but that is not what being a Geisha is about. Before the twentieth century, Geisha training began when a girl was about four. Now girls attend school and make the decision to be Geisha or not as a teen.

Legitimate Geishas do not engage in paid sex with clients. Their purpose is to entertain their customer, by dancing, reciting verse, playing musical instruments or engaging in light conversation. And of course illustrating the illusion of BEAUTY. For a closer look into the life of a Geisha click here: ?v=KrDGTUm2vBc ?v=KrDGTUm2vBc

The Art of Henna Tattoo The Art form of Henna (Arabic) or mehndi (Hindi) varies from region to region. Varying designs have different meaning for members of each culture, such as good health, fertility, wisdom, protection and spiritual enlightenment. While Arabic henna designs are usually large, floral patterns on the hands and feet, Indian mehndi involves fine, thin lines for a lacy, floral and paisley patterns covering entire hands, forearms, feet and shins.

Henna’s traditional decorating purposes vary from culture to culture. The most popular traditional use is closely tied to weddings and bridal preparation; these designs tend to be the most ornate, covering the most area. Other uses include the celebration of circumcision, pregnancy and birth, the end of Ramadan, for good luck and protection from the evil eye and the djinn female camaraderie and BEAUTY.

Muslim Beauty Communicated Islam stresses the relationship between body and mind. In covering the body one shields the heart from impurities. Men are instructed to restrain or avert their eyes from women, and women are expected to wear loose outer garments and to cover their heads and bosoms. The ultimate goal of veiling is righteousness of the heart. The hijab (veil) is a protection for Muslim women against the unwanted gaze of men.

The veil affords women modesty, respect and dignity and protects herself from harm and the evils of society by COVERING her BEAUTY.

Kayan Tribes of Burma Women of the various tribes identify themselves by their different form of dress. The women of the Kayan Lahwi tribe are well known for wearing neck rings, brass coils that are placed around the neck. Girls first start wearing rings when they are around five years old. Over the years the coil is replaced by a longer one, and more turns are added.

Many ideas regarding why the coils are worn has been suggested. Many anthropologist speculated that the rings make the women less attractive to other tribes in keeping them from being slaves. Kayan women, when asked, acknowledge this idea, but often say that their purpose for wearing the rings is cultural identity (associated with BEAUTY).

Baroque Era Beauty Rubenesque is a term coined after a 17 th century Flemish painter Peter Paul Rubens; who depicted his women as “plump” in his paintings which was widely accepted in those days. Artistically speaking, from the Renaissance through the Baroque period, plump women (but not what would be considered fat) were considered the standard of BEAUTY.

Historically larger females have been considered more ATTRACTIVE THAN SMALLER ONES. Larger bodies were considered a sign of good health (not starving and diseased), wealth (wealthy enough to have more food than your body needed to survive) and high social status (not having to burn calories by working physical labor). To see more of Peter’s work follow the link below: bens.org/

In addition to the paintings by Rubens which have already been mentioned, during the late 1800’s and early 1900’s fatter women were considered the epitome of BEAUTY. Lillian Russell who weighed over 200 pounds was a reigning sex symbol. Corsets were used to enhance the hourglass shape for all women.

The Surma of Africa In certain parts of Africa, females get their lower lips cut according to tradition. Some people may consider this picture very ugly but it may surprise you to know men in these such communities would rather die for a black girl with a lip plate than to choose a white girl from Europe or America with no lip plate as a life partner. The Surma people live in a remote corner of south-western Ethiopia, virtually untouched by the modern world. When they are getting ready to be married, women stretch their lower lip with the help of wooden or clay plates called "sigaro". The bigger the lip, the smoother the dowry negotiations between the two families. Not just Africans. So many tribes in the Amazonian region of the world also practice lip plating. The Suya Indians of Brazil and a whole bunch of other tribes practice lip plating too. Many men in Africa see this as a sign of BEAUTY.

The Dark Side of Beauty Cultural Pressure- There is a cultural emphasis on thinness which is especially pervasive in western society. There is an un realistic stereotype of what constitutes BEAUTY and the ideal body type as portrayed by the media, fashion and entertainment industries. “The cultural pressure on men and women to be “(perfect)” is an important predisposing factor for the development of eating disorders” (Prof. Bryan Lesk). Further, when women of all races base their evaluation of their self upon what is considered the culturally ideal body, the incidence of eating disorders increases. Eating disorders are becoming more prevalent in non Western countries where thinness is not seen as the ideal, showing that social and cultural pressures that are not the only causes of eating disorders.

So then… How does one see BEAUTY? How do you make your judgment as to what you perceive as BEAUTIFUL? Everyone's perception of BEAUTY is different, but it plays a role in our world as a whole across cultures now and always will.

Sources Wikipedia.com Anad.org Nationaleatingdisorders.org Africaw.com Islamic FAQ Grolier Multimedia Encyclopedia