Conclusion

Throughout this Blog I feel that I have gained a better understanding of what body modification is and how it affects us personally and in society. I learned that when women modify their bodies, it exemplifies their relationship with their body and the relationship their body has with society. By modifying your body for a cultural reason, it demonstrates the understanding of the culture and your place within it. Also, modification is sometimes associated with religious aspects, such as mehndi, which adds a different type of value/sacredness. Women may modify their bodies because it is what is desired by men, but in some cases, it is also desired by the women because they also find it attractive. Some forms of body modification can be considered symbolic violence, because in these instances, by not following the norm, you can be ostracized. An example of this would be the younger Kayan women who are choosing to not follow the tradition of wearing neck rings and are looked down upon by the elders. In the end, we all modify our bodies in some way to make us feel good and to possibly attract someone who also finds our modification appealing. It can be controlled by the culture, society, or our own desires. There are different extremes of body modification and everyone, at some point, participates in this practice. It can be as simple as having pierced ears or exercising to change your body shape, all the way to breast flattening or having lip plates. In conclusion and most important, the kinds of modifications we do shows others who we are and who we are culturally.

Now That’s a Neck of a Tradition!

When I was younger, I came across the Kayan tribe while watching television with my older brother. I was immediately drawn to the women and their neck rings. The Kayan are originally from Burma but are now living as refugees in Thailand due to a 58 year long civil war (Parry 1). The Kayan see the neck rings as a sign of beauty and tribal identification. Even though people refer to the Kayan women’s neck decoration as neck rings it is actually a single brass coil that is wrapped around their neck. According to the article “Kayan ‘Giraffe Women’ trapped in Thailand by tourist trade”, “from the age of 5, they wrap their necks with tall coils of brass that are extended as they grow into adulthood” (Parry 1). This creates the appearance of a long neck but when in fact it is “an optical illusion; as the coils are added they push the collar bone and ribs down, creating the appearance of a longer neck” (Parry1). The women also wear brass coils on their wrists and below their knees. There is a common misconception that the women will die if the neck rings are removed. When, in fact, according to Mawe, a member of the Kayan, said, “When you take off the brass, you’re a little dizzy, and for one or two or three minutes you shouldn’t walk you feel very light and you have a headache, like you’ve been wearing a heavy backpack and you suddenly take it off” (Mydans 2). The women are not limited by the neck rings to do certain activities. For example, the girls play volleyball (Mydans 1). I found this most impressive since I play volleyball and it is a very fast moving game, and to be able to play with coils around your neck is amazing to me. Unfortunately, due to the coils the women wear around their necks, it has sealed their fate as a tourist attraction. The Thai government has been using the Kayans as a source of income. According to the article “Burmese women in Thai ‘human zoo’” by Andrew Harding, “the United Nations refugee agency (UNHCR) says that for the past two years, the Thai authorities have refused to allow a group of 20 Kayan to leave the country, despite firm offers to resettle them in Finland and New Zealand” ( 1). This has led to the younger generation of girls to take off their rings in order to further their education and to relocate. This is not an easy decision for girls to make because they put a lot at stake. For example, a girl named Zember who cast off her coil to better her life, in turn, has hurt her family because they no longer receive payments for her wearing her coils (Meo 1). In addition, the elders disagree with what some of the younger generation are doing because they feel that they are leaving their heritage behind. Even though the neck rings are a cultural modification, it has led to the objectification of the tribe and it is not respected among the tourists but rather as amusement to look at something different. The Kayan live under a state of fear because they can not leave Thailand because they bring money to the country, but they can not go home either, due to the civil war still going on. Their cultural body modification has trapped them in a state of fear and symbolic violence. They have no choice but to accept the life as a tourist attraction or possibly lose face and money for their family.

Works cited
Harding, Andrew. “Burmese Women in Thai ‘human zoo’” BBC News
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/7215182.stm
Meo, Nick. “ The ‘Giraffe Women’ who cast off their brass coils” The Times Nov.4, 2006
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/world/asia/article1086766.ece

Mydans, Seth. “Nai Soi’s Long-Necked Women” published May 20, 2001
http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9E0DEFDC173AF933A15756C0A9679C8B63&sec=&spon=&pagewanted=2

Parry, Richard Lloyd. “Kayan ‘Giraffe Women’ trapped in Thailand by tourist trade” The Times April 2, 2008
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/world/asia/article3701576.ece

Henna me this…

I have become familiar with the scene of going to Venice Beach or other beach-like places in California and there are always multiple henna stations. These henna stations have endless options for you to choose from. In our society it is seen as a fun, temporary tattoo that lasts for awhile and reminds of us of a fun day we had with friends or family.
This led me to think about what henna really means to those who use it in a cultural context. Henna, I think, might be the oldest form of cultural modification among women since it is an art that has been practiced for as long as 9,000 years (Fotopoulou 1). Some of the earliest civilizations used henna to symbolize fertility and “the earliest civilizations with artifacts showing hennaed hands on fertility goddesses are the Ugartics, Minians, Mycenanaeans, Ancient Babylonians, Assyrians, Sumerians, and Egyptians” ( Fotopoulou 1). Also, henna was used as a cosmetic by Cleopatra (Newton 1). The application of henna is known as mehndi. “Traditionally, Mehndi is practiced exclusively by women, and taught in the oral tradition, with recipes and patterns passed from one generation to the next” (Newton1). According to the “Art of Mehndi”, “henna is a small shrub called hawsonia inermis inermis, and is also known as Henne, Al-Khanna, Al-henna, Jamaica Mignonette, Mendee, Egyptian Priver, and Smooth Lawsonia. Henna grows in hot climates and is found in India, Pakistan, Malaysia, Persia, Syria, Egypt, Morocco, Sudan and other North African, Asian and Middle Eastern Countries (1). Depending on the location, the designs for mehndi change. For example, “Arabic (Middle –Eastern) mehndi features large, floral patterns on hands and feet, while Indian (Asian) mehndi uses fine line, lacy, floral and paisley patterns covering entire hands, forearms, feet and shins; African mehndi art is large and bold with geometrically patterned angles. African mehndi patterns usually use black henna while Asia and Middle-Eastern mehndi is often reddish brown” (Fotopoulou 1). Even though henna is used in multiple cultures, many associate it with the Hindu marriage ceremony. The bride has a Mehndi party which is a type of rites of passage ceremony into womanhood. Mehndi becomes part of a girl’s vocabulary for feminine expression (Newton 1). In addition, it is said that “when a bride has mehndi done for her wedding, the darker the design, the more her mother-in-law loves her. A good deeply colored design is a sign of good luck for the marital couple. It is common for the names of the bride and groom to be hidden in the mehndi design; and the wedding night cannot commence until the groom has found the names. A bride is not expected to perform any house work until her wedding mehndi has faded” (Fotopoulou 1). When her henna has faded, her initiation into womanhood is complete and she can start fulfilling her duties as a woman. Also, in having the groom find the hidden names, it is a way for the bride and groom to get to know each other because of the intimacy of the act. Also, in India, henna is included in the “Kama Sutra as one of the sixty-four acts for women” (Newton 1). In comparison, henna in Morocco is used to guard against misfortune and it is used for its magical powers (Newton1). Also, in Morocco, pregnant woman who are in their seventh month will seek out henna practitioners called hannayas to paint certain symbols on their ankles, which will be encircled with a corresponding amulet (Newton1). This is supposed to protect the mother and child when she goes into labor. Overall, henna is a modification of the skin that culturally has magical powers for women. It serves as a rite of passage into womanhood as well as protecting them through birth. Henna is a woman’s celebration of beauty and recognition of a woman’s powers. Ultimately, it seems that the art of mehndi is a form of body modification that is truly seen as something positive in every aspect. It is art, a sign of love, a passage into womanhood, protection, and is believed by some to have magical powers.



Works Cited
Fotopoulou, Sophia. “The Art of Mehndi” Newsfinder
http://www.newsfinder.org/site/more/the_art_of_mehndi/
Newton, Patti. “Mystical Henna: The Sacred Art of Mehndi”.
http://planetvermont.com/pvq/v8n2/henna.html

Body Image

I never thought about how my dieting and exercising was a form of body modification. I make sure that I stay in shape because I know that is what makes girls appealing to the men in our society. I have this notion because of the magazines I read and how they always talk about being in shape. Also, the advertisements are all with small figured girls. And personally, I feel better when I feel that I am physically fit and I believe that I am more healthy as well. The more I thought about it, girls in America will even go to the extreme to be skinny and will torture themselves by depriving themselves of food, becoming anorexic or bulimic. However, this phenomenon of being skinny as a form of beauty, is not everywhere. For example, in Akpabuyo, Nigeria, it is the complete opposite - girls go into “fattening rooms” (Simmons 124) to gain weight. To the Nigerian girls, plumping up is a right of passage into womanhood and is seen as beautiful. A Nigerian woman named Edet has said “beauty is in the weight” and “to be called a slim princess is an abuse” (Simmons 124). In addition, “the fattening room is like a kind of school where the girl is taught about motherhood” (qtd Simmons 124). In reading the article where “Fat is a Mark of Beauty”, by Ann Simmons, it made me realize how important it is to become a certain size. It is not only for beauty reasons, but it allows girls to pass into adulthood, and within the “fattening rooms”, other women come in and teach them how to speak to their husbands, cook, sew and other things necessary for womanhood (Simmons 124-125). In addition, it must take a lot of self control to go through the process; the girls, when in a “fattening room” are to sit all day and eat starchy foods (Simmons 125). For girls in America, it is not an intense process like a class. We do not completely isolate ourselves from society when we are trying to lose weight or get in shape like the girls in Nigeria. There are instances where females feel like they do need help and might go to a spa or a camp where they have support, but generally, dieting is more private. In addition, our fascination with being skinny has nothing to do with a rite of passage, but more of a girl’s fascination with fashion and supermodels who have set the stage of beauty. In both cultures, girls modify their bodies by either eating starchy foods non-stop without being able to exercise, or girls who will do anything to be a certain size to be what is considered attractive. In both cultures it takes a lot of patience to obtain the body that is culturally desirable. In the end, both the Nigerian girls and the American girls end up modifying their bodies to shapes that are culturally beautiful which gives their bodies new meanings to themselves and others.

Work cited
Simmons, Ann. “Where Fat is a Mark of Beauty” Annual Editions Anthropology 08/09

From corsets to corseted bodies

Corsets are mainly associated with the Victorian era but they continue to be used even in today‘s fashion. Corsets served a purpose of style but also exemplified the desired shape a woman should have to attract a suitor. Corsets made the waist smaller, pushed the bust upward, and made the hips look wider. Wide hips used to be a sign of good childbearing potential. Corsets limited a woman’s movements and made it hard for her to take deep breaths which lead to woman fainting often (The Secret History of the Corset and Crinoline, session1). Because corsets limited movement, it made it a symbol of status. If women were rich enough, they would be able to wear corsets because they would have the maid do the housework and therefore could afford to not be able to move. According to “the Secret History of the Corset and Crinoline”, “[a woman] is doomed to her position in society; a slave to fashion, corseted and striving to be pleasing to men, whatever the cost. So, when I came across corset piercings, I found it to be an interesting choice due to the corsets original role of making women reliant on men. Now, corsets that once were used as an under garment that restricted movement, have become modernized into a type of piercing. According to “Extreme Body Modification: Corset Piercings 82” by becauseilive, “corset piercings, sometimes called ladder piercings, are a series of surface piercings arranged up the back in two vertical columns. The piercings are located in the spot where the eyelets would be if one was wearing a corset. It is a symmetrical piercing with an equal number of holes on each side; as few as four holes can be used (two on each side) up to as many as the expanse of skin will allow” (1). Corset piercings are meant to be temporary because the body will naturally push the surface piercings out. In looking at pictures I have seen the traditional down the back, but I have also seen down the sides of a girl’s torso, as well as coming down the neck to the chest. Corset piercings do not share the original purpose of a corset since they are more for looks than for shaping. The corset piercings can only be tightened a little and it only somewhat shapes that one part of the body while a true corset shapes the entire waistline, bust, and hips. It is also hard to say if a corset piercing is really done to entice the opposite sex or if it is done more for a personal pleasure. In any case, the corset piercing is a type of body modification that is at least done because it is the choice of the person, not because it is a status symbol or not necessarily done to entice a suitor.

Works Cited
Becauseilive. “Extreme Body Modification: Corset Piercings 84”
http://hubpages.com/hub/Extreme_Body_Modification_Corset_Piercings

The Board of Trustees of the Victoria and Albert Museum. “The Secret History of the Corset and the Crinoline: Session1” 2002
http://www.fathom.com/course/21701726/session1.html

Breast What?!?

In American society, women often will undergo plastic surgery to make themselves fit into the unrealistic ideal of beauty that has been created. Hearing about breast implants is no longer shocking. Many women in American society feel that bigger breasts make them more attractive and will gain more options for a husband. Of course, this is not necessarily so, but it is an option that is now available. So, when I heard about breast ironing I had no idea of what to think. Breast ironing is a practice done in Cameroon, Africa. According to the BBC article, “Cameroon Girls Battle ‘Breast Ironing’” by Randy Joe Sa’ah, “statistics show that 26% of Cameroonian girls at puberty undergo it, as many mothers believe it protects their daughters from sexual advances of boys and men who think children are ripe for sex once their breasts begin to grow” (1). So, by “removing signs of puberty, these girls are thought to no-longer appear sexually attractive to men” (Varza, Roxy 1). Mothers do this as a protection for their daughters to preserve their innocence and to keep them out of harm’s way as well as keeping them from getting forced into an early marriage. Mothers do not iron their daughter’s breasts to be mean, they are just trying to keep them out of harm. In addition, breast ironing gives girls the opportunity to go to school and get an education. For example, a girl named Emilia, interviewed by the BBC said, “I want to go to school like other girls who had no breasts” (Sa’ah, Randy 1). Girls with flattened breasts are able to go to school because they do not appear sexually attractive to men, making it safe for them to travel to school. There are different ways that the breasts can be flattened. “The most widely used instruments to flatten the breasts are a wooden pestle, used for pounding tubers in the kitchen. Heated bananas and coconut shells are also used.” (Sa’ah, Randy 1). Even though it is a painful process, girls and mothers are willing to do it because it is helpful for their own well-being. In addition, breast ironing is more common in urban areas compared to more rural areas; this happens because more sexual advances occur in urban areas (Varza, Roxy1). I think breast ironing can be seen as a form of symbolic violence. Mothers are looking out for their daughters from unwanted attention that can bring them harm. Society has caused this practice to occur. This may seem like a strange practice to us, but it makes sense for their culture. It is a violence that they inflict upon themselves, to make themselves less desirable to men, so that they can have a better future. It is unfortunate that they have to go to this extreme to protect their bodies, but the women have found a way to stand up for themselves. It is quite ironic that in the westernized civilizations, women choose to have their breasts enlarged for their self esteem and the women in Cameroon iron their breasts for their future self esteem. But for the African women, it is also done as self preservation to keep them safe from the harm presented to them.
Works cited
Sa’ah, Randy. “Cameroon Girls Battle ‘Breast Ironing’”. BBC News
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/5107360.stm
Varza, Roxy. “Breast Ironing in Cameroon Women in Africa bear a Painful Tradition”
http://www.theworldly.org/ArticlesPages/Articles2006/September06Articles/Cameroon-Ironing.html

Mursi Women and Lip plates

The only type of modification that I had seen done to the lip was piercings so when I came across pictures of the Mursi women with their lip plates I was in awe. It seemed a rather strange place to put a plate. The lip plate is a rite of passage into social adulthood and biological maturity. The lower lip is cut by the girl’s mother or another woman in her village around the age of 15 or 16. According to Turton, it is up to the girls to decide how much they want to stretch their lower lip; some will even get to 12 centimeters or more in diameter (Turton 1). Two myths exist as to why the Mursi women wear the lip plates and they are 1) it has to do with a bride’s wealth; the larger the lip plate, the more wealth, but this can not be true because in Turton’s article he says that girls marriages are predetermined before they even get the lip plate (1). And 2) this myth is that it was to keep the women from being traded as slaves. When the women were asked why they do it, they replied, “it is our custom” (Turton 3) and that it signifies adulthood. For whatever reason, it is a tribal identity that separates them from neighboring tribes who have similar forms of body modification. Mursi women are proud to wear their lip plates because it gives them a sense of cultural belonging. But now, unfortunately, it has also taken on the meaning of backwardness. Because of the uniqueness of the lip plates, people from all over the globe go to Africa to see the Mursi women. Tourists take pictures of the women and treat them like a zoo exhibit… most tourists pick the ones they want to take a picture of and do not even pay them fairly for the picture. This has caused the lip plates to become an economic asset because the women can make money for their families. Girls originally had the choice to make the lip plate however big they wanted but now that tourists have invaded, it is seen as better to have a bigger lip plate because it will give you more attention and help you earn money for your family. What upsets me is that “the Mursi know that the lip plate is seen as a sign of their backwardness by powerful outsiders, whether government officials or tourists” (Turton 5). I do not think what they are doing is backwards and what gives anyone the right to make others feel inferior and how they identify themselves as a people is wrong. I understand the lure of seeing something different from your own cultural practices but at least treat them as equals and not as an exhibit and cheat them of monetary gain. The Mursi women wear the plates for cultural identity, beauty, and to show rites of passage; there is no need to add the connotation of backwardness to its original meanings.

Work Cited
Turton, David. “Lip-plates and ‘the people who take photographs’ uneasy encounters between Mursi and tourists in Southern Ethiopia” Anthropology Today, vol. 20,issue 3 pg (1-6)<http://www3.interscience.wiley.com/cgi-bin/fulltext/118773837/PDFSTART?CRETRY=1&SRETRY=0>