heat (OBAMWONYI, 2016). They believe white paint warns off the supernatural evils. Single men cover their bodies in many different vibrant colors in order to impress a woman.
The women of Mursi are known for their lip-plate. Lip-plates is a form of body modification. The Mursi tribe is one of three of the last groups in Africa for their women to wear large pottery in their lower lips (Turton, 2005). Lip-plates is a tradition found in Mursi culture for women as shown in figure 3. The lip plates are made from clay or mud and they are traditionally called “dhebi a tugoin”. Once a girl reaches the age of 15 or 16, she has the choice of having her lower lip cut and having a disc placed in the hole. In order for a lip plate to be place, the lower
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The size of a women’s disc helps determine her worth in marriage and social importance to the village. The larger the disc the better. The size of a bride’s lip-plates helps determine how many cattle her family will receive. The size of the lip-plate can be up to 12 centimeters. Traditionally, a woman must always wear her lip-plate in the presence of men. A woman can remove her lip-plate only in the privacy in their home, while sleeping, or in the presence of other women of the village. Young girls in Mursi have the right to determine if she want to get a lip-plate or not. The practice of cutting and stretching the lower lip originated from the slave trade. The lip-plate made women less attractive to slave traders and turn away (Turton, 2005). The Lip-plate not only represents beauty but a woman’s age, transformation into womanhood, and the capability to reproduce. Often women without lip-plates are looked down on and viewed as children of the village. Once a woman has a lip-plate, she is then ready for marriage. A lip-plate can be thrown away and never be worn again once a women’s husband dies (Joseph, 2015). A lip-plate is only made again once it breaks or to go up a …show more content…
Scarification is the process of creating different scares through cutting different designs on the body (Eicher, 2015). Scarification can be compared to getting a tattoo, yet scarification is cut into the dermis. Scarification is popular for the men of Mursi, yet some women also practice scarification. The scars are symbols of strength and beauty in the tribe. Scars are worn with pride. Scarification in Mursi tribes is called kitchoga Most men go through scarification after a personal accomplishment like marriage or winning a donga. The process of scarification is painful, and men are viewed as being strong and brave to go through it (Helmes, 2016). Swirling patterns of dots are applied to the body, mainly the face, arms, and backs using a sharp knife. Scarification is a permanent body modification. Just like how lip-plates played a part in the slave trade scarification also did. Slaves with scares were viewed as having diseases and unfit for the trade (Helmes, 2016). In Mursi, once a male boy is born they receive their first scar. This is done to teach younger children to be courageous and strong. The scars also tell one another how many battles that person as won and their rank in the
In Chapter Thirteen, “Grassroots vs. Treetops” of Half the Sky by Nicholas Kristof and Sheryl WuDunn the act of genital mutilation is discussed. It starts off by giving gory details on genital mutilation, stating that every ten a girl is mutilated. Despite the medical problems surrounding female genital mutilation, it thrived in parts of Africa as a serious problem for young girls. FGM is sometimes described as a female circumcision, it’s cultural significance is to reduce sexual trends and to make the girls more marriageable. However, often these procedures are done with no new medical supplies and are performed with dirty materials leading to infection and sometimes death for girls partaking. A woman in Illinois is doing her best to stop female genital mutilation by working closely with each village and getting to the main source of the problem. Most people were under educated about what was wrong with female genital mutilation, it was a cultural rite of passage. But through working with each individual village, this woman could help ban female genital mutilation is thousands of villages and increased school attendance at the same time.
Brumberg makes the claim that the more physical freedom that women enjoyed, escaping corsets and such, the more control over they would feel pressured to exert on their internal body (98). The most prevalent way then, as well as now, to exert control over the one’s own body was through dieting. Dieting, bras, and standard sized clothing were all contributing to the increased control over the body. Even doctors began to weigh in on the proper way to shape healthy breasts and prevent unattractive sagging (through wearing proper bras). Once again, girls and their bodies were the subjected to more American commercialization. Brumberg points to the craze of body piercings in the 90s as the latest way to control and sexualize the female body. Chapter five explores the changing worth of female virginity in the different values placed upon an intact hymen. From being jointly owned, never talked about, and fiercely protected, to being a female’s own worry, freely talked about, and medically altered, we see the way differing sexual morals shifted the way the hymen was
Other marks such as a scar or tattoo may have some meaning behind it such as what the person had experienced or endured.
From lines 1-4, she uses imagery when she says, “His feet are huge, in black sneakers laced with white in a complex pattern like a set of intentional scars.” In this quote, the author explains the attire of what the man is wearing, and also explains the face of the man and how he has “intentional scars.” International scars meaning that somebody intentionally hit him to get bruised? Or can the scar be a tribal mark
Abayas, shailas, burkas, and chadors: all are forms of veiling in the Middle East, and all are perceived as symbols of oppression and patriarchy by the West. The veil worn by a Middle Eastern woman is striking and beautiful in its simplicity and elegance. The hijab, the most common form of veiling, leaves only the face visible with the neck and hair completely covered. Onlookers are in awe at the mystery and symbolism associated with the many veils created out of fine, exotic silk. But such notions of oppression and patriarchy often associated with veiling are not only inherently biased and ironic – it would be interesting to explore the symbolism behind a mini-skirt or a pair of five-inch heels, no? – but they are also inaccurate. Although veiling has most definitely been used in the Middle East as a “mechanism in the service of patriarchy, a means of regulating and controlling women’s lives” (Hoodfar, 5), it has also been used as a mode for rebellion and self-expression. Marjane Satrapi, an Iranian woman who grew up during the Islamic revolution, resisted the regime and the universalizing nature of the veil in the hope that she could maintain her individual identity whilst communicating her political ideologies. By examining the way in which the veil is represented in Satrapi’s graphic memoir, Persepolis, while also considering the history of veiling in Iran, it will become evident that the veil is not just a political tool used by male chauvinists; it also presents an
My senior project was over the History of Tattooing, I chose this as my topic because Tattoos really interest me with all the different styles and meanings behind them. Some things I already knew about Tattooing is a lot of tribes used tattoos to symbolize things, but I didn’t know what.
Varying with each adaptation of the culture, the intricacy and design placement was drastically different (Andersen). Specific to the Samoan culture, men would undergo the grueling process of receiving a “pe’a, an intricate tattoo that covered the body from mid torso to knees.”
1) The Mursi woman talks about what she thinks is beautiful, which among other things involves removing her eyelashes and undergoing other facial modifications. Many Europeans and North Americans would not necessarily find these things beautiful. How do you explain those differences in perspective?
This piercing is given upon the transition to adulthood for young women, and in some cases is never removed. These traditions remain strong in these cultures and can be seen in practice today. Pacific Island cultures also practice ritual body modification including both tattoos and piercings (Why Do People Get Body Piercings?).
Tattooing is a body modification practice used for centuries across the globe. Because of the multiple origins of tattoos, there are several techniques and countless styles. Every tattoo is unique in meaning to the person that receives it, though often they can fit into generalized categories. Tattoos have fallen in and out of popularity over the course of history, though they have never and most likely will never disappear.
The connotation with a scar is often a mark of physical damage to one’s skin, but a scar can also be psychological or emotional damage. Scars are seen as that something bad or wrong has happened but every scar also tells a story, a lesson even. We usually do not think the ones we love, or used to love, could be the ones who can scar us. In my last relationship, I loved the girl with all of my heart. I loved her so much that her views soon became my own and I began to lose my sense of self. What I learned from that relationship is what has shaped me into the person I am today.
In the book, Women in the Middle East, a Saudi Arabian proverb states, "A girl possesses nothing but a veil and a tomb" (Harik and Marston 83). The key words, "veil" and "tomb" lend evidence to the fact that many Middle Eastern women lack identity symbolized by the “veil” and lack the right of ownership except for their veil and the tomb. This statement further enforces the notion that many women in the Middle East are expected to serve and tolerate the oppression of the men in their lives throughout their lives on this earth. Moreover, it confirms that many of these women do not get the opportunity to obtain education, join the work force, and even participate in the political affairs of the country. This arrangement further helps the
For the last 4,505 years, women have tried to enhance their figures by squeezing themselves into restricting, and uncomfortable garments. Waists have been reduced and bust lines have been increased, decreased, flattened, lifted or spread out, depending on what was fashionable at the time. The modern brassiere and its predecessors have not only been known for their functionality, but have also been linked with statements of fashion and politics.
Tattooing was also popular amongst Maori men of New Zealand, who covered their buttocks, thighs, and faces. Maori men had their faces tattooed by a “moko“ artist, a technique that is unique to the Maori. The pattern was slowly carved into the skin with a chisel, much in the same way a design might be carved into a plank wood. Ink was then be placed in the fresh wounds to create the tattoo. The process, which was extremely painful, was typically done in stages,
Gallery Ezakwantu. “African Lip Plugs - Lip Plates.” In Ezakwantu. Web. October 1st, 2013 article was accessed. From