Culture is a social construct. Culture can be defined as the“ set of shared attitudes, values, goals and practices that characterizes an organization” ( Merriam Webster ). Each society has different beliefs, social norms, religions and material traits.  Therefore, each society has their own culture that can differ greatly from each other. The culture an individual grows up in has significant impacts on feminine beauty ideals. This means that different cultures have different views on what is considered to be desirable which might be completely different from another cultures. For example, people in Myanmar value long or giraffe neck which is achieved from wearing brass rings to lengthen her neck. People in other cultures might think this is tortures  but this is the culture of this area. In another, having stretched earlobes is seen as beautiful where in others having stretched lips is seen as desirable.  

This week, we looked at different feminine beauty practices in a few different countries. We looked into the practices of Chinese foot binding, female genital cutting and female genital plastic surgery. As mentioned before, different places / societies have different views on feminine beauty ideals. What may be seen as torturous to one society is valued in another. These practices have important meanings in each of these societies.

In China, women take part in the practice of footbinding. This is where a tight binding is applied to the feet of girls to modify the shape and size of their feet (Wikipedia). Foot binding is considered as a status symbol and as seen as a “ mark of beauty” .  It was believed that having small feet meant that women were seen as more desirable for more prestigious marriages. It was a way for families to move up the social ladder. Additionally going through foot binding showed that children were “ obedient and pious “ to their parents and grandparents (Lecture) .  In the book Snow Flower and the Fan ,the author reflects that her small feet would show the world her obedience and make a good impression on her husband and here future in laws ( See) . The author uses an interpretive theory. This theory looks that the “ the meaning that humans ascribe to this event or circumstance” ( Lecture Interpretive Theory ). 

The next culture feminine practice we looked at this week is female genital circumcision. This week’s lecture stated that this could mean a lot of different things. I was aware that this was practiced in countries in Africa and some countries in the middle east like Iraq. But I was supposed to learn that this was also practiced in western countries like the United States and the UK.  Female circumcision is considered a rite of passage and could be performed when a baby is born or before puberty. The lecture compares this to an individual going through gradation. Additional it is important to understand that circumcision is required in some Muslim faiths. The article by Newland stated that “ if children aren’t circumcised, they’re not permitted to participate in the prayers at the mosque” (Newland 2006). Circumcision is important in this culture because it is a significant rite that is needed to take part in an important social event because not having the circumcision means that they are not allowed to go to a mosque. The  author uses a femanist theory in the paper because she compares the roles of males and females in the muslium society. Feminist thoerists look at how one’s gender impacts the situation they are in. 

These practices, such as foot binding and female circumcision ,  function as rites of passages in these cultural settings. Without these practices, these individuals would not be able to take part in the society around them. If these practices were abruptly outlawed than people would still practice these rituals secretly because these practices influence very important life events. The film looks at vaginoplasty. Unlike the other two practice, this plastic surgery procedure is not related to culture or traditions. It does not serve as a rite of passage to event in a specific culture society. Instead , people who take part in this procedure are influenced but what mass media and the environment they are in. This film takes the feminine theoretical approach, as the narrator looks for reasons why women are undergoing these types of surgery , and how who don’t feel comfortable with how they look.