We all have our own views on feminine beauty. In the United States, our ideal of feminine beauty is the perfect hourglass figure. We are influenced by online beauty marketers, many of us want the perfect cinched waist, perfect butt, perfect nose, etc. But beauty can be defined in many different ways. It can be interpreted differently in every culture. That is why while we read of these practices in other countries, we cannot be quick to judge. We use waist trainers, plastic surgery, etc to change our looks to the standard of feminine beauty. In the US, our culture revolves around the impact of social media. We tend to follow beauty ideals that are shown to us on online platforms. It is hard for us to believe the way other cultures interpret beauty standards. For example, in chinese foot binding, it is hard for us to process how that can change a woman’s beauty. But in chinese culture, feet binding can mean a multitude of things. For women, this may reflect our obedience of a wife she will be. For her husband it can be an erotic thing and it can also be a symbol of wealth. It is important to look at the cultural meanings of practices before we are so quick to judge. 

Our culture impacts our definition of beauty in different ways than the other cultures shown in the film and articles. I was particularly drawn to the article, “Ain’t I a Woman Too” as it discusses female genitle cutting and Africian Culture. A quote that stuck out to me was the following, “Many sex researchers note that the most powerful sexual organ is the brain. A woman’s attitudes toward and expectations from sex, her culture and environ-ment, what she believes about herself, her body, her desires, her partner, and so on are all important non-physiological determinants of sexual gratification.” The author continues on discussing how this empashises the challenges faced women who were circumcised who have the added stigma of being different, of knowing that their bodies, what has been done to them, and their cultural beliefs and values regarding sex, are condemned by hostile host communities. In these cultures,they view ideals of virginity as reasons for female circumcision. Also to diminish the likelihood of women having premarital sex. Many women report zero enjoyment during sex. Now, imagine if these practices were outlawed abruptly, what would happen to the lives of these women? In especially africian cultures, many women are already fighting against female genitial mutilation as it prevents women from continuing their education. This practice has been known to crush young girls dreams and future career aspirations. In Kenyan culture, FGM often means that women are ready for marriage and they stop their eductation to be wives. I think the lives of these women would be better off and I think they would find other ways to protect these cultural ideals. But, I think other practices could be upkept and outcomes could become worse. Or just like any other procedure in countries like this, it would be continued to be performed, just in unsafe ways. Outlawing such a thing won’t do much, as those cultural ideals will always be there. It’s a long process to try and change the mindset of a whole society of people. While practices such as this sound horrifying to westerners, this a norm for many people. It is important to understand the cultural significance of these practices and try to relate them to some of ours. While we may never fully understand why someone would mutilate someone like that as a symbol of virginity or being ready for marriage, we have similar practices that they too will never fully understand. While we may not agree and continue to be horrified by it, it has a cultural meaning to them. While in FGM, it is something that many women want to steer away from, it is still a rite of passage. Just like foot binding or certain types of plastic surgery, it means something to someone in every culture. It is something we have to fully understand, but we don’t always have to completely accept.