Week 6 Blog Post: Definition of Beauty :|

Culture almost entirely defines how we internalize and the standards we hold in feminine beauty.  While we have scientific definitions of beauty such as symmetrical features, almost all of our beauty standards are result of our culture and society.  Even within our own western culture, our own definition of ideal feminine beauty has drastically changes with time.  At one point, doll-like translucent skin, and powdered noses were the standard of beauty as it symbolized little time spent outdoors, synonymously, not partaking in outdoor labor, or having high economic status and family wealth.  Now, it is popular for girls to go tanning and have deep bronzed skin.  Weight and body shape has also fluctuated in what is ideal and most beautiful.  As beauty standards have greatly changed within our western culture and society, it is no doubt that within other cultures and societies, beauty standards can differ substantially from our own, and even in ways that may be very surprising and seemingly drastic.

One example of such a beauty standard is foot binding in the Chinese culture.  This practice includes intense and painful wrapping and misshaping of the foot to physically make it smaller.  The practice works as both an erotic symbol, as men are drawn to the smaller feet, and as a symbol or wealth and high economic status.  If family’s daughters are wrapping and binding their feet, this means they cannot work the family field and labor, which symbolizes greater wealth as the family does not need their extra effort to sustain themselves.  Bound feet on young girls also symbolizes dedication and likeliness to be faithful to their husbands and good daughter-in-laws to their future spouses family (See, 2005).

Another practice very foreign to Western culture is female genital cutting.  This practice takes place in many cultures within Asia and Africa.  Often times, we tend to categorize all genital cuttings into female genital mutilation, or FGM, but this is not the case, and these things are not the same, while still not necessarily mutually exclusive (Fuambai).  Female genital mutilation does take place, but it is by far the least common genital cutting procedure, and much less common than what we think when considering that there are many different forms of genital cutting.  Within the Muslim community, for example, they perform female circumcision just as we perform male circumcision (Newland, 2006).  It is a religious practice that symbolizes morality, similar to baptism, dunking babies’ heads under holy water.  In other cultures, female genital cutting has long been taking place, and was later attributed to stemming from religious backgrounds once those religions were introduced to those communities.  In some cases, this procedure is only a prick of the clitoris, or the removal of some skin.  As this is standard in these cultures, females feel more beautiful and part of and belonging to their community having gone through the same procedure her friends and family members have.  Men in cultures that practice female genital cutting have grown up in a culture with women having gone through these procedures, and they are therefore likely to find women who have as the standard of beauty, just as westerners are most accustomed to circumcised penises on men.

It is wrong for Western culture to victimize the women of these cultures and proclaim these practices to be wrong and evil.  Just because we do not practice and maintain the same beauty standards does not mean we should force others to change their standards of beauty.  Further, in an attempt to ban female genital cutting, the practice has grown even more common as these cultures resist the demands to change their culture and beliefs, understandably.  Even if laws were to be put in place banning the practice of female genital cutting, it is likely that the girls who this would directly influence would only be harmed in doing so.  They would feel different from their mothers, aunts, sisters, grandmothers, they would feel less beautiful and inadequate.  It is not our place whatsoever to force our own set of beauty standards onto other cultures.

From a functionalist perspective, male attraction, societal symbols, economic status, and religion all work together in creating these standards of feminine beauty.  As foot binding has dwindled, perhaps so may female genital cutting, or at least the more involved and intense form of it.  Beauty standards and definitions change over time, affected by how our culture changes and what it comes to iconize.

Work Cited:

  • See, L. (2005). Snow flower and the secret fan: A novel. New York: Random House.
  • Newland, L. (2006). Female circumcision: Muslim identities and zero tolerance policies in rural West Java. Women’s Studies International Forum, 394-404.
  • Fuambai, Ahmadu. Ain’t I a Woman Too? Challenging Myths of Sexual Dysfunction in Circumsized Women

2 thoughts on “Week 6 Blog Post: Definition of Beauty :|

  1. Hello. I appreciate your post very much. Your examples of how our perspective of beauty has changed over time was also something I was considering. Looking to your example of having very translucent skin as a marker of beauty, compared to the current trend of tanned or bronzed skin, it seems insignificant but in reality, it is an interesting point. We know through biomedical science that overly tanned skin can be dangerous to our health. Skin cancer deaths are on the rise. And, yet people are still going to tanning salons or to the beach without sunscreen. Some are going to bronzing lotions or spray tans in an effort to have a “healthier” tan. The point is people are choosing to risk their health or artificially color their skin in an effort to appear more beautiful.
    Additionally, I agree, we must get past our western perspective and expectations in order to fully understand the practices of other cultures. At the end of the Footbinding chapter, the author points out that her beautiful, tiny feet kept her husband’s attention through all of their lives together. She seemed to cherish that.

  2. I really enjoyed the emoticon that you used in your heading, it made me smile when I saw it. I appreciated that you point out that ideas of beauty change and fluctuate over time, sometimes this is forgotten especially when we forget to look to the past. This is the same in other cultures, sometimes harmful practices go away or change on their own, and othertimes they are banned by law and change as a result either becoming less frequent in practice or becoming a symbol of cultural identity and rebellion against the state.

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