There are many gender stereotypes every corner you turn. However, I will focus my attention out of Canada, traveling all the way to Thailand.
One night, I was watching a show starring Jessica Simpson called, "The Price of Beauty" (hence the title of the blog). She travelled to many places to find how America's definition of beauty was contrary/similar to another country's definition of beauty . On one episode, she travelled to Thailand, where the form of beauty was quite appalling, but interesting. Watch this video to find out why:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_nujchiAFh8&feature=related
The history of the "long-neck tribe", "giraffe tribe" or Karen tribe (proper terminology) changes from place to place. In Myanmar, Thailand, the mythology states that women of the Karen tribe once wore a coil of brass rings around their necks because it prevented tigers from biting off their necks/heads. Today, the coil of brass rings is worn to accentuate women's necks. Wearing these rings, as well as a longer necks, signifies great beauty and wealth.
Females start wearing these rings at the age of five, although it is not mandatory. The coils of brass rings that they wear are sometimes heavy, weighing around twenty pounds. Jessica Simpson is correct when she mentioned on the show to the Karen women, "That is definitely a price to pay to feel beautiful."
Incase you haven't noticed, the gender stereotype is: Women care more about their beauty than men.
Before you start answering the questions listed below, please tell me if you have seen/heard of the Karen tribe before.
Here are the questions my fellow bloggers. A minimum of three questions should be answered. Good luck and enjoy!
- Do women really care about beauty more than men? Give examples to prove you answer.
- Do men set the definition of beauty for women, or do women set it themselves? Do women set the definition of beauty for men? Do men follow women's definitions?
- After watching this video, do you think it would be "weird" to see men walking around with coil of brass rings around their necks in Thailand? In North America? Why or why not?
- Compare this form of beauty to developed countries, such as those of North America. Do you think women endure more here? Do you think this form of beauty is more expensive than what North America uses i.e. Plastic Surgery, Cosmetic Surgery, Breast Implants, Liposuction, etc? If a man was talking about having any of these beauty enhancing surgeries, how might you respond? (be honest!)
- The Karen tribe increases Thailand's economy, as foreigners travel there to see "long-neck women" all the time. Should these women endure the stereotypes of they are the ones who have to wear the rings, so that they can get money?
- Do you believe that culture/religion mask gender stereotypes to make stereotypes more accepted?
I think women do care more about their beauty then men. This is because women have always been portrayed as beautiful beings. I think it is in every culture that women are supposed to take care of themselves and look pretty. This makes them feel that they have to do everything to achieve that image and this is the reason that women in the Karen tribe are wearing those rings to look pretty and attain the desired image set for them.
ReplyDeleteI think most of the time if something is morally wrong then people try to mask it by saying that it is in my religion or culture to act this way. This is because most people won’t argue against a religion because it is a very sensitive issue and it is also not correct to judge someone’s religion.
Yes, I have heard about this fact. Even before I've watched all the episodes of the Price of Beauty. It is a very good show in which, the meanings and messages are good things to keep in mind when thinking about what is beautiful.
ReplyDelete2. I think that the women follow the definition of beauty from men. In some societies, I believe men set the fashion but I still believe its up to the women whether or not they portray or pursue this fashion as beautiful. In reality, men are the "dominant race" in which sets the standards of women. For example, in a predominantly men society, women in Afghanistan are expected to wear full covering. Also, in North America, the fashion designers are mainly males. E.g. Tommy Hilfiger and Ralph Lauren. They set the fashion and both women and men alike follow them.
4. Honestly if men had plastic surgery, if it looks ridiculous then I would find it funny. My second thought would be, well if he has the money then, why not? With the question about do women endure more? Yes,I think it is true because society set standards for women that are unattainable and yet they still try to achieve it.
I have seen this on either Discovery channel or OASIS.
ReplyDeleteI think women do care more about their looks than men because they try to attract everyone with their beauty. It's actually the opposite with some birds where the males try to look beautiful in order to attract the females for mating. In our case, women love to look beautiful whether it's to attract people or to just feel good about themselves.
Men definitely set these beauty standards because as Dian mentioned, many of the fashion designers, hairdressers are males. And I think women also set a fashion standard for men because they openly admit that muscular men are more attractive than petite men.
Lastly, I think people do innovate things to cover up using existing religions, because this has happened many times for political reasons, so maybe it occurs for fashion reasons as well.
This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.
ReplyDelete@Gurpreet: You last sentence in the first paragraph got me thinking. Who set these images for them? If your answer is culture, then I completely disagree with you. The reason I disagree is that there has to be someone who first set this culture in place. Therefore, culture is not, and should not, be blamed.
ReplyDeleteAnd my other point is: Aren't men supposed to care for themselves and dress handsomely as well, because I'm pretty sure no woman (or man) wants a man who is dirty and doesn't know how to dress appropriately.
At your last paragraph I agree with. People use religion to mask gender stereotypes, because religion is not something you’re supposed to question, but just follow.
@Diane: You brought up a good point. Men are the dominant sex in our society. However, does that mean that women should always use this belief to say they can’t attain more in our society? If this is the case, women would never learn to set standards for themselves, and achieve it.
@ Diane.
ReplyDeleteBefore the Soviet Invasion, Afghanistan was very well on its way to becoming very advanced in many areas. It has always been an Islamic Country, and Islam never prevented us from achieving success.Neither did the men in Afghanistan try to control women. The change in fashion was brought by others like Osama Bin Laden's trained men that don't belong to our country. We had many men and women who were educated and were working together to create a beautiful country. It's such an important piece of land, and that's why EVERYONE is after it. Women in Afghanistan were very much like the western world, and they're actually gradually changing again. Now that we hear back from our friends and family, women are taking back the control over what they will wear and what they won't.
@Mursal: Why do women feel they have some beauty standards to live up to, and why do dress to attract someone? (Are they magnets?) Are they just scared that they would never find a spouse, and if they do have one, are they scared that their spouse would leave them?
ReplyDeleteI still can’t rap my head around this gender stereotype, because I believe that women and men care equally about their beauty. I have never met a guy who doesn’t consider how he looks before he walks out the door.
On the other hand, I do believe that men and women set standards for each other. If you think about it, this is because we want the other sex to live up to these standards, or else they wouldn’t be set at all! If they don’t match each other’s standards, then they feel discouraged because they think no one would take a “second glance/stare” at them! To me, life is just a competition to see who could dress properly/ get the best job/ get the best girl/guy, etc.
This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.
ReplyDeleteHi Sageeeeeeeeeena! Yes, I have heard about the long-neck tribe before. We watched many videos and documentaries related to them in Travel and Tourism class. As well, outside of school, I have heard of it on the news, or on shows. I think it’s ridiculous that they have to go through so much pain to achieve their status and “beauty”. Then again, this goes back to their tradition and their culture which has been followed since forever. We cannot judge one’s traditions and cultures and say ‘that’s wrong’ or ‘that’s right’. It’s something they believe in and we were just outsiders talking about them.
ReplyDeleteMen do care about their beauty but not to the extent which some females care about theirs. When we see advertisements on TV, bus stops, subways or even on flyers, it’s always female beauty products which are being advertised. I really don’t know if men have any beauty products apart from shaving cream and a razor? I think female usually try to follow what their partner likes (not in all cases). If a boy says “I like girls who wear tights pants”, it’s likely for a girl to wear tight jeans the next day because she knows it attracts the guy. That’s really typical for a girl to do because common, who wouldn’t want to attract someone of the opposite sex? Especially at this age? It’s also the same case for men, they try to follow what other girls like.
It would be weird to see men walking about with a coil of brass rings around their necks. I think if they were to wear it in Thailand, it would be completely normal. The only reason is because it is the norm in their county. If this took place here, it would be awkward because that’s not the tradition which we follow here.
@ Sageena:
ReplyDeleteI said women like to dress up either to attract someone or to SIMPLY FEEL GOOD ABOUT THEMSELVES. I agree with you though that men do the same, they like to be well dressed too to either get others attention or to simply feel good about themselves. I also agree we set beauty standards for each other. But how can we change this? There's no way of changing it. Unless we had a law where it stated that ALL HUMANKIND has to dress up looking exactly the same, just like how some schools have uniforms. That's the best solution that I see to stop these things. Otherwise, there's no point arguing about who sets what standards for whom. What do you think?
@Heli: It's good that you are being exposed to the many different cultures that are present in today’s society. However, my question is:
ReplyDeleteSince we can't judge one's religion or culture, does it make it "ok" for women to go through such pain for "the price of beauty?"
Also, I do think you make a good point that girls do dress to please guys. But why should they stoop to a guy's level of what's beautiful? I'm pretty sure men don't stoop to what a girl defines as beautiful. Guys just look for a different girl who would find him attractive. I don’t believe men fuss over these things, even though they do care about their beauty.
And again, thanks for being honest in answering the questions.
@ Mursal: I agree with what you are saying, and the points you bring forth. However, I think that both men and women can ignore the standards set by each other, and don’t follow them at all! Following these standards encourage both sexes to continue doing what they are doing. It’s just as if a child always wants a pacifier and you keep giving it to him/her, the child will never break loose. It’s the same concept that grown men and women have to break loose from.
@Sageena: To answer your question about does it make it “Ok" for women to go through such pain for “price of beauty". I think that if it is morally wrong than it shouldn't be acceptable. I totally agree with you Sageena why should a girl change herself to meet the needs of a boy's definition of beautiful. Women want to please men or just to look pretty as a result they go through all this pain. Women show men that they are weak and have to change themselves to meet the needs of men. But the truth is women are not weak, if a women love herself and the way she looks then no one can change her and make her go through all this pain. Our colour and body shape is also based on genes that we have got from our parents. As example, both of my parents are short in height therefore, me and brother are taller than our parents but not like extreme tall. So, my point is whatever you are and whatever your body shape and colour of skin is, you should accept it and be happy for what you have rather than changing our natural beauty.
ReplyDeleteHonestly if men had plastic surgery I would not be very surprise because as society has set some beauty standards for women. I think there are some standards that society has set for men too. I think both men and women care about their beauty. For sure women are more open about it than men are.
Firstly, I've never heard of the Karen tribe until now, so thank you Sageena.
ReplyDeleteSecondly, I do think women care more about beauty then men, mostly because our society wants men to be men. Caring about their appearance wouldn't really be a "masculine" attribute of a man. Beaty is a "feminie" characteristic, so many women do feel they have to take care of their outer apperance in order to be a women.
I think men and women do set the definitions of beauty for eachother becuase we often want to appear attractive to others. We want people to see us as beautiful, so really we dress for others, and not ourselves.
@Sageena: If it is not culture then what sets out such rules for women??? If culture is not to be blamed then who is it????
ReplyDeleteI personally don't think that one person sets out a culture. It has to be a group of people who share the same beliefs.
Plus, I totally agree that men are also supposed to be well groomed but why aren’t men under a lot of pressure to look good. Why does women have to go through the pain of looking good by wearing those rings?
What I don't understand is who defines what beauty is? We all say that physical appearances do not matter and we shouldn't judge individuals based on their physical appearances then why do women wear those rings just to look pretty. Most of the time individuals end up contradicting themselves. We appear to believe in something and act the complete opposite to it!
Addressing the second question, I believe its a mutual thing. I think women set the definition of beauty for men, also men set the definition of beauty for women. For example all the clothes that, are so called really handsome for men, are brand name, expensive clothes. The reason is that its portrayed in the media, I am not saying its the reality, that women like a man with money. So the fashion that it in for men is expensive clothes. The same thing goes for women. All the clothes that are really beautiful for women, in most cases is that its tight and revealing. The reason is that its portrayed in the media, i am not saying its the reality, that men always thing of sex, and they want to see sexy women, unless women dress sexy they are not considered beautiful by men ( I am not saying its the reality, but its expressed like that in the media ). So therefore men and women set the standard of beauty for the other gender.
ReplyDelete@Omar: I understand where you’re coming from, and the points that you made are definitely true. You made a good point that most clothing for men are more expensive, as my father always says this as well and I noticed it for myself. Being a guy, why do you think this is reality, other than the fact that media publicizes these clothing? (They publicize women’s clothing to). Also, I do agree that tight and revealing clothing do get a guys attention.
ReplyDelete@Gurpreet: I believe that if a group of people with similar beliefs set a culture into place, then they are the ones to be blamed. They are the ones who put women through pain for centuries, telling them how to dress and what is beautiful. I also agree we always contradict ourselves. I guess that that is just how the world turns. Old habits don’t die easily!
@Ashleigh: Explain the use of the word masculine in quotes. You said, “Caring about their appearance wouldn’t be a “masculine” attribute of a man” I disagree with this phrase. To give an example, in Jersey Shore, yes, Jersey Shore, all four guys do care about how they look before going clubbing, or just going to the beach. This doesn’t mean that they are not “masculine”, whatever that means. It just shows that they care about how they look, just as the other four girls on Jersey Shore. Therefore, I still strongly agree that men and women care equally about how they look!
@Shraddha: Thanks for answering the questions. I agree with everything you said as well. Therefore, I have no other questions/comments for you!
I just meant that a lot of girls wouldn't like it if their boyfreinds were spending more time in the washroom then they were.I'm not saying guys don't care about what they look like, but we don't hear about guys wearing rings around their neck or something crazy like that. It's acts like these that make it seem as if women care more about their appearance then men.
ReplyDeleteOk, I get your point. Let's just leave it at guys care about their appearences inwardly, and girls show that they care more about beauty than guys do. However, they still both care about their beauty! (Just that they show it differently)
ReplyDelete