不同文化背景前的美丽宣言要点.ppt

One of the most memorable episodes of “The Twilight Zone” television series begins as a woman chats with a doctor in a hospital room with her head covered with gauze. This woman has undergone a procedure to make her look normal and she is anxiously waiting to see her face without the bandages. However, the doctor warns her that because she has undergone so many procedures, it will not be possible to try again. When the woman’s face is revealed to the camera, however, we see that she is beautiful by human standards, but, to our surprise, when the camera turns to reveal the faces of doctors and nurses, we see that they are hideously deformed. The message is clear: The diversity of body costumes has led anthropologists (e.g., Douglas 1970; Strathern 1996) to conclude that a body is both a physical and a symbolic artifact, forged by nature and by culture at a particular moment in history (Sullivan, 2000). Body customs have social significance. The body can be a site for the expression of power in a culture and for communicating group membership, social status, social identity and associated beliefs and values. All body customs, whether temporary, like tweezing eyebrows, or more permanent, like tattoos and cosmetic surgery, are forms of self-creation that establish a connection with a reference group. The cultural and social context influences individual body choices and gives them social meaning (Sullivan 2000). Body Size Ideals in African Cultures In Cameroon and many other parts of Africa, obesity, especially in the buttocks, has been associated with abundance, erotic desirability, and fertility. Fat has been seen as a statement of well-being and has been frequently produced artificially through fattening processes (Roybal,2002) In a rite of passage, some Nigerian girls spend months gaining weight in what is known as “the fattening room”. In this culture, a woman’s rotundity is a sign of good health, prosperity and charm. “Beauty is in the weight”,