Transcript The Female Body and Its Meanings

Cultural Differences
The Female Body & Its Meanings
Introduction
Emphasis on the Body
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Females around the world are taught to focus
on their bodies: appearance, fertility, purity
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Researchers suggest that appearance is more
central to females’ self-concept than to men’s
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Examples from many cultures illustrate that
women are often urged to transform their
bodies—drastically—in order to meet standards
of beauty and perfection
Fertility and Sexuality
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In some cultures, menstruation, pregnancy,
childbirth, lactation are considered
mysterious and powerful
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In some cultures, virginity is obsessively
guarded
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In other words, women are often defined by
their bodies, and their bodies are defined by
sexual and reproductive functions
Vulnerability
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Physical/moral weakness
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Sheltering and seclusion
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Restrictions on sexuality
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Relentlessly sexualized
Menstruation
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Positive or negative?
Traumatic, lack of information, physical discomfort;
some lose close relationship with their fathers (Chicana
women; Hurtado, 2003)
Saudi Arabia: separated from all males (except brothers
and fathers); begin wearing a veil
Many Aboriginal cultures: emerging womanly power,
celebration
Mysterious Menstruation
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Men are often uncomfortable with the
topic because it is viewed as mysterious
and ‘strange’
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e.g., Menstrual synchrony: women who
spend a lot of time together tend to have
their periods around the same time
Pregnancy
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North America: joyful & privileged event
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Many women are abused by their partners during
pregnancy; high rates of depression
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Young, unmarried women may face strong social
disapproval
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Traditional Chinese beliefs: childbirth is an act of
extreme spiritual pollution (even though having a child
increases status and power in husband’s family)
Childbirth
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Childbirth is a dramatic event—
moderated and shaped by the cultural
context
Controlling the Female Body
Female Genital
Mutilation/Circumcision
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Female genital mutilation: attempts to limit/control
female sexuality and reproduction, impairing the
woman’s capacity for sexual pleasure, etc.
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Over 130 million women worldwide have been circumcised (20+
African countries, Arab countries such as Oman, South Yemen,
Egypt, and in Muslim populations such as Indonesia and
Malaysia)
Often carried out under dangerous medical conditions
Often performed when girls are between 4 and 8 years old
Extreme pain, heavy bleeding, infection, shock, painful
menstruation, urination, and intercourse, and, in many cases,
death
For “their own good”
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Clitoridectomy: removal of all or part of the clitoris
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Infibulation: cutting away of the labia and sealing the
wound, leaving only a tiny opening for menstruation
and urination
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In many cultures, females are taught that these
procedures are important for the health and beauty
It protects them from their “oversexed” nature, saving
them from disgrace, temptation, suspicion, and
preserves their chastity (which also “protects” the
males in their families)
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Challenging FGM
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Although it is still practiced, FGM is on
the decline and has been outlawed in
many countries
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The United Nations has supported the
right of its member countries to offer
refugee status to women who flee their
countries in fear of FGM
FGM in North America & Britain
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In the 19th century, clitoridectomy was
endorsed by physicians as a treatment for
“hysteria, epilepsy, melancholy, lesbianism,
and excessive masturbation” (American Medical
Association)
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Eight stages of progressive disease: hysteria,
spinal irritation, hysterical epilepsy, cataleptic
fits, epileptic fits, idiocy, mania, and
eventually, death
Questions
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Does banning the practice of female circumcision (FGM)
in our country contradict our current emphasis on
multiculturalism?
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Why is it still deemed necessary for women to go
through the pain of childbirth? For example, women
who chose painkillers, epidurals, and so on, are looked
down upon (e.g., as being weak, harming the baby).
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Other?
Virginity Testing
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Some villages in Iraq, Saudi Arabia,
Turkey:
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a bride is returned to her father in disgrace if
the sheets from the wedding bed are not
bloody; if they ARE bloody, they are often
displayed to friends and relatives as a sign
that the bride is honourable and pure
Abortion
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Access to abortion is restricted in many cultures but is
still extremely common
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Religious and legal restrictions lead to many backstreet procedures that endanger women’s lives
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Even in places where abortion is legal, women often
face the disdain of society (e.g., protesters at abortion
clinics)
Attitudes toward Abortion
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Pro-choice
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More likely to believe
in equal
rights/responsibilities
for men and women
Less likely to accept
parenthood as the
primary role for
women
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Pro-life
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More likely to have
made family roles
central to their lives
Much more likely to
be religious
More likely to
perceive feminism and
homosexuality as
threats to the family
Seclusion & Veiling
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Confining the female body
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Many young girls look forward to wearing a headscarf,
veil, cloak (e.g., Muslim traditions); others view these
articles of clothing as symbols of restriction and
invisibility
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Iran: women from poor rural families spend most of
their lives in “women’s quarters” behind high walls
“the objectification of a woman can be done in two ways
... You can strip her naked and use her to sell excitement
at a basketball game ... [or] you can cover her up
completely and then demand her silence and her absence
... and then when she enters a public space she becomes
sexual ... The second way has been mastered by Islamic
society ... so that, instead of seeing a woman’s modesty
as a passport to public space, it becomes a further
barrier” (Azizah magazine, 2001)
Displaying the Female Body
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Preoccupation with beauty is stereotypically feminine
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In many ways, we equate femininity with beauty—and
beauty with youth
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Central to women’s self concept
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Standards of beauty change over time
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Standards of beauty differ across cultures
The 1950s
The 1960s
The 1970s
The 1980s
The 1990s
Now versus Then
Displaying the Female Body
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Body Shape & Weight
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Industrialized societies in impose thinness on
women
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Discrimination, blame, weakness
In developing societies, overweight women
may be seen as more beautiful
Uganda
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Hima (Western Uganda)
Obese women = beautiful
By the time of marriage, some women are so obese
that they can barely walk
Guests will comment appreciatively on the cracks in
her skin, stretch marks, and her difficulty walking
Wives are assigned no heavy physical work, rarely leave
the home, and spend their days having sex with a
variety of men approved by their husbands
These sexual relationships cement economic ones, so,
therefore, the wife helps to ensure her husband’s
prosperity
Niger
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“Fat” is a beauty ideal so prevalent that
women take steroids to gain weight and
pills to increase their appetites
In beauty pageants, the heaviest women
win
In neighbouring parts of Nigeria, women
go to “fattening farms” to gain weight
before their weddings
China
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Until the early part of the century, it was common to
bind young girls’ feet
Small feet were considered a sign of beauty and
refinement
This caused the feet to be deformed, prevented them
from growing to full size, and prevented them from
developing the normal strength and flexibility needed
for walking
Most Chinese girls had a future that included an
arranged marriage, serving their mother-in-law, and
being submissive to their husbands
North America
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What are the current standards of
beauty?
How are women in North America
affected?
What are some of the biggest problems
associated with these standards?
Displaying the Female Body
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Face, skin, & hair
Women in the royal courts of Europe would
powder their faces, avoid the sun, and ingest
arsenic to achieve the right pallor
 African women: skin bleaching, hair
straightening/dyeing
 Caucasian women: tanning & hair curling …?
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Displaying the Female Body
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Facial features
Thinner eyebrows, larger eyes, hairstyles
that make the face seem thinner, define
cheekbones, coloured contact lenses
 Cosmetic surgery: wrinkles and blemished
are not attractive
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Blonde is the dominant beauty standard
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Long hair
Summary
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Women are largely defined by their
bodies
Much emphasis has been placed on
controlling women by controlling their
bodies
No matter how much or how little of
their bodies women are allowed to show,
they are taught to be very concerned
with appearance