Along the border of Burma and Thailand, the “giraffe women” of the Karen tribe are known for their utilization of brass rings to extend the length of their neck. The Karen people live beside the Pai River, which divides Burma and Thailand. Within the Karen people, there is a subgroup of women known as the Padaung. Recognizable around the world for their wildly elongated necks, the Padaung women have practiced this custom for centuries. Although the reasoning for adorning their necks in this unique jewelry has changed throughout the years, the Padaung continue to carry out this tradition today.
Starting at the age of five or six, young Padaung girls receive their first ring, which is a long, brass coil about four inches tall. After receiving their first ring, the coils are described as being “....added sporadically until a limit of 21-25 is reached”. Although in some cases women have exceeded this limit, for example, “The record, according to one village woman, is 28 brass rings” (Gluckman). Initially, the collar weighs about four and a half pounds, but as rings are added, it can weigh up to 22 pounds. Over time, the weight of these coils can become strenuous and cause damage to the body.
The elongation of these women's necks is actually an illusion created by the rings; their necks are not any longer than
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before. Instead, the coils force down the collar bones and upper ribs. The collar causes significant damage due to the weight that is applied, “Sufficient weight eventually causes the clavicle and the ribs to descend about 45 degrees down from their normal position” (Neck Elongating Still). This constant pressure on a human’s bones can cause severe health problems. For example, if a woman’s rings were to be taken off, “....the woman's neck would flop over and she would suffocate” (Mirante). Due to the fatal consequences, the collars of the Padaung women are rarely removed. However, there is an exception to this, a woman can lose the right to wear her rings if she commits adultery and, as Waddington writes, “....since the neck muscles will have been severely weakened by years of not supporting the neck, a woman must spend the rest of her life lying down”. The Padaung women wear their collars with pride for their tribe and what originally was restricted to a specific group of women has become practiced by many. There is much speculation about why the Padaung women began wearing their collars. In hopes of warding off slave traders, women began wearing the brass rings to make themselves less attractive.
On the other hand, others wore the collar because they believed it symbolized wealth and beauty. Additionally, some of the Padaung women believed that wearing the rings would prevent tigers from biting their necks. When the practice first began, only specific women were allowed to wear the coils, “Traditionally, it was only the Padaung girls born on a Wednesday of a full moon who were destined to wear the coils” (Women of the). However as the Padaung women became a popular attraction, more women began to wear the rings to supply for tourist
demand. Today, the Padaung women of the Karen tribe's tradition is dying out. Many of these women no longer believe neck stretching should be practiced. As the “giraffe women” have gained more fame around the world, tourism in the Karen's area of Thailand has increased greatly in recent years. As a result of the growing tourism, the surrounding area's economy has been positively impacted. This economic boost has motivated the women to persist in wearing their brass collars, despite the strain it puts on the body. Although the population of women who still practice this custom is decreasing, many Padaung women continue to pass the tradition down to future generations in hopes that their legacy won’t be lost.
Further research although, allows us to understand more in depth the importance and history of the Tai-me Sun Dance doll. According to Kiowa Nation, the Tai-me is the most sacred possession of the tribe. The first Tai-me came from an Arapaho man who married into the tribe in the 1700’s. There once was three Tai-me figures which were, the “woman”, the “man”, and another figure, however Osgaes captured the figures but returned them in 1837 when the treaty was signed. Then the Utes captured two of the figures and they never returned. The Tai-me keeper has many important roles in the Sun Dance such as deciding whether the dance will be held and preparing for the dance. This historical context is important and connects with the chapter because it allows the reader to understand Tai-me’s past and importance to the
In conclusion the Kwakiutl tribe is steadfast in tradition and culture. The works of the Kwakiutl artists and the leaders of the religious ceremonies are most certainly working hand in hand carrying on traditions past on from earlier generations. The Kwakiutl artisans have mastered the art of making ceremonial masks and these masks will continue to play an intricate role in the lives and living of the villagers for years to come.
The First World War presented European women with ample opportunity to step up and demonstrate their strength; however men of this era had conflicting opinions of how capable women were to take on a man’s occupation. Therefore, it was necessary for women to prove their abilities and destroy the widespread belief of their stupidity and ignorance. To begin, it was during this era of World War 1 and directly after this that women were able to prove themselves as vital members of the economy and society of Europe. In Document 1, a picture depicts the harsh patriarchal society that women were forced to change by showing a woman being ignored by a man. The purpose of this photo of a female figure arguing that women were strong enough to save men
Marjorie Shostak, an anthropologist who had written this book had studies the !Kung tribe for two years. Shostak had spent the two years interviewing the women in the society. The !Kung tribe resided n the Dobe area of Northwest Botswana, that’s infused with a series of clicks, represented on paper by exclamation points and slashes. Shostak had studied that the people of the tribe relied mostly on nuts of the mongongo, which is from an indigenous tree that’s part of their diet.
In her article "The body as attire," Dorothy Ko (1997) reviewed the history about foot binding in seventeenth-century China, and expressed a creative viewpoint. Foot binding began in Song Dynasty, and was just popular in upper social society. With the gradually popularization of foot binding, in the end of Song Dynasty, it became generally popular. In Qing Dynasty, foot binding was endowed deeper meaning that was termed into a tool to against Manchu rule. The author, Dorothy Ko, studied from another aspect which was women themselves to understand and explained her shifting meaning of foot binding. Dorothy Ko contends that “Chinese Elite males in the seventeenth century regarded foot binding in three ways: as an expression of Chinese wen civility,
together for the better of the shared children. The women had a say in how they would help
Leading up to the celebration the girls are taught a certain dance that must be performed at the ceremony. “the new initiates are brought into town for the first time since the initiation process began…” At the ceremony the Mende girls wear a Sowei mask and costume which is considered to be the embodiment of the river spirt Sowo. Once the mask and costume is on the person transforms and her actions are no longer hers but are the actions of the spirt Sowo. A sacred dance is performed and dance moves represent the strength and power of woman as members in the Mende community. “Sowo mask are divided into three structural components- the neck, face, and coiffure. Carved from a single block of lightweight wood, the masks weigh only two to four pounds. The mask displays a shiny black surface representative of the value assigned to smooth dark skin.” The rings around the masks neck demonstrates a trait that is considered beautiful in Mende cultures. Every mask has a different hairstyle, representing the style of the woman the mask is made for, you can see items such as shells, metal and claws on the coiffure.
Jade represents love in Eastern cultures. It is fitting that the ring is made from jade since the exchange of gifts is a symbol of the love they share with each other. In addition, jade was thought to preserve the body after death and could be found in the tombs of emperors. The jade ring given to Mongryong by Chunhyang is a sêma for both definitions of the word; it is a physical symbol of their trust and a physical representation of the tomb of a hero. Mongryong achieves his kleos by becoming a high ranking official and saving Chunhyang’s life.
Nothing simply begins. Everything needs something else in order to develop and live continuously. Fire needs wood to burn, water needs heat to boil, and the women’s right movement needed abolition to begin the real fight. The women’s rights movement of the nineteenth century emerged out of abolition activism because it was not until after abolitionist groups formed and began fighting slavery that women began to realize they had no rights themselves and began their own fight.
Females have to dress like a man, act like a man, and be like a man; to get a “man’s” job.
...ved with a phallic protrusion on its head to indicate virility and power. The purpose was principally psychological to make an individual feel protected.
The feminist movement in the United States and abroad was a political and social movement that pursued the establishment of equality for women. The movement changed the lives of many women and created a profound effect on American society during the twentieth century. Throughout the first two decades of the century, women 's groups in the United States operated together to win women 's suffrage, concluding in the approval of a constitutional amendment in 1920 that guaranteed women the right to vote. During the late twentieth century, women 's organizations would once again group together, this time to verbalize and advocate for the Equal Rights Amendment (ERA). Feminists also influenced literature during this time period. Novels regarding feminist beliefs started to appear, such as Betty Freidan’s “The Feminine Mystique” (1963), which is considered to impact the start of the second wave of feminism. Other forms of literature were starting to express these opinions as well. Lorraine Hansberry’s play, “A Raisin in the Sun” is a key example of sexual and political inequality shown in literature, and depicts a mother
Bernstein, Gail Lee. “Women in Rural Japan” In Women In Changing Japan, edited by Lebra Joyce, Paulson Joy and Power Elizabeth. Boulder, CO: Westview Press, 1976.
The two articles by Reed (1999) troubling boys and disturbing discourses and by Ringrose (2007) gender and education. Both of these articles highlight how gender plays a role in education. For example, it shows how girls outplay boys in exams.
Throughout history women have had to endure horrible things to be deemed beautiful. The ancient tradition of foot binding in China, however, takes the “beauty is pain” concept to a whole new level. Foot binding, also known as lotus feet, is the Chinese custom of applying painfully tight binding to the feet of a young girl to break all of the bones in both feet and to also prevent further growth in order to keep the feet three inches long. Although one may feel that this was completely ridiculous, having this procedure done meant that a girl will be able to get married to a wealthy man and will be referred to as attractive. The cost of beauty comes with a massive price as well. The loss of the ability to walk is the biggest price a Chinese girl had to pay in order to be accepted in the Chinese culture. During the Sung Dynasty period, women have mutilated, bound, deformed, permanently damaged and altered their bodies not only to be accepted in society, but also to satisfy men erotically and sexually as well as weaken themselves to make men feel more powerful.