The Practice Of Painting Your Nails

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The act of painting your nails can have many different connotations and acts of reasoning behind it. First, it will be analyzed from the possible perspective of a functionalist anthropologist. Going off of Malinowski’s basic needs, the practice of painting nails can fulfill many needs. Providing bodily comforts is perhaps the most obvious manifestation. The way that people dress and accessorize themselves gives information to both those seeing the person and the individual themselves. Painting one’s nails can just be a form of expression that comforts people and gives them confidence. Society can view painted nails as a sign of someone being put together. Painting nails is also a sign of growth, as it can be a form of art expression. Painting a solitary color is difficult on its own, and some individuals choose to paint patterns or other designs on their nails in addition. Painting nails in a temporary form every once in a while shows how people can innovate in small ways to make themselves happier. …show more content…

People often bond by painting their nails together and talking then, or strike up conversation at later times about the nail polish on someone’s hands. There also may be purely practical reasons why a person paints their nails, such as to prevent one from biting their fingernails, which is detrimental when it gets to a certain point. The practice of nail painting also brings order to society through the act through setting up boundaries and social norms against deviances. Nail painting is seen as very feminine, and in a huge amount of societies is a frowned upon practice for men. Emphasis on beauty is pushed onto females from their peers and from advertising, but a focus on beauty is not seen as a masculine thing. If society relies on deviants to keep order, then men wearing nail polish can provide a source for judgement and

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