My Blogging Journey Comes to an End

When I first started this blog, I did not expect much feelings to be involved. As time past, I came to realize that I have a passion for learning new things. This blog allowed me to learn about different countries and cultures. I found many interesting facts. For example, that Qatar is the wealthiest country, Mauritania loves fat women and also that Chinese foot binding caused many scars. As I read other peoples blogs, it was interesting to learn about peoples lives and their viewpoint on things. This one blog I read was called Kicking back in Kahlua and the author writes about her life in Hawaii. Learning about Hawaii and other cultures fascinated me. Another blog was on fat feminism. The author wrote about how fat women are being discriminated against. This blog was interesting because I can relate to the pain of not being the ideal size. At a young age, I loved learning about new cultures and traditions. In writing this blog, I have found my passion for exploring new things once again. As my writing comes to an end, I will indeed keep on trying to learn about new and exciting traditions.

Chinese Foot binding

Most women all over the world have heard the saying, "beauty is pain." Around the world people are striving to be beautiful. Every culture has different beauty traditions. In America, women usually go wax their body or get their hair done to feel pretty. On the other side of the world, China has a beauty tradition that most Americans may find taboo. Foot binding is a long kept tradition in china and is a symbol of beauty. Although, as I researched foot binding, the tradition seemed harmful and outrageous.

The binding of the feet "was said to be an indicator of Chinese class and a symbol of beauty" (Evans). Young Chinese girls were subjected to foot binding as soon as they were
able to walk. Mothers bounded their daughters feet at a young age because children have soft bones (Lim). The foot would be wrapped with bandages to prevent the normal growth. The foot would then be placed into what is called a lotus shoe. The lotus shoe was no more than 3 inches long. As the foot was forced into the shoe, the foot would then gradually become smaller and disfigured (Evans). As I saw the disfigured toes curl into the foot, I could not imagine the pain these women had to go through.

The Video of the bounded foot saddened me. The tiny Chinese women looked so peaceful sitting on the chair. As I saw her disfigured foot, I was upset that people would hurt themselves like this. Although the foot binding tradition is not really practiced today, older women still carry deformities and scars. Some women even regret binding their feet.

Zhou says " I can't dance, I can't move properly. I regret it a lot. But at the time, if you didn't bind your feet, no one would marry you" (Lim).

It is sad to know that people go through such great lengths to be considered beautiful. If you think about it, foot binding is no different than waxing or even plastic surgery. These practices also include pain. I wonder if there will come a time when beauty isn't skin deep.

References

Evans, Myfanawy. "Pattaya Daily News." Pattaya Daily News Pattaya Newspaper Powerful News at Your Fingertips. N.p., n.d. Web. 17 Apr. 2013.

Lim, Louisa. "Painful Memories for China's Footbinding Survivors." NPR. NPR, 19 Mar. 2007. Web. 17 Apr. 2013.

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Mauritania: Love of Fat Women

As I was reading through Amanda Arp's blog on Fat Feminism, I asked myself a question. Is there any country in the world that embraces fat women? On my search, I came across the country of Mauritania. In the U.S skinny means beautiful, but in Mauritania, skinny is ugly and undesirable. I was delighted at the fact that there was a country that supports big beautiful women. While researching, I found that although Mauritania prides themselves on big women, the way it is practiced is outrageous.

In Mauritania, "Obesity is so revered among the Moor Arab population that the young girls are sometimes force fed to obtain weight" (Harter). This phenomenon of fat women is a sign of wealth. If a woman is skinny, she was considered poor and undesirable. At a young age, mothers force feed the girls to fatten them up.

In the rural parts of Mauritania, fat farms were created to fatten young girls (Harter). This tradition of force feeding is known as leblouh. Young girls are forced to eat 4 pounds of mixed food, along with 2 cups of butter and 20 liters of camel's milk in a day (Sumitra). If girls do not eat, or throw up, they are punished by pinching sticks and more food. I was saddened to watch a video on how the young girls are fed. Many are crying and clutching their stomachs in pain. Mothers are sitting back and watching, ready to give another bowl of milk and food. In the video, women explain that if the girl gets fat quick, they can get their period faster and get married. Although this phenomenon is a sign of beauty, it comes with a harsh reality when women get older and suffer from health problems.

Many women in Mauritania suffer from weight related health problems. 

A quarter of the 1.5 million women in Mauritania — a barren, dune-enveloped country in northwest Africa more than twice the size of Texas — are obese, according to the World Health Organization. That’s lower than the 40 percent of American women who the WHO says are obese, but surprisingly high in a country that has not a single fast-food franchise (Mauritania).

The government of Mauritania also has concerns with the rising obesity problem. They have launched campaigns to try and stop the obesity epidemic. Although, for a young women named Mint, her problem has already hit. She states in NBC News “My mother thinks she made me beautiful. But she made me sick,” says Mint, who suffers from weight-related illnesses including diabetes and heart disease. It is so different to see people suffering from this. In the United states, everyone strives to be skinny and fit, so researching Mauritania was insightful.

Women all around the world strive for one thing, to be accepted and beautiful. In the U.S, it is skinny and fit that is wanted. In Mauritania it is fat, plump and thick that has men turning heads. It is refreshing to see a country that believes fat is beauty but, at what cost? Harming your health, children and society? I guess it is no different than women in the U.S spending countless times in the gym and operating room to achieve what they believe is beauty. Beauty comes in all shapes and sizes, I hope one day the world will realize this. 

References

Harter, Pascale. "Mauritania's 'wife-fattening' Farm." BBC News. BBC, 26 Jan. 2004. Web. 10 Apr. 2013.

"Mauritania Struggles with Love of Fat Women." Msnbc.com. N.p., n.d. Web. 10 Apr. 2013.

Sumitra. "Leblouh - Force-Feeding Young Girls in the Name of Beauty | Oddity Central - Collecting Oddities." Oddity Central Collecting Oddities. N.p., n.d. Web. 10 Apr. 2013.

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El Dia de los Muertos (The Day of the Dead)

Americans traditionally celebrate Halloween on October 31 but recently, a new trend has hit the states. El Dia de los Muertos, The Day of the Dead, is a Mexican celebration that honors the deceased.  Some Americans love the female skull face trends that originated from Dia de los Muertos. Many do not know that the skull face evolved from a celebration of the dead. On Dia de los Muertos, people in Mexico paint their faces as skulls, make alters and also give offerings to graves (Hernandez).

Dia de los Muertos has been practiced for at least 3,000 years. "The celebration traditionally starts at midnight the night of Oct. 31 and... continues until Nov 2nd" (Erichsen). During this time, people prepare for the celebration by making alters and food as an offering to deceased souls. "An area of the house is cleaned up and the furniture removed to make room for the altar," this is when families will put the a picture of the deceased and also things that the deceased used to like, such as candy, food or even a toy (Kenyon). Other times, family members will enjoy eating a meal at the grave site of their passed loved ones. People would bring candles and flowers to the grave yard to show that they are welcoming souls back to the world of the living.

Another big tradition of Dia de los Muertos is the skull face painting.  "Many euphemisms are used for death, like La calaca (the skeleton). It might sound somewhat morbid, but the Mexicans react to death with mourning along with happiness and joy. They look at death with the same fear as any other culture, but there is a difference. They reflect their fear by mocking and living alongside death" (Hernandez).  In the U.S many girls on Youtube teach viewers how to achieve the skull face look for parties or for Halloween. Also, the female skull face has been a big trend on clothing for men. However people use it, the skull face is almost everywhere.

The day of the dead may seem morbid and taboo to some Americans but the tradition is depicted beautiful in this video. Being half Mexican myself, I feel closer to my heritage from researching the tradition. Although my Mexican family does not celebrate Dia de los Muertos, it is fascinating to know people are celebrating the dead with unique traditions and good intentions.


References

Erichsen, Gerald. "Day of the Dead Honors The Deceased." About.com Spanish Language. N.p., n.d. Web. 03 Apr. 2013.

Hernandez, Aracely. "Dia De Los Muertos (Day of the Dead)." Dia De Los Muertos (Day of the Dead). N.p., n.d. Web. 03 Apr. 2013.

Kenyon, Chelsie. "Dia De Los Muertos "Day of the Dead"" About.com Mexican Food. N.p., n.d. Web. 03 Apr. 2013.

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