Cody Henault History 161 January 23, 2014

The picture I chose was of a woman with a body modification, face paint, with minimal westernized clothing, holding a baby. The womans hair is short or shaved, a trait that I find interesting in regarding different cultures compared to the standard long hair for women in the western world. The lip plate, however, is the most prominent feature in the picture and also one that I do not understand. The woman is beautiful in her culture, yet would be seen as incredibly different and taboo in other parts of the world. I cannot imagine the pain or physical desire to conform to this standard of beauty. Having said that, women in western history transformed their bodies with corsets. I do not know if it is simply because it is different to the social norm, but I find body modification such as this much more taboo and strange compared to that of tight-lacing corsets in the western world. Image source: Uyma, Amy. "Think You've Got a Little Something on Your Lip There..." Woman with Lip-plates and Scarification on Torso. Travel Blogs, 20 Nov. 2008. Web. 21 Jan. 2014. <http://www.travelblog.org/Africa/Ethiopia/Southern-Nations-Region/Jinka/blog356978.html>.