Female "Beauty" and the Loss of Freedom

One of the most important part of what is our birth right is a good health condition and bodily vigor. It goes for both sexes to perceive these physical characteristics as the basis of the commonly agreed upon something to be wished for. However, for ages both women and men have done a lot to signal their over all desirability as well as their status in society by unhealthy or even dangerous changes to their body and their looks. 

This sixpack is fake, it's an implant

A new way to obtain the desired "masculine" look of a body overflowing with muscles is to pump it full of dangerous oils. (Salad oils actually!!!!!) Some of these oil-pumped men look grotesque, but I doubt they see it that way themselves. 

One thought provoking trait of body builders (or oil abusers) is that the changes of their body always signal strength, and often a kind of strength that is considered "ugly" or "unfeminine" in women. Actually, it's safe to say that men will go to unhealthy lengths to look overtly strong whereas women will go to just as unhealthy lengths to look childish or at least non-threatening: Not strong. The perfect male traits must be well-known epitomes of "power", whereas female traits and femininity should be conveying signals of the lack of these so-called masculine traits. It's obvious to me that the traditional maleness stands for power and a certain freedom of movement whereas the traditional femaleness signals bodily weakness and the lack of the natural ability to move freely.

Up through history the female dresses have in fact been a sort of harnesses that reduces women's ability to move in a free manner. For a long time the ideal woman has been like a static, silent and unmoveable statue of powerlessness. Some societies even went further than conveying this message of female powerlessness in dresses. That goes for e.g. China and the "ladylike" feet of deformity. A big, natural foot that makes it possible for a woman to walk and run freely was seen as "unfeminine".

A sad sight of deforming "femininity" 

In other cultures women were turned into epitomes of feminine powerless by something that were called "beautiful", but which in reality was a murder weapon. Not to have it meant lack of status, but to have it might lead to one's death with a broken neck ....

Women are not weak by nature, but the very idea of female beauty is somehow connected to weakness, vulnerability and the loss of movement. Dresses that removes the ability of free movement, neck rings or wooden lip plates like in the Mursi society all stand for something that is considered "feminine" and desirable as such.

Mursi women are famous for their wooden lip plates that are seen as a symbol of female beauty and identity. A girl's lower lip is cut when she reaches 15 or 16 years of age, and it's held open by a sodden plug, but it's up to the girls how far they want the lip to be stretched. As far as I can see this is not only a means of obtaining a special "Mursi beauty", but also of shutting up the woman as it must be impossible or very difficult for her to talk. 

Beautiful? Only in a deforming manner, but it makes me think of all the ways of signalling femininity of our society. We should start thinking more of what certain kinds of clothes, tattoos, skin plugs, etc., etc. do to our bodies and our ability to move freely in society.