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‘Passion’ Category

  1. PAS #7 Kayan Tribe

    April 17, 2013 by Taylor Kantner

    The most interesting ideal of beauty that I’ve learned about comes from the Kayan tribe, which is located on the border of Burma and Thailand. The ideal woman of the Kayan tribe starts to practice beauty at a very young age, more specifically the age of five. When a young girl turns the age of five, she begins the ritual of wearing brass rings around her neck. This ritual has been around in the Kayan tribe for centuries. As the young girl grows up, more and more rings are added around the neck. As time goes on, the necks will eventually elongate due to the increasing number of brass rings that the neck has to sustain and make the woman more appealing to men. An article that comes from Oprah.com explains, “The shiny, brass rings are the ultimate sign of female elegance and status.” Women begin to think of the rings as a way of life and after they have grown so used to them, feel as though they cannot take them off because their necks won’t look right anymore. These rings aren’t light either, some women bare quite the amount of weight on their necks.

    The only problem with this ritual is actually something the Kayan tribe can’t really do anything about. The location of where they live is a big tourist attraction so these women are seen as “animals” as one site says. This site about beauty across the globe explains how people go to this area just to take pictures of these women and what they do in their everyday lives. Many women may want to remove these rings later in life because of the health risks that could possibly take place, but there is too much embarrassment that can come along with it. Like I mentioned before, it becomes a part of who they are since they’ve worn them pretty much their whole lives. Another reason is because of the discoloration and bruises that result from the rings as well. So as much as this beauty ideal is tradition and a sign of status in the Kayan tribe it is probably not the best thing for the women’s health.

    https://sites.google.com/site/beautyacrosstheglobe/kayan-tribe

    http://www.oprah.com/style/Beauty-Around-the-World/5

    Category Passion | Tags: | 2 Comments

  2. PAS #6 Beauty of Mauritania, Africa

    April 17, 2013 by Taylor Kantner

    The perceived beauty of the people of Mauritania, Africa is so different from our culture, it was really fascinating to learn about. Instead of the westernized beauty of being skinny and fit, Mauritania women are considered to be more beautiful the bigger they are. It used to be normal in their culture to force feed young children so they would gain weight, which was the ultimate sign of beauty as well as wealth. Weight is a sign of wealth since the area of Mauritania doesn’t get much rain. While we look up to those that are thinner and more attractive, it happens to be the polar opposite than the women in Mauritania who care more about gaining weight than losing it. According to an article from 2007 about obesity ideals, “a quarter of the 1.5 women in Mauritania are obese” which is quite surprisingly less than the percentage of American women that are obese, but the difference being there are no fast food restaurants in Mauritania.

    On the other hand, this is also hurting the women because the weight obviously can impact their health in many ways including heart disease and diabetes. It is becoming such a problem that the government is trying to intervene and change the way parents are bringing up their children. Even though the ideal woman in Mauritania is considered to be obese, society ideals could be changing every day. For one, there are new television shows depicting skinny model-like women, helping to eliminate the ideals of more overweight women. This is especially for the upper class women too, so beauty is becoming more and more westernized as time goes on. I really thought the practice of force feeding young girls was a crazy ideal for beauty, but learning more about it I realized the efforts that are being made to get rid of the practice. I think that it’s pretty cool that they see larger women to be more attractive and not stick thin women, but I also believe there’s a limit to how large and that force feeding should not be occurring at such a young age.

    http://www.wunrn.com/news/2007/04_07/04_16_07/042207_mauritania.htm

    Category Passion | Tags: | 1 Comment

  3. PAS #5 Maori women in New Zealand

    April 15, 2013 by Taylor Kantner

     

    The Maori people are found in New Zealand, but are of Polynesian decent. The Maori have a very distinct and much different picture of beauty than we do here in the U.S. Tattoos, more specifically moko, have a lot of meaning in the Maori culture. Something many consider here in America to not be flattering is actually a sign of beauty in Maori culture. It dates all the way back to ancient times when tattoos were considered a sign of power and status and “the head was considered the most sacred part of the body.” It was originally only for the men at the age they would go through puberty to attract women. Women were also tattooed just not as extensively as men were. For women, the tattoo that was chosen had to have some meaning to it, which contributed to an “individual identity.” Another type of tattoo for women that was considered to be the “epitome of beauty” was getting the lips colored blue. These blue lips contributed to much of their beauty. Tattoos on the mouth, lips or chin are most popular and is what attract men to these Maori women.

    Today, women don’t usually get these tattoos on their face, but now on their lower backs and men on their upper arm. It shows how these times have changed and the tattoos on the face aren’t thought of as being ‘beautiful” anymore. This is another example of western influence I believe. I think the western world may be influencing the placement of the tattoos since tattoos on the face are no longer socially acceptable. I read an article about a women not being hired at a cafe just because of the moko she had on her chin. So it’s obviously affecting lifestyles of women now that it is not common to have mokos on their face. I thought this was such an interesting thing to be considered beautiful because I had never heard anything like it before. It’s just cool to see how different countries have different views on beauty.

    http://www.tattoocreatives.com/maori-tattoos-for-women

    http://history-nz.org/maori3.html

    http://www.squidoo.com/maoritattoosymbols

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  4. PAS #4 Beauty of India

    April 15, 2013 by Taylor Kantner

     

    India is all about tradition. This tradition comes into play when considering the beauty of Indian women. From the Indian fashion to their very distinctive beauty secrets, the women display what is considered the beauty of their country. The body part considered to be most beautiful of Indian women is the nose. The nose is a perfect triangular shape and small along with brown or black eyes.

    From the moment they wake up they are already practicing some of India’s precious beauty secrets. Engaging in exercises, such as yoga and other exercises contributing to a good body shape. There is a special tree called a Neem tree which is valuable through and through. It is considered “the queen of all beauty ingredients.” Usually used in medicine, it can also be used in tea that helps with acne and works as a moisturizer as well. Another product they use is honey. Something we have over here too, but I bet you never thought of using it as conditioner! If mixed with olive oil, it creates a great hair conditioner. Honey is also known to absorb moisture in the skin. These are some beauty tips that many of us here in America probably don’t know much about, which is pretty cool.

    The typical Indian dress includes the traditional yet modern “Indian Saris” that are known by all parts of the world. It is called a ghagara- choli and is made up of a shorter shirt (choli) that covers the upper half of the body and a matching skirt (ghagara) to go along with it. Also, something they wear with it is called a duppatta that they wear over their shoulder. I’ve seen these dresses they wear and they are absolutely beautiful and definitely compliment these Indian women. But also, very different from what we wear here in the U.S.

    An article I read about an Indian woman that was born in India but has lived in America most of her life and hadn’t seen anything like what she saw in the magazine in India before. What she describes is that India has never considered being skinny to be beauty and how when she was younger her parents would make her eat to gain weight and not lose it. But what she noticed in this magazine was surprisingly Indian models were skinny and lighter skinned. This just shows how much of an impact American culture has on other countries that had their own values of beauty.

     

    http://www.ibiblio.org/hazine/india.html

    http://www.mapsofindia.com/culture/india-culture.html

    http://health.india.com/beauty/traditional-indian-beauty-secrets/

    http://prasadjain.hubpages.com/hub/THE-BEAUTY-OF-iNDIAN-LADIES–A-CULTURAL-LOOK

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  5. PAS #3

    February 27, 2013 by Taylor Kantner

     

    I started off my passion blog last week with talking about beauty ideals in America. This week I’m going to continue talking about beauty ideals, but focus on what Japanese women consider beauty to be. Obviously, the Japanese see beauty in a much different way than we do here in the US. There are many places around the world that don’t share the same beauty ideals with America.

    For one, Japanese women don’t find “curves” to be necessarily attractive, rather they are thinner and don’t have very prominent hips. They also pride themselves in being pale and achieve this by using beauty products to make their faces that white powdery color. Some women actually get facials done using Uguisu, which is made up of bird droppings, but is said to clean up skin and make it smoother. I read a blog about a woman that describes her experience when she traveled to Japan and witnessed these beauty treatments first hand. She talks about all of the products they sell in the drugstores that we don’t have, such as different creams, lotions and toners that are all for different uses and have to be used in order. Smooth, taken care of skin is obviously an important beauty ideal in Japan. An interesting fact that she mentioned in her blog was how when she went to the beach what she observed was people covered up in clothes from head to toe along with umbrellas trying to keep the sun away from their skin. Very opposite from how we live here where tanning is a big reason why a lot of people go to the beach; we even have tanning salons where people can artificially tan without having to physically go to the beach. Another way Japanese keep their skin so smooth and white longer is their intake of vitamin C. Part of their daily diet is made up of oranges, which “deoxidize and break up melanin”, thus whiter skin results. Some other Japanese beauty secrets include, drinking tea every day, eating fish (Omega 3), and by using seaweed to cleanse the face.

    Although pale white skin is the beauty norm in Japanese culture, there are also several subcultures that challenge these ideals. For example one subculture is called Gyaru, which includes many subcultures under itself as well. This subculture is seen as a sort of “rebellion against Japanese society.”A main difference with this subculture is that people do tan and, therefore, don’t follow the pale white skin norm. Another difference is people will dye their hair in this culture, blond is a popular color, but other colors are possible, too.

    Japan has a bunch of hidden beauty secrets that keep their skin beautifully pale, white, and blemish-free. Just as long hair, a thin body and good teeth are considered to be beautiful here it is always fascinating to see how other countries around the world differ in their perceptions of beauty.

    http://blogs.record-eagle.com/?p=4882

    http://www.marieclaire.com/hair-beauty/trends/asian-beauty-secrets

    http://www.stylecraze.com/articles/best-kept-japanese-beauty-secrets/

     

    Category Passion | Tags: | 4 Comments

  6. PAS #2

    January 23, 2013 by Taylor Kantner

     

     

    In America today, we have a predisposed vision of beauty. The vision that men and women should be tall, dark and thin and in a swimsuit, if even that, on the cover of popular magazine. Beauty in America is physical and all based on the attractiveness of the individual. Little boys and girls, mostly girls, are looking up to these “beautiful” people and wanting to grow up to be and look exactly like them, but sometimes this isn’t anywhere near healthy for the child that is idolizing this “beautiful” person. I think the perfect example of this is the show Toddlers and Tiaras. This show is the epitome of what the definition of beauty is in our country. Moms dressing up their little girls like they’re in their twenties all to win a competition. To me, it’s just not worth it to do that to those children and I can’t believe their parents are the ones pushing them even when they don’t necessarily want to.

    The tall, tan and skinny image that most everyone today connects with as being “beautiful” was not always true. The definition of beauty has changed a lot over the past 50 years. From the more conservative housewife look in the 1950’s to the bigger hair in the 1960’s. In the 1970’s when the Farrah Fawcett hairdo was popular and the 1980’s when more big hair and makeup came into the picture. The 1990’s is when the “model” image became the new look of beauty. The person who made this most popular in this decade was Kate Moss, when her super thin body became the new norm in the modeling world. It’s pretty much the same in this decade with the addition of photo shopping and airbrushing of the models on TV and magazines.

    America’s image of beauty is one that has changed over the years and probably will keep changing. I know that even though the image we have today is not one people should be looking up to, there are still efforts being made to try to speak out and tell people, especially young girls,  that beauty is not always the tall, dark and thin image. I think these efforts are helping in little amounts, but it is still a problem in the United States today.

    Category Passion | Tags: | 7 Comments

  7. Pas #1 Beauty

    January 16, 2013 by Taylor Kantner

     

    What does beauty mean to you? Have you ever wondered what beauty really is?

    For my passion blog this semester, I’ve decided to switch my topic completely. This semester rather than blogging about new and exciting things I’ve done each week, I’m going to write about beauty. I’ll focus on what beauty is considered to be here in the U.S. and then compare it to how other countries all over the world classify beauty. Beauty isn’t one pinpoint definition that everyone in the world follows. Anywhere you travel, you will find more and more definitions of this so called “beauty.” America’s outlook on beauty has changed a considerable amount over the past century and is still continuing to change. Even though it has changed, it is still not what other regions around the world consider to be beautiful. In a lot of other countries tradition is considered beautiful. Many men in other countries have different ideas of a women’s beauty and it isn’t just tall, skinny and long hair. Some places consider a woman that is on the heavier side to be beautiful, or a woman that with tattoos on her lips and chin, or even in Japan beauty is when women use white powder and heavy makeup to look younger. Beauty is not universal and cannot be observed in the same way that others around the world may observe it. I think it’s really amazing how from country to country beauty can be classified in a whole new way, some I’ve never even known before. I’m excited to do my research and compare the different ideas of beauty in countries all over the world.

    Category Passion | Tags: | 2 Comments

  8. New York Trip Round Two

    December 10, 2012 by Taylor Kantner

    About a week ago, my friends and I spontaneously decided to take a trip to New York. We stayed at one of my friends houses in north Jersey and went to the city for the day on Saturday. It was the first day of December and we couldn’t wait to see the tree. My friend, Cory, being the most excited since she’s from Arkansas and never had seen the tree in person before. She wouldn’t let us go see it until it got dark out, so the rest of the day we we spent at Madame Tussauds wax museum, Times Square  and the Hard Rock Cafe. By the time it got dark, we were all so excited to see the tree! Even me when I’ve seen it almost every year. Rockefeller Center was crazy busy at the time we went to go to the tree. It was busier than it ever had been when I had gone before. Nonetheless we all got to see the breathtakingly beautiful tree and even witnessed two proposals down on the ice rink. The day was perfect and I couldn’t have asked for anyone better to spend it with.  I also loved how great it turned out despite the fact that it was so spontaneous. I think sometimes we all need to just do something unplanned and spontaneous. It was such a great fun-filled day with some of my best friends. We were able to get away from the stress of finals approaching and I think it was just what we needed.

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  9. Black Friday Madness

    December 10, 2012 by Taylor Kantner

     I’ve probably only ever been out on Black Friday once or twice, but this year I decided to go again. I’m not the kind of person that gets thrilled by going out in the rush of people and waiting in line for hours, but for some reason I wanted to experience it again. My sister was actually the one that got me to go. She’s 11 and doesn’t really understand that’s it’s not really as exciting as it seems from the commercials on TV. So I was the one that was chosen to take her. This year Target opened at 9pm on Thankgiving, so I took my sister after everyone had left our house for Thanksgiving dinner and we hit up all the great sales at Target. It was so crazy in the store, but surprisingly I kind of understood why people would want to go black friday shopping. The deals are great and people could get some great Christmas presents at great prices. On the other hand, the line was not so great. It wrapped around the aisles of about half the store and moved in the shape of a snake. By the time we got to the cashier it had been an hour, we had stood in line for an hour. Surprisingly, it didn’t seem like that long so it wasn’t as bad. I have realized from this year’s Black Friday experience that I’d be just as happy staying home and avoiding all the holiday shopping madness that goes on and I think my sister has learned the same, but I guess we’ll see next year.

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  10. Become a Part of Something Big

    December 10, 2012 by Taylor Kantner

    I knew I wanted to be involved in THON this year at Penn State. It’s one of the reasons I chose Penn State in the first place. It also helped that I came to visit the campus during THON this past year. It looked amazing and was held for a great cause that I knew I wanted to be a part of from the moment I stepped into the BJC. Luckily for me, I found an amazing organization that has welcomed me in like family, which is exactly what it stands for. If you’ve ever watched Lilo and Stitch, Ohana means family and that’s exactly what it is. We each are put in families and hang out and work together to fund raise for the kids! For the first time this November I was able to go canning. I had always seen it before driving around in my home town and now I actually got to be one of the students standing at an intersection collecting money from stopped cars. Even though it was freezing and I had to wake up at 6 am on Saturday and Sunday, I had the best time. I felt so motivated to get out there and collect money for a great cause, especially at 6am on the weekend I would generally not feel so motivated about anything. Of course, there were those occasional comments on what has happened in the past year at Penn State, but I just had to remind myself why I was out there in the first place. At the end of the weekend, we raised a lot of money for the kids and couldn’t have felt any better about it. It was such a great experience and something I felt so good about because I knew we were making a difference for a lot of kids. I’m so happy I found some way to get involved and I couldn’t be happier.

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