One Woman, many cultures
What better way to spoil a woman than with a red rose. Unless she's Japanese, in which case she may think you want to end the relationship.
In Japan red is often used in letters and other gestures signifying the end of a relationship. If she’s Chinese, on the other hand, a red rose my symbolise the desire to get married. A Native American may be equally confused with the gift of anything red as to them the colour indicates success and communication.
Western society is the only place where the colour red traditionally conveys love and respect.
Monday August 9 women the country over will be celebrating Women's Day. Or at least, that's what should happen. But instead of honouring all the exceptional and successful women of South Africa, we are taking a look at the ordinary women of the world. At how different cultures have different ideas of beauty, fashion, success, and marriage. While honouring women, let's broaden our perception of what defines womanliness and learn to love diversity.
Image is beauty
Imagine an average western women walking around in a shopping mall with a sign telling everyone her age, background, marriage status, the status of her husband, or her willingness to get married. For many Zulu women this is normal practice.
Beads of different shapes and colours are used to indicate whether you’re married, and can even tell a stranger whether you have children or if your sister is married. Women also make beaded necklaces for their husbands to convey their position in life. It’s the woman’s job to teach the men what the different colour beads mean and also to teach their daughters this tradition.
In Kenya, women wear wedding collars when they get married. The larger their collar, the higher the woman’s status – and that of her husband’s. Can you imagine the office politics wedding collars would create in a Cape Town office, especially if your boss has none and you are adorned with rings and rings of collar?
In many African cultures these specific indicators of identity are used because they believe outer beauty can be misleading – signifying health or an inner beauty that does not exist.
In most Western countries your image often depends on how well you can hide the ugly reality of age and status. Without these crippling truths you can invent an image and portray yourself as young, rich and successful (exactly what many African cultures want to avoid).
Beauty in an African mask
Masks play an important role in teaching oral history in African countries. These African masks are carved to represent the ideals of feminine beauty in each tribe.
Female masks of the Punu of Gabon for instance have highly arched eyebrows, almond-shaped eyes and a narrow chin.
For the Baga people of Guinea, the beauty of a woman is captured in her breasts and facial scars. These wooden masks usually also have long, flat (what the West would call ‘sagging’) breasts that signify years of childbirth.
The Ida’s of Benin’s idea of beauty is depicted in Ivory carvings of women with deep-set eyes, full lips and wide foreheads.
Strangely enough, research shows that when it comes to physical features many cultures agree on what constitutes beauty. A study in 1995 found Asian, Hispanic, and White men all felt faces with large eyes, greater distance between eyes, small noses, narrower faces with smaller chins, higher eyebrows, dilated pupils, larger lower lips, larger smiles and well-groomed, full hair was more attractive.
The weight of the matter
In the West it’s basically impossible to be pretty and fat at the same time. In many people’s eyes being overweight is unattractive. But in some African cultures being plump is considered healthy. And health in turn equals beauty. Some Asians will assume you're rich if you are overweight, which indicates success - another attractive attribute.
Unfashionable fashion
While catwalks and big names like Valentino, Guess and Calvin Klein dictate Western fashions; many cultures still wear clothes for basic protection or according to moral and social values. In remote cultures the biggest influence on fashion is still the weather and availability of material.
In Japan your kimono says it all. Japanese men and women have been wearing kimonos for more than 2 000 years. Men can only wear black or dark coloured kimonos; while women may wear any colour or design they want. Well, almost any design they want.
For years women's kimonos have been representing their age and marital status, while men's kimonos were associated with social class. Even now, there are two main "kimonos" for women, divided according to her marital status. Single women wear a "furisode", which is brighter, and all married women wear a "tomesode, which can be coloured or black"
In Arabic countries both men and women wear kanduras - wide calf-length robes with wide, long sleeves and long skirts. In olden days they were worn to protect the body from dust, sunshine and heat, but today they are mainly used for decoration. In many cases the once plain robes are today decorated with coins and embroidery. In the past women were also forced to use wool or cotton for their clothes but today even silk dresses are allowed.
In most cultures people will still make certain assumptions about women and their sexual availability depending on what they are wearing. In the West though, this Britney Spears, “I’m almost naked” look is growing in popularity. Whether you’re available or not, it’s often hot to look as if you are.
A success story
In many cultures being a mother and teaching children about life is one of the biggest successes a woman can achieve. In the West staying at home and rearing the kids is often seen as discriminatory against women and a sign that they do not have equal opportunities to men.
For many women around the world achieving success still depend on how well they can conform and deliver what their society and community expect from them.
The West regards individualism as more important than community life, and would define success as deciding what you want and following your own dreams regardless of what other people think.
Living in a culture with specific values and ways of thinking, it's easy to forget that your way is just one way of doing things and that there are many other ideas out there.
In South Africa we have many different cultures, but on Women’s Day we will be celebrating the culture of being a woman, regardless of where on earth they are.
- Women24