Vision Of Beauty Is Homogeneous

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Name Teacher Name WR 121 October 11, 2011 Vision of Beauty Is Homogeneous I do not believe that there is any confusion among my social groups or my community regarding what norms govern the body. It has been my experience that within my social groups a large portion of individuals will, and do, accept a vast variety of physical appearances. Even if one does not particularly agree with, or feel that a certain look is right for them. It does not lead to confusion as to what the term beautiful means. Many individuals have multiple body piercings. Some have multiple tattoos, some have one and others none. I have seven body piercings and four tattoos. I’m aspiring to acquire more because it fulfills my expectations and standards of my identity of beauty. My boyfriend on the other hand has two piercings and no tattoos, simply because that is how he prefers his body and finds his current body modifications aesthetically beautiful. I am not confused about what his opinion of body norms are for himself nor do I believe that socially there is any confusion as to what norms govern the body. Society as a whole is converging to a homogeneous population and we are at the forefront of breaking down “taboo” cultural views and moving from small secular groups to a varietal mesh of individuals coexisting as one. I personally find it rather interesting seeing a variety of varying personal appearances or parts of personal appearances that are derived from other cultures. Philippe Liotard details this trend in his essay, “The Body Jigsaw: Borrowing Body Decoration from Other Cultures” that “In fact, what we are witnessing is a sweeping trend of cultural mix-and-match, drawing on body-altering techniques long used by non-western cultures for purposes of religion, aesthetics or identity” (55, paragraph 6). I have found that some people will present and adapt an appearance
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