Global Beauty Campaign:
Maasai Tribe in Kenya
Beauty according to Maasai Tribe in Kenya:
The Maasai tribe is a tribe based in Kenya, Africa, and are known due to their long preserved culture. Despite civilization and western cultural influences, the Maasai people have stayed loyal to their traditional way of life, making them a symbol of Kenyan culture. The Maasai people have rejected western beauty standards and have kept their own. Beauty according to the Maasai people is quite contrasting and is a large aspect of their culture.
Although they traditionally dressed in animal skins, today typical Maasai attire consists of of red sheets (shuka), wrapped around the body paired with lots of beaded jewelry worn on the neck and arms. These pieces are worn by both men and women and will vary in colour depending on the occasion. Women also shave their heads and remove two middle teeth on the lower jaw. The Maasai often walk barefooted or wear simple sandals made of cow hide. Ear piercing and earlobe stretching are also part of Maasai beauty. Both men and women will wear metal hoops on their stretched earlobes.
"Maasai Beauty" by Michele Burgess
Living in Canada, western culture is so prominent in every aspect of our lives, that sometimes it blinds us of the fact that other cultures don’t have the same way of life as us. Other parts of the world have different social norms, different environments, and even different standards of beauty. Beauty standards are the traits and features that are deemed desirable by a society. In western culture we obsess over small noses, big lips, and small waists. It’s hard to imagine sometimes that these features are not globally sought after, and maybe even considered to be unattractive. In art class we looked at this concept by making large pencil drawings of what other cultures consider the epitome of beauty.
I chose to look at the Maasai tribe in Kenya. I chose to look at this culture because of how different they’re beauty standards are from western society. The Maassai tribe in Kenya see buzzcuts and stretched earlobes as ideal. A polar opposite from western culture! Women will use elephant tusks so pierce and stretch their ears and make them bigger the older they get.
Looking at what other cultures see as the epitome of beauty is interesting because it not only lets you learn about other cultures and take a break from western ideology, but puts the idea of beauty standards into perspective, that they are not as important as we deem them to be. Everyone is different and we cannot expect everyone to share the same features in order to be attractive