|
Why paint?
A fortune is being made in the industry of cosmetics. Make up is a must for ladies and for some
reason there seems to be a worldwide attempt by people to be someone other than themselves. Make-up actually conceals certain parts of a person's features - obviously features that one would like
to conceal - like wrinkles - and brings out the features that one would like to show to the world
- like a beautiful pair of eyes. In every society some form of make-up exists as well as
accessories
which are calculated to make women beautiful. However, what is considered beauty in some parts
of the world differs from other parts. Those of us who had the opportunity to see
'The Gods Must
Be Crazy' an excellent movie, would have been surprised at what the bushman hero had to say
when he saw a white woman for the first time. His verdict was that she was the ugliest woman he
had ever seen, and he made the remark because of her complexion and size. To the bushman, small
and dark is beautiful.
Make-up is not new. In ancient Egypt, China, India, and perhaps in all early civilizations, it was a
thriving industry. Women just have to dress attractively, or do a whole host of things to get the
attention of the men. Strange though it may seem to the modern man, men used to used to use make
up too. During the middle ages when it was fashionable for men to be
elegant, men used to compete
with women to look beautiful - though they still drank and fought and did other inelegant deeds.
The fashions of the day did a lot to bring out the beauty of the men. Men wore wings and powered
their faces to look beautiful.
In indigenous cultures men wore, and still wear, make up. This is mostly paint. We are used to seeing
Native Americans wearing war paint, but that was not the only reason that men painted themselves.
There are different types of paints - or make up - for different events. The smearing of color on
the face and body is supposed to signal something. An example of a carry over of this practice to
modern times is the applying of henna on the hands and feet, by Malays and Indians who are newly
wed.
In the animal world, strangely enough, it is the male that wants to look beautiful. It is the peacock
that has the beautiful tail feathers, the peahen is plain. In the chicken, the cock has a much better
plumage than the hen. The more graceful goldfish is the male. Among those who attract by voice
rather than looks, it is the male who sings. The singing canary is male and so is the bullfrog. The
reason for all the flaunting of beauty is simple: attract the female and then mate. The female does
not have to look beautiful at all, she makes a choice as to who to be attracted to. Among the
species
where beauty does not seem to matter, like cattle and horses, the males fight it out to attract the
females. The role in all nature is the same, the female naturally attracts the male and it is the male
who has to make himself attractive - in any way he knows.
|
| |
5. |
Make up is used to conceal certain parts of
a person's body and bring out certain other parts. The idea is to make
oneself look beautiful to others. For example wrinkles are concealed
while eyes are emphasized. In all societies, there is some form of make
up and accessories to make one look beautiful. Make up for women has
been around since ancient times and, in the middle ages, men too wanted
to look beautiful. Men wore wigs and powdered themselves. In
indigenous cultures men still paint themselves to celebrate different
occasions. This type of make up is supposed to signal something and in
some form is practiced everywhere. Strangely, it is only in the human
species that the female adorns herself and wants to appear beautiful. In
the animal world, it is the male that looks better, as among birds. For
those animals who don't look beautiful, they try to attract females with
their voices or through other means. ( 160 words ) |
