Malian Woman and their "Beauty" Epidemic

The purpose of this blog is to reflect on an article we read in class. This article talks about how women in Mali often bleach their skin in order to fit in or appear more beautiful as show through the ideals of many people in their region. Click on image to view article.

There are many bleaching products are sold all around their country and are used to embellish women who use them. What it does is give women a more of a white glow while slowly burning off their skin and actually making themselves more pallid. The reason they do this is to fit in. Many people do not realize this method of altering ones skin is not salubrious. Women are ebullient when using this product because they focus more on the results rather than what it does to the skin. The more ignorant people never realize it has negative effects so they live their life with a jovial feeling of false beauty. People that don't follow with this trend or ideal are often seen as lower class and inferior people. These kinds of people are rare due to the fact that the products and the people using the products have a mesmeric effect on them.

Response to YouTube Video

The purpose of this post is to respond to the online YouTube video entitled Dove Onslaught. This video can be seen below.
Click Here

I think the purpose of this video is to send a message to many girls across the country. It is to show how companies twist commercials and adds for their products in order to "motivate" women to buy them with the promise of becoming more beautiful. This video is a message for girls to think for themselves in order to avoid falling victim to this ideal of beauty that is at much times unhealthy. In this short video it shows how many women go through dangerous procedures in order to achieve a sense of false beauty.

I think that the overall message of this video is positive. It is encouraging young girls to break away from this ideal for the safety of their own health. Being independent and self aware I think that one can achieve beauty without harming their own body.

Reflection On Todays Seminar

Today in class we had a long discussion on different thoughts about virtues and perspectives. We started off with an intro to women in athens and they way this was seen through the perspective of ancient greek men.

We began to discuss the various types of virtues and if they belonged in the eyes of the beholder. We began to analyse justice and knowledge while throwing ideas around back and forth. It was intresting being able to see everyones perspectives. What many people said during seminar was sort of like a window into their thoughts and experiences. Based on what people said I saw a little bit on how they were raised and how they live their life outside of school.

We began to discuss questions posed by socrates thousands of years ago. Is wrongdoing a consequence of ignorance? This was a question we talked about back and forth. Many people posed great points and this led to the improvement of the overall discussion. Some people said that wrongdoing for a good cause is right. I disagreed saying that it was still a wrong thing to do to an extent.

Overall I liked the discussion and felt that it was something very benifitial to the learning process. I think that many people are finding it hard to open up and that these are the people that dont participate. Eventually these people will be comfortable enough to contribute and when they do the overall experience will be enhanced.

Women in Ancient Greece

Although the Greek were highly advanced for their time they had very primitive views for their women. Varying on the type of Greek culture woman were seen as inferior.

Although close in a geographical view the way Athenians and Spartans viewed their woman was very different. Athenian women were very close to slave men in social status. The only way they could achieve status or recognition was when they acted like high class prostitutes. In Sparta woman had a more power and influence. They had the power to own land and do other things other women in the world couldn't dream of doing.

The reason Greeks were advanced yet had primitive views about woman is because all great nations have ironic flaws. This is the same reason that America being a freedom based country banished slavery a hundred years after it was established. All great countries tend to make those mistakes and I believe it is a part of ignorance.

Since women were viewed as inferior I believe that artists only depicted important woman which in that time consisted of only goddesses.

Plato and Socrates

Many great philosophers like Plato and Socrates have pondered on many questions relating to beauty and youth. What is true beauty? What does it truly mean to be youthful? These types of questions have been discussed many times throughout the course of history. Today I am going to discuss these same topics.

I think youth is a key component to beauty in many ways. Many things often described as beautiful contain youthful qualities. Youth is fresh and ebullient. Youth has the energy to move on and keep fighting. Many people view youth as being a young person. It is not the outside that matters but the inside that most counts. If a young person has no spirit or enthusiasm he or she is not being youthful. On the other hand an old man can be considered youthful if he has the energy to keep living a joyous life. In this form even older people can posses the beauty of youth.

Many people have discussed on what the true form of beauty is for a human. I think the idea of the most beautiful person is inside each one of us. This image is constantly changing as we grow older and learn more and more about true beauty. At a younger age we think of perfect beauty as something often seen in actresses or models. As we grow older that slowly changes to the form of perfect beauty that reflects our past experiences and encounters. I believe that in order to be truly beautiful one must also be kind on the inside. My idea of the absolute perfect form of beauty is something that is impossible to be described in words and incomprehensible to other people. I cant even picture it in my head. If I ever encounter this perfect human I will feel it in my heart and everything will make sense.

Beauty

As I look at a sunset I constantly think of beauty. It is a mix of feelings that makes me feel warm inside. I think sunsets are natures way of saying good night with the continuous promise of a new day. The reason this is beautiful to me is because the day is finally ending and all the colors of the the sun dance across the sky as if it were wishing its last farewell. This array of colors is pleasant to the eye making the sunset truly standout. Another thing I admire about the sunsets beauty is that each day it is unique and special in its own way. A sunset is one of the many displays of natures true beauty.



I think another form of beauty is through water. The way it flows and moves makes you focus on its form and shape. I also like the way the light traverses through the water and makes it glimmer. The movement of the water reminds me of an elegant dancer moving with the rhythm of a song. That is why I see beauty in water.

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